Breeding questions

[Jesusfreak101]

Lol ok I thought on Californians it was tiny lol dwarfs my goodness no thanks lol. I was afraid I would hurt them lol I tend to be clumsy. Plus if I get to hold kits my two year old and five year think they can too. Lol

 

[Tale of Tails Rabbitry]

Seriously! Teeny, tiny little body parts - especially on the dwarf breeds. I don't usually want to know that badly these days . . . I kinda want to see if they are likely to make it, first.

Speaking of which, I read a post of someone who claimed to have kept a peanut alive for 8 weeks by fostering after the mother dried up and then bottle fed for several days. I guess it had a slightly more developed digestive system than most peanuts do, but right after he posted about it, it died. Pictures showed it was about a quarter of the size if its siblings with the enlarged peanut head and tiny, tiny ears.

I get the curiosity, but newbie dwarf breeders still seem determined that they can keep one alive. Sad, really.

 

[Bunnylady]

The longest I have had one survive was about 10 days; I couldn't believe it when I went out day after day and it was still hanging in there. It's always a relief to me to have them just die at birth.

 

[Bunnylady]

The longest I have had one survive was about 10 days; I couldn't believe it when I went out day after day and it was still hanging in there. It's always a relief to me to have them just die at birth.

I saw an article in Domestic Rabbit (I think that's where it was) many, many years ago that was written by a German guy, discussing what was then new anti-cruelty legislation. According to him, in his country it was illegal to knowingly breed an animal that would die or "suffer" due to inherited characteristics. This could create interesting issues for rabbit breeders. For example, English Lops sometimes step on their own ears, which can causing bruising and scratches, so with this law, it was now illegal to breed an English Lop with ears long enough to step on. And of course, the lethal dwarfing gene would be a prime example of why this law was created. A Dwarf breeder can avoid the whole "peanut" issue by only doing true dwarf/false dwarf crosses, but recognizing superior type in a false dwarf is something of an art form. I'd be curious to know how the European breeders deal (dealt?) with this problem.

@Jesusfreak101 what you look for on a rabbit that young is the urethra opening. On a male, it's just a dot, on a female, it's a tiny slit; and there's a tiny bit more space between that opening and the anus on a male than there is on the female:

 

[Jesusfreak101]

Ahh ok so it's some what different then i how to tell on adult rabbits ok I don't push on anything that's makes me more comfortable with doing it. I need lots of hands to do the adults (back when I had four and one male that blended in)

 

[Jesusfreak101]

Ok either I have all females or all males all of them looked identical to this I pretty sure slit equals female correct?

 

[Tale of Tails Rabbitry]

Ok either I have all females or all males all of them looked identical to this I pretty sure slit equals female correct?

That is a doe. However, the way you press can make a buck look like a doe or a doe look like a buck. I always check more than once.

 

[Jesusfreak101]

Will do I give them some more time as well. Thank y'all. I have a lot of learning to do.