Bunny drama

[Miss mouse]

Hey all! So we had our planned tan Flemish giant litter of four last week. Then the next day our 4 month old black female unexpectedly gave us 7 more! She must of gotten pregnant right before we broke up the litter at 3 months! And the litter’s next door neighbour was my California females. We bred her this weekend but she’s already bunching hay.

So do we think she had an oops litter through the cage due any second from the neighbours or do we think she’s just getting her nesting on a month early?
Attaching pics for cuteness!

 

[promiseacres]

Hard to say.... could be she's already bred through the cage...have heard it's not impossible. Or she's just getting ready extra early. Or a false pregnancy...
That's crazy for a 4 month old flemish to have a litter! & hopefully it doesn't stunt her growth.
I would provide a nest box for the California and be prepared for a long wait and see.

 

[Miss mouse]

Hard to say.... could be she's already bred through the cage...have heard it's not impossible. Or she's just getting ready extra early. Or a false pregnancy...
That's crazy for a 4 month old flemish to have a litter! & hopefully it doesn't stunt her growth.
I would provide a nest box for the California and be prepared for a long wait and see.

Thanks so much. We’ve given her a nesting box which she seems to like.

The lady I bought the black litter from knew both parents to be predominantly Flemish giant mixes as she had had the paternal grande parents. The mom had been sold to her as a Flemish mix.
But the father displays a dwarf trait so clearly they’re just a big mix of who knows what.
Since we breed for meat I hadn’t decided if I’d be breeding them yet since I wanted to see how big they’d get and was hoping to introduce the black colouring to our herd as I’m trying to make use of our pelts.
I , like you, had not thought a predominantly Flemish giant litter would be mature at 3 months when we broke them up so this was a big surprise. The momma is also getting pretty skinny taking care of these babies. Any suggestions how to help her keep her weight on?

 

[promiseacres]

Full feed and I will give calf manna for a supplement, manna pro makes it. For nursing does I give a couple tablespoons a day. I have a mini rex with 2 kits...only gave her a little bit the first couple of days then quit as they all are quite plump.

 

[Bunnylady]

But the father displays a dwarf trait

I'm confused - how does a Flemish Giant mix display a Dwarf trait? How can you tell?

But this is why I tell people to separate by gender no later than 10 weeks - rabbits can become fertile at 12 weeks, and can surprise you with "whoops!" litters. Looks like your teen mom is doing a good job, though.

As to your Californian doe - without a track record for her, it's hard to know what she's up to. It could be a sign that she's pregnant and getting ready early, it could be a sign that she's ending a false pregnancy almost as it began, it could also be a sign that she isn't pregnant and is only now hitting her fertile peak. Time will tell (I will say, though, that I have never seen a doe that was "haystaching" that didn't at least think she was pregnant).

 

[Duckfarmerpa1]

If you look back through the rabbit threads, you might not want to, but I had a ‘slip up bunnies’ happen. Same thing. Bonded bunnies I thought were too young to be breed ...luckily not related. But...the really crazy thing....about five weeks after the first kits came along...she kindled again!! She was not exposed to a buck again. Apparently this can happen, but rare. I got great advice on here, to split up the kits. Weaned the older ones. Unfortunately, the second set didn’t make it, for whatever reason? When this was happening, I was given advice to feed my kits and the mom, who needed extra nutrients rolled oats. I also give some bunnies BOSS every once in awhile..some like it, some don’t. but the6 love the oats!!

 

[Miss mouse]

confused - how does a Flemish Giant mix display a Dwarf trait? How can you tell?

So she advertised them as Flemish giants. When I went to pick them up (2 hours each way) I met both parents. The mom looked mostly Flemish and the babies were just 1 month old so hard to tell. Then she showed me the dad who she had bred from 2 “Flemish giants” but he looked like he was less than 10lbs and he was fully mature.
So I figured at the price I was getting them I’d just take them home and see how big they actually get before I decide if they would be part of my breeding stock or not. I really like the black colour though so I kept the 2 with the best personalities. For rabbits that aren’t kept in the house as pets our black female is a sweetie she even licks my hands.

 

[Miss mouse]

This is one happy potential momma, she just loves her nesting box

 

[Miss mouse]

And this is our “teen mom” if anyone wants to guess her breed mix for me

 

[Bunnylady]

he looked like he was less than 10lbs and he was fully mature.

While it is true that, for show purposes, Flemish are supposed to weigh at least 13 lbs, they can come smaller than that. There are lots of commercial-type breeds that mature at 10 lbs or considerably less; if the buck's parents had some of those in their background, he may simply be taking after them (though I am wondering, if she's breeding Flemish, why she would keep something so undersized as a breeding animal). Netherland Dwarfs average around 2 lbs; other dwarf breeds may run up in the 4 lb range, but that's a far cry from that buck's 10 lbs!