Doe's first litter all dead, need advice

[aksrabbitgirl]

rebreed her it happens alot with the first litter

 

[Freezer_pets]

Great post. Just had a similar exp. NZ doe kindled her third litter. First was a lost because I was not ready and didn't know she was pregnant. Really kicked myself for that. Second little was perfect. 14 kindled, 9 survived. Yesterday, she birthed her third litter and did not cover them. She never really built her nest either, after we put the box in her hutch. My wife discovered the littler cold and scattered, some even outside the box. It's really cold here still, and since the doe hadn't pulled hair, my wife tried to bring them all inside to a warmer spot... Brought in the box full of kits, the doe, etc. The doe eventually covered them last night, and several were moving before bed. By today, all 15 were dead...

Should we have just left them alone? How long will a doe wait to cover them? On her second litter, we went outside to discover a moving pile of fur in the box.... Nature took over. This time, not so. Any feedback for those who've been at this longer would be much appreciated.

 

[Freezer_pets]

Oh, and how long should I wait to breed her again?

 

[SA Farm]

Usually a doe will pull fur before or during labor, but some will pull after. For future reference you can actually pull some of the fur off of a doe yourself in little tufts from her dewlap/chest area if the same thing happens again.
I would give her a week to recover before re-breeding her.
And , by the way

 

[Hens and Roos]

Welcome Freezer_pets- sorry to hear about your litter Probably wait a week and then re-breed her.

 

[Freezer_pets]

Thanks much for the replies and warm welcome. We have had a few frustrating setbacks, and am still learning. This forum and your friendly replies will be a great help!

Started into this last summer after years of I interest and looking for local breeders. Sadly, ere are not many that we can find in SE Alaska... We finally Found a great and helpful breeder in the Washington area that sold us a trio and arranged to get them shipped up to us. After letting them all mature to breeding age, we found one doe was actually a buck, so not ideal... But not bad as I wouldn't mind going with 3 does and 2 bucks eventually. After losing first litter, we waited 5 weeks to rebreed. So with this loss of another litter and no extra doe (yet), our objective cost/pound is stretching out longer and longer... Oh well, time will eventually work it all out.

Again, thanks for the timely feedback!

 

[SA Farm]

No problem I had a few setbacks when I first started raising rabbits. Similar issues, sold as doe when it was a buck, lost litters, etc. It's all part of the learning curve, I think. My rabbits have more than made up for it since then and I've actually been expanding, so it all worked out for me. Hope you have the same turnabout with luck

 

[happy acres]

If you have a successful kindling this time, I'd save a couple does. You can always breed them to your spare buck!

 

[SA Farm]

If you have a successful kindling this time, I'd save a couple does. You can always breed them to your spare buck!

This ^ Hopefully the trio was unrelated so you can have a couple of bloodlines, rather than having to find more/new stock or inbreeding.

 

[Freezer_pets]

My trio is unrelated. I just need to get some sort of breeding chart/ record and maybe an ear tattoo tool, so I can keep track and begin to plan my crosses. I'm still pretty inaccurate on sexing. I have my does second litter at almost butchering age ~9weeks. There are a few hefty buns in that batch and am thinking I may keep one... Just need to make sure I am keeping a doe!