HaloRabbits- Rabbit Journal

[HaloRabbits]

Unfortunately we were down to 1 kit for a few days and then we lost it today at 10 days old. Not sure if we should breed her back now or breed our proven doe.

I wanted to leave her to rest because she has 7 week old kits. We have another first time doe due in 9 days. So I am praying that goes well. She is about 1 lb bigger than Malu and idk if that will help her or what?

 

[LocoYokel]

Sorry, just saw your unfortunate outcome. These first-time does are going to give us an education wether we want one or not!

I know some folk breed does as soon as a week after kindling. It seems to me that waiting until the kits are weaned and the doe back into prime would make for the healthiest litter.

@Pastor Dave had this advice for me:
"Unproven does are so unpredictable. Sometimes milk doesn't come in at first, and a litter dwindles down. Generally if that happens once, rebreeding quickly will get the hormones engaged and the milk will come in better next time. Sometimes the genetics weren't right to start with and kits fail to thrive. All you can do is make sure her nutrition is good and protein is up for breeding and nursing."
(Quote button won't work)

Your next doe must be due by now, sure hope this litter goes better for you!

 

[HaloRabbits]

@LocoYokel I agree, the earliest I have rebreed is when the kits were 4 weeks, so that she would have two weeks between weaning them and kindling. I prefer to rebreed around the time of weaning. I actually weaned the kits about a week and a half ago and haven't rebreed her yet. (Tres, the older doe)

I did see that post from Pastor Dave on your thread. I plan to rebreed Malu this weekend, but I will also be breeding Tres with our unproven buck.

Orian had her babies today, four big healthy babies. It is a small litter but maybe that is good for her first time, because it is less stress on her body. I am really rooting for her, she is a great size and a very chill doe. We raised her from the nest box so she is much calmer and friendlier than her mother Tres.

 

[HaloRabbits]

Photos of Orian and her kits:

 

[HaloRabbits]

Hello everyone! Sorry I have been a bit MIA lately. A lot has been going on healthwise with family.

Update on the mamas
Orian: she did great! All four babies are doing great, at 4 and a half weeks they were all over a pound and the biggest was 1.66 pounds.
Tres: she was bred with our unproven buck about a week ago so FX on a nice litter in a few weeks.
Malu: She is on strike 2. This time she didn't kindle until day 35! She also only had 1 ?! And when I went out there the baby was on the wire, dead. (this may be TMI) but it was sort of smushed looking so I don't know if maybe it was underdeveloped or what. I am really hoping she doesn't have more stuck in there but I highly doubt it because I tried to feel her tummy a couple days before kindling and I didn't feel anything (I was starting to doubt if she was pregnant).. I am really debating on whether or not I should use the 3 strike rule with her, she isn't improving with each litter, it seems she is getting worse.

Aoki and Adara are getting nice and big, they are old enough to breed now and they have gotten their dewlaps! I bred Aoki with Bonzai on 09/08/17. FX for her! I plan to breed Adara in a week or two.

 

[Bunnylady]

Malu: She is on strike 2. This time she didn't kindle until day 35! She also only had 1 ?! And when I went out there the baby was on the wire, dead. (this may be TMI) but it was sort of smushed looking so I don't know if maybe it was underdeveloped or what. I am really hoping she doesn't have more stuck in there but I highly doubt it because I tried to feel her tummy a couple days before kindling and I didn't feel anything (I was starting to doubt if she was pregnant).. I am really debating on whether or not I should use the 3 strike rule with her, she isn't improving with each litter, it seems she is getting worse.

A doe that is carrying only one or two frequently goes to day 34 or 35, and the kits are generally so huge they seldom survive the birth process.

There are a variety of reasons why a doe might conceive such a small number; issues with the buck's fertility, issues with the doe's fertility, even something like poor timing of the breeding. If I have a doe that kindles and loses a small litter like this, I give her a day or so, then rebreed her. A healthy doe gets a big hormone surge immediately after kindling, and is usually quite willing to breed. Frequently, she will kindle the largest litter she is capable of producing when rebred like this. If the buck is producing good litters with other does around that time, I can rule him out, by rebreeding her on what should be her most fertile time, I can rule my timing out. If the doe still doesn't produce a decent litter from such a breeding, I can pretty safely assume the problem is her.

 

[HaloRabbits]

@Bunnylady I am pretty confident it isn't the buck because he is my 'main' buck and I haven't had any problems with the other litters produced by him. Maybe my timing was off? Thanks for the advise, I will rebreed tomorrow and see what happens.

 

[HaloRabbits]

Updates:

we attempted to rebreed Malu after that failed litter. She was not willing to breed and was even aggressive to the buck. So I am thinking that is her third strike right there.

Tres is due tomorrow with a litter from Playboy (our unproven buck) FX the breeding was successful.

Aoki our blue doe (maiden doe) is due with a litter from Bonzai in 6 days.

Adara our Gold tipped steel was finally bred today to Bonzai so she should be due Nov 3rd.

 

[LocoYokel]

Update? Pics?
Fall is a busy time and sounds like you will be busy with bunnies! Would love to see them.

 

[HaloRabbits]

Hi! SO sorry I have been MIA. Things have been quite hectic. Lets see...

MALU: We never got a successful breeding again, so we are going to dispatch her.
ADARA: Passed away like a week before she was due, unsure of cause. Quite disheartening.
Orian: has really proven to be a fantastic mommy just like her own mother
Tres: She is our number one Doe No complaints
Aoki: She has proven to be a great doe as well. We kept a BUCK from her October litter and plan to see if we can start a line of blues!
Playboy (the unproven buck): somehow hurt his leg and so we dispatched him.

I think that about catches us up! So yeah, we have three great does and I am trying to decide who to keep a doe from next because Ideally we would like to have 4 does and 2 bucks.