Kits keep dieing

[stonygarden]

My doe that I got for free who was bred (on accident) to her son had 8 kits on March 9th. They are roughly 3.5 weeks old. I am down to 4. The most recent one I lost was this past weekend.

I check on them twice a day. In the morning everyone is alive and well and in my evening check there was a dead one. I really don't understand what is happening.

 

[SA Farm]

Sometimes breeders purposely breed daughter to father or mother to son to test the genetic strengths and weaknesses in the line. From the sounds of it, your doe isn't the most vital producer and in your position I would remove her from my breeding stock. I would either find her a pet home or cull her.

 

[stonygarden]

OK so if I keep a doe (if any survive) is there a good chance the doe would be a poor producer as well?

 

[SA Farm]

I definitely would NOT keep one of the kits. They're already inbred and obviously not from the best stock to begin with, so you would just be asking for MORE trouble if you kept one.
If you want to keep a kit from this particular doe, at least keep one from a litter sired from a different genetic line!

 

[Hens and Roos]

is it possible that the kits are developing enteritis?

 

[alsea1]

I would suspect some kind of enteritis myself. It won't hurt to treat them for cocci. If they have it some meds will help.
I use sulmet on them and have had good luck with that.
With rabbits its important to start treatment before they are very ill.
I check backbones. If they start getting the least bit thin on top I know we are heading for trouble.
In my exp. once they get any discomfort its over. They won't eat and drink.
I mix a teaspoon of sulmet to a gallon of water and put that in drinking bottles for five days. Stop for five days. Then again for five days. That typically does it.
However if you use this treatment you should not butcher any of them for consumption until the med has cleared their system. I like to give it a month myself. I don't remember what is stated on the bottle.
Also, during this period of stress it helps to give them probiotics.

 

[Hens and Roos]

what about using something like Ben-e-bac in a powder form and sprinkle on the does food so that the babies would nibble on it when they first start eating pellets and hay?

 

[alsea1]

You could try that. It wouldn't hurt.
Seems like when they start transitioning from moms milk to food thats when it can get bad.
So I would certainly try that. Or get the paste and give to them each.
In raising rabbits in pens, I have found that cocci rears its ugly head no matter how clean you keep the pens. Generally it seems once the rabbits reach four pounds and over they have developed enough to overcome the exposure. But until then they seem very sensitive to it.
I was losing kits all the time before I figured this out.
Now I check daily and if they are not active and ravenous at feeding time I medicate them. I have found that if I wait for more def. signs of illness it's too late. Once they stop eating and drinking on their own they tend to fade fast regardless of treatment.
Thats been my exp. anyway. I have been raising them now for five years. I'm always learning new stuff.

 

[wv rare rabbit breeder]

What breed is she? And how lively are they? At 3.5 weeks they should be exploring and be all over the place.

 

[Mary ann`s Rabbitry]

at that age they are eating moms pellets... Give some kitchen large oatmeal and some grass hay.. it is changing over is the problem.