Litter of 5, only one left

[AmberLops]

Yep, colors can be tricky!
And it will definitely be a REW then! Lucky
I got a REW kit 3 weeks ago from breeding my black buck to my black doe. I absolutely love her!

As for the dead kits...It's most likely just a first-time mom thing. That happens 99% of the time. Just be glad some did survive. I lose entire litters of perfectly healthy-looking kits in first time litters!


And yes please keep up with the pictures!

 

[Larsen Poultry Ranch]

Well, last night there was another dead kit in Paprika's box, so I moved her kits over to Cinnamon. This morning they were all doing ok. The kit that passed didn't have a mark on it and it was chunky too.

ETA: the kit was one that Cinnamon kindled.

 

[AmberLops]

I'm sorry!
Good idea. Just rebreed Paprika and she'll do better next time.
Cinnamon will take good care of her kits

 

[Larsen Poultry Ranch]

It's definitely the heat. It got to close to 100 today. I'm down to 3 kits, all from Cinnamon. This has been awful. Weather is expected to stay hot for over a week, and we are technically still in spring. I moved Cinnamon and the remaining kits into the garage, it should stay below 90 there since it's under the house. I feel like such an idiot.

 

[AmberLops]

Don't feel too bad!
Things like this happen to the best of us. Raising rabbits is no picnic!
I can't tell you how many horror stories I have! Just today, I had to put a baby down because it was born with the max-factor gene. I had another kit die from a seizure yesterday...it's not easy stuff so don't get too down on yourself

 

[Larsen Poultry Ranch]

Don't feel too bad!
Things like this happen to the best of us. Raising rabbits is no picnic!
I can't tell you how many horror stories I have! Just today, I had to put a baby down because it was born with the max-factor gene. I had another kit die from a seizure yesterday...it's not easy stuff so don't get too down on yourself

I'm sorry you lost kits too. What is the max-factor gene? I haven't heard of that.

 

[AmberLops]

Thanks
It's a genetic problem that shows up now and then in dwarf breeds.
It was first documented in a buck named max...hence the name.
They're babies born with their eyes open, they can be really deformed looking and their hind legs are all twisted. They have dewclaws on their back feet so it looks like they have mittens for feet. It's creepy and they usually die in the nest box but some can actually survive into adulthood.
Here's a link about some of the genetic issues of Dwarf breeds..peanuts, hippos, max-factors etc.
If you get freaked out by deformed things, you might not want to click on the link

https://www.barrowbunnies.com/the-dwarf-gene-max-factor-and-hippos.html

 

[Larsen Poultry Ranch]

Thanks
It's a genetic problem that shows up now and then in dwarf breeds.
It was first documented in a buck named max...hence the name.
They're babies born with their eyes open, they can be really deformed looking and their hind legs are all twisted. They have dewclaws on their back feet so it looks like they have mittens for feet. It's creepy and they usually die in the nest box but some can actually survive into adulthood.
Here's a link about some of the genetic issues of Dwarf breeds..peanuts, hippos, max-factors etc.
If you get freaked out by deformed things, you might not want to click on the link

https://www.barrowbunnies.com/the-dwarf-gene-max-factor-and-hippos.html

I'm sorry you have to deal with that poor bunnies. I'm definitely glad I picked regular sized rabbits instead of dwarfs. I don't think I could handle those issues too.

 

[AmberLops]

I'm sorry you have to deal with that poor bunnies. I'm definitely glad I picked regular sized rabbits instead of dwarfs. I don't think I could handle those issues too.

It's a bummer! But sometimes they don't show up in any litters for a while so that's a good thing!

 

[Ridgetop]

It sounds to me as if all the losses you had were from the heat. When you separated Cinnamon's litter and put some in Paprika's box, Paprika was feeding them. .So it sounds like she was taking care of them but they died from heat. We are in so Cal also and in the heat rabbits die fast. Especially when it jumps from 70-80's to 100's like it did this week. Temperature spikes are very dangerous for rabbits and you don't always realize that the temperature is as hot outside when you are inside.

When the weather is in the 90's-100 take all the fur and most of the bedding out of the box. If the weather is really severe (100's) bring the nest boxes into the house during the heat of the day and return them to the mothers over night. Most rabbits only nurse their babies at night so removing and returning the nest boxes works fine.

You said Paprika's cage was on the end of the cage row and got afternoon sun - that may have been just enough extra heat to kill the kits. Use shade cloth or something sold to keep sun from hitting her cage, but make sure that there is enough air circulation. You can also hook up misters and run a fan over the cages to help cool them down. Lowes carries misting systems in the plumbing department (with the sprinklers and drip systems) if you don't have time to order through the rabbit catalogs. Frozen bottles will help cool off the older rabbits or pieces of old carpet soaked in water will also help.