new breeder- lost all first and second litters

[nawma]

My does are all 5 days into gestation today. I will definately begin to free feed them. I did free feed them once they kindled and strangely enough none of the does consumed that much food during the two to three days they had live kits.

I did not fill their nesting boxes all the way to the top. All does made a thick nest of hair for their second litters. Two of my does were completely in the dark about making a nest the first time and threw most of the nesting materials out of their cage. I replaced it and they all pulled hair. The babies were never cold to the touch until the last day when they were gone. The second litters all had full bellies.

The building I have them in is cinder block walls with metal corrugated roofs. Last week when I lost all four of my second litters our temps were 35-45 at night and 60-70 during the day. I have inside thermometer that got down to 45 degrees on average all week. There is a "breathing" in the building but you cannot feel a breeze. Also last week during the period the kits were still alive we had a horrible wind
storm. A roof blew off a dog pen not far from rabbitry. Could this have scared all four does enough to abandon their litters? If so why would kits die with full bellies?

I was completely prepared when none of my first litters lived. I was even prepared for the possibility that some of second litters might not succeed. I was totally unprepared when one of my does died the night she was to kindle and all four of my other litters died.

 

[nawma]

Forgot to add that everything in rabbitry stays nice and dry. Unfortunately we get an average of 4-5 inches of rain a year around here and we have not had any rain in 2013 yet. I do spray the trays under their pens each day to wash out poop. The rabbits don't seem to care they are used to it and I use a fine stream setting on nozzle that does not spray them. The kits are not effected by this in their nest.

Thank you everyone for your comments. I have learned a lot that I can change to improve the care of my rabbits. Talking to experienced breeders that care about the details of my situation has already proven invaluable to me.

I will implement all these suggestions, pray for no wind storms, and hope that this third round of kits goes much better.

 

[brentr]

I breed each doe three consecutive days and count 30 days from first breeding day to put in nesting boxes.

Not sure it will help with your kit mortality issues, but I would encourage you to reconsider your breeding practice. Breeding a doe three consecutive days is not a good practice, in my opinion. Think about it: gestation period is 30-31 days, on average. If your doe conceives on first breeding, she's got kits 10% through gestation when bred on day 3, and you run the risk of conception on day 3. When she kindles, now you've got kits being born potentially too early (day 3 conception).

A lot of breeders (and this is my practice) breed a doe through two sessions with the buck in the same day, spaced by about 8-10 hours. I never breed more 12 hours apart. If I breed on Saturday morning, for example, and forget/can't breed Saturday evening, then that doe only has one session with the buck. I don't put her back in Sunday morning. Each session with the buck is ~30 mins, or 3-5 successful matings. I do observe the breeding to make sure mating occurred. Nest box goes in day 28 after breeding.

If you got your rabbits from a large commercial operation, you likely did get less than "Class A" stock. They were likely culls for some reason, and it could be breeding/reproductive challenges in their genetic history (not saying they are, but it could be one reason).

Three strikes and you're out is not uncommon for breeders large or small. You can't afford to have a rabbit that doesn't earn it's way. Unless you just want pets, you might want to start thinking about replacing any of your stock that fails on litter #3.

I hope your rabbit endeavor has a positive outcome for you!

 

[nawma]

I agree completely that my breeding three days in a row is NOT the way to do it. I will not do that again. I am looking into other sources for replacement rabbits once I get thru this gestation cycle with my does.

Again I am so grateful for everyone's responses. I feel I have a place to go now where I can get experienced support. Thank you all.

 

[secuono]

Some rabbits only feed once, all of mine have fed twice or even three times a day. It's best to feed in early morning and right before twilight, when rabbits are naturally most active.
Also, don't just toss the nest in and walk off. Stick around and make sure the doe doesn't smother them, potty in there, ignore the nest or tear apart the nest.
They feed them for 30 seconds up to 2min for some.

 

[sunshine43]

I am sorry for your loss I hope you have better luck this time

 

[nawma]

Thank you secuono. I will try putting the nest in cages in early morning and twilight. Thanks for pointing me in right direction.

Thank you sunshine. I feel like I have a better chance now after all the good advice I received.

 

[treeclimber233]

I am wondering if a wild animal could get into your building. You did not mention that it is animal proof. Could a possum or coon get anywhere near your mothers. If they get stressed at all they will not take care of the babies. Since all the babies have died at the same time I would think something is going on that is scareing your rabbits.

 

[Citylife]

I breed each doe three consecutive days

Stop breeding them 3 consecutive days!

Good chance your does are in labor for 3 days and that will take a toll on all kits. They could easily have kits stuck in uterine horns at different stages of development. In other words a rabbits gestation is 31 days, so 3 days is 10% of her total gestation time. That would be like a human getting pregnant and then getting pregnant again in a month and then pregnant again in another month. Only breed one time, nest box goes in at 27th - 28th day. You can put the does back in with the male at 10 days, if she starts growling and is obviously not interested get her out of there. You do not want her to get bred and have that issue.
Also, pregnant does need higher % of protein. Once kits are born I free feed for at least the first 3 weeks.

I now see I am not the first to talk of some of these things now that I have read down the page after I wrote the first part. We are all here to help each other.

Good luck to you. Hang in there as it does change.

 

[nawma]

Thank you city life. I have changed quite a bit about my care with what I have learned here on this forum. Check out my pics on thread titled "two litters" a bit further down the page. Currently my rabbitry is full of buns!!!