upon closer inspection I think their eye lashes are flipped in toward their eyes :-( I have trimmed the hair and eye lashes to see if it helps
Poky lover of babies tried to help me get pictures
@mikiz I was really hoping it wasn't genetic but looks just like that. Now I have to find a new buck and I really like Mr. Scott he is my friendliest rabbit.
I can't have more then 3 adult rabbits at a time and I already kept 1 I shouldn't have. I do have 2 other does but they are both out of my proven doe that keeps having the kits with eye problems her first litter didn't have problems but that was with a different buck. I am going to breed him to my mix doe before I sell him and see what happens.
Sorry to hear, I know it sounds cruel, but what are you using the rabbits for? If they're all turned into meat is it really a big deal?
Fair enough if you want to sell some, obviously you wouldn't want to sell them with a defect that can affect their sight.
If you were to just replace the buck, your does still have the gene that makes it appear too, so there's no guarantee the new litters won't have it if the new buck has the gene, and even if they don't display it, there's a chance the kits from her litters will be carriers as well.
ETA: If mum and dad don't display it, they probably only have one recessive copy of the gene each, so each of the kits has a 25% chance of being affected, 50% chance of not showing it but being a carrier, and 25% chance of not having it at all.
In order to prove that out with the 75% that don't show it but might have it, you'd have to breed them with an affected buck or doe. If they're carriers, their litter will have some affected, if they don't the babies will all present normal eyes and be carriers.
Don't know if that helps, but thought it might be interesting
@mikiz They are bred for meat and I do sell a few to offset the cost of feed. My biggest thing is I don't want the kits to suffer. If I can get a different buck that doesn't carry the gene then I they won't have to now I also know that finding another buck without the gene might be hard and the only way to find out is to breed them together but I am willing to try. I only keep a small herd of 3 rabbits so I have become attached to my buck but for the better or worse I might have to sell him. I may try to find a different buck first to see if that helps if it doesn't I may just sell both effected animals and start over. I just want to explore my options right now.
@Shorty I wish you luck finding a good clean buck, sorry you're having to deal with this problem
You might have gotten lucky with Roo, she may be one without the problem at all, especially if her dad wasn't a carrier. Any litters from a non carrier to your doe would have a 50% chance not to have the issue at all, and I'd breed him with the does you kept back, in case you got lucky with them as well.
Hope all goes well, keep us posted