what is wrong with this kit?

[woodleighcreek]

It is much smaller then the others. It is three days old now, and has only grown a bit. It is not plump, like the others, but is just as active. What is wrong? Is it a runt? Is it just not being nursed?

Here is a picture. You can see it is much smaller then the other kit.

 

[miss_thenorth]

It's more than likely a runt. If its bell y is getting full on feeding, then it should survive, but IME, especially if you are raising for meat, I would cull, so there is more milk for the others. I twill more than likely alwasy be smaller.

 

[woodleighcreek]

It's more than likely a runt. If its bell y is getting full on feeding, then it should survive, but IME, especially if you are raising for meat, I would cull, so there is more milk for the others. I twill more than likely alwasy be smaller.

Im a vegetarian, so I dont mind if it is a runt. I held the mother and let it nurse, so It should get bigger.

 

[Bossroo]

Mother Nature's law says ... survival of the fittest , all others are weeded out by predators, decease, or starvation. That is their role. This one is definatly NOT one of the fittest. Mother Nature knows best what is good for the survival of the species !

 

[kasey08]

There is only 4 so shouldn't there be enough milk to go around?

 

[currycomb]

i am like you. only 4 so plenty to go around. only time will tell. cleaned out a nest box of rex rabbits today. (12) and one is 1/2 the size of the others but doing well.(2 dead ones, so she had a bunch of them)

 

[hoodat]

Runts are usually sickly and won't thrive anyway even if they live. It's best to cull.

 

[woodleighcreek]

It dosnt act very sickly, though. It acts just like the others.

 

[DianeS]

Sometimes rabbits are just small. They come in all sizes, just like all other animals.

What you want to DO with the rabbits will determine how you should act now.
--If you want the rabbits for meat, that one won't have much. You would have to weigh the cost of the food it would eat against the smaller amount of meat it would produce.
--If you want the rabbits for wool, that one won't have much (because it doesn't have as much skin area to grow it. You would have to weigh the food it will eat against the wool it would produce.
--If you want the rabbits for showing, that one will probably be DQ because it won't weigh as much as it's breed says it should weigh. You would want to weigh the cost of the food it eats against the fact it won't win any awards.
--If you want the rabbits for breeding, this one isn't likely to be up to breed standard and would likely not be good breeding stock because of it. If female, it may be injured by carrying standard sized babies. If male, the babies it produces may be smaller than desirable. (Depending on the reason its small.)
--If you want the rabbits for pets, it might be ideal for that. Smaller rabbits are often more deisrable for pets because they don't eat as much and can be kept in a smaller place. Smaller pet rabbits can sometimes be sold for more than larger ones.

Of course if you learn later that it is small because it is sick or has a birth defect, then that will affect your decision as well. Pain, or a disease that gets progressively worse, etc are big factors in decision making.

I had a tiny kit in my angora litter. I wasn't sure she would make it, but wanted to try. They were split between multiple foster mothers anyway, so she got plenty of milk. But she's stayed about 3/4 the size of the others, even now at 12 weeks. She's cute, she's cuddly, she has probably half the hair amount as the others. But I'm glad I still have her, the cost of raising her has still been worth it, even though it would not have been to everybody.

 

[foxywench]

my PERSONAL opinion...

if the kit is feeding, acting normal and otherwise fine, let it be...
nature will take it if its not mean tto survive...if it is supposed to survive it will.

i have no problem culling SICK animals, if the kit wasnt eating at all, lethargic, cold, ect then cull it...
but if the only "ailment' it has is that its itty bitty...then i personally feel its worth giving it a chance.

it may not make a meaty, it may not make a wool rabbit, but im sure someone would happily give it a home as a pet if it survives.

i do understand to many its a "waste of money" and a "waste of time"...
but i do feel that nature has her own ways...if mother doesnt abandon it, its feeding and moving around no problems ect...then let it be!

i rasie dogs, and often the smallest in the litter turns out to be the biggest of them all...
my last litter of dogs had that exact situation, 1 pup was born 1/2 the size of his siblings...he was stong, active and suckling no problems, now at almost a year old, hes bigger than any of his siblings at maturity and a very healthy feisty "little" guy.

or my cats litter of kittens, the smallest at birth is now almsot as big as the chunker who was born twice his size...

i know these are rabbits and not kittens or puppies...but i dont feel that the runt is nessicarily a "lost cause"