All Kinds of Problems Breeding This Year!

I raise rabbits for 4-H kids, and this is my fifth year doing so. I've generally had really good luck, and have pretty good stock rabbits......not spectacular, but good enough that one placed 3rd among about 200 rabbits a couple of years ago. This year I have had every problem with my litters that anyone could think of. I have 2 Californian does and a Calif. buck. They produced fine. I have one black New Zealand doe and a black NZ buck. Great litter of 8. But I have 11 NZ white does and 3 NZW bucks. I also have 1 Red NZ and some various other bucks that I breed to her or some of my white ones sometimes, (a red buck, and 2 broken colored.) Out of all of them I only got one white litter that is good and all of them lived! I used different bucks for the white does because I'm trying to get better stock. The one litter that did good came from a buck that also bred 2 other does. One of them didn't take at all, though I saw them successfully breed several times. The other doe had 1 kit, but she did the same thing last year. She's about 6 years old and will be retired. From my red NZ I got 8 kits that started dying shortly after birth and I lost all of them! They were born on day 28 and they were extremely small and premature looking. The next day one of my Calif. Does kindled and I gave 2 of them to the red doe to foster because she was going crazy eating on her cage and all kinds of odd behaviors! They are doing fine. She has been a good mother for about 3 or 4 years now. Then a white doe had a litter of 8 from a white buck and though they were born on day 31 they too looked small and premature, and I lost all of them too. (We tried hand feeding and warming and everything. Nothing helped.) Another white doe had 1 HUGE baby born dead, and 3 more of small size. One small one died also, and 2 are still alive. Another white doe had only 1 baby and she is only 3 years old. It was big and it died! (The older one that only had one is fostering 2 of the black NZ babies along with hers and they are both doing great.) I had 2 that didn't get pregnant, but one of them pulled hair and started making a nest, then suddenly stopped. The other didn't pull hair. I have two more that were due yesterday and today, and they are not doing anything, though they both pulled hair about a week ago, and though I didn't feel fetuses move, were both huge in the belly and I could have sworn they were pregnant. Today they don't even look pregnant, and one of them ate the hay I put in the nest for her! Could they have miscarried? Wouldn't I have seen blood! Or seen SOMETHING! So if they don't have litters, that will be 5 that didn't get pregnant, though all but 2 pulled hair and I saw every one of them successfully breed!!! How in the world could I have such bad luck of so many different kinds?

My bucks are only 2 and 3 years old. My does range from yearlings to old. They were bred to different bucks. I just can't figure out what they could have all had in common that would have caused all these problems. They are in cages in my barn. No harsh weather .....though the weather did change a lot while they were pregnant ...... from the 30's to the low 70's. They are all overweight .....but not terribly. And I didn't breed them again last year after April, so this is a breeding after one year of not breeding. But some were brand new does ....including the yearling that did have one good litter. At this point I really am lost as to what the answer is. Help please! I have only 10 White NZ rabbits to sell out of 11 does. Crazy!! <br /><br /> -- Thu May 18, 2017 11:25 pm -- <br /><br /> By the way, all the does except the one who had the good litter, and one more, were all proven does and have had great litters in the past, and so are all my bucks.

Your comment of "not breeding since last April " would be the first thing that stands out to me. Does will accumulate fat around their internal organs, including the ovaries.... making it terribly difficult for them to conceive. Even does that don't "look" super fat will most likely have some.
Old timers would sometimes suggest putting difficult to breed does on a Hay and water diet for at least a week , to try and get rid of some of that fat.

Sometimes...the issue can be with the Buck. We brought in a very nice buck... and had issue after issue getting Anything from him. We did eventually get 2 live litters... but i ended up culling him.

One other point... it might be possible that somebunny was carrying vent disease. Not a pleasant thought... but it can be picked up at shows when an exhibitor shows a rabbit that in carrying it, and that rabbit pees on the table and other rabbits come in contact with the urine. Often they do not show much in the line of symptoms Except for no/small litter size.

Finally..... sometimes it is just the luck of the draw. We have years when everything goes perfectly. Then comes a year when Everything (!!!!) goes so very wrong. Hopefully that passes soon.

I have to agree with Random Rabbit.... My does get very little break in the spring ... then a break at the heat of the summer (they eat about half rations in the summer and drink lots and eat hay)..... then back at it in the fall.. and a breed a little less intently in the winter(based on the # of winter nest boxes available) and stay with kits longer in the winter....

Sounds like fat Mama rabbits to me.
(and a streak of bad luck)

I would suggest you go over everything for an environmental queue, just in case it's not that...
Could there have been someone spraying chemicals... farm field, ditches out front, neighbour that is fighting emerald ash bore ..... Did you add any new hutches, cages, trays, equipment, repairs to the building... to the rabbit area that could have had pressure treated wood, paint, coatings etc that might be off gassing.... check the hay and feed area for all of the same.... lift and move items in your rabbit barn to check for mice/rats..... also, I would treat the whole herd with ivermectin (worms and mites) as that could also be an issue... if they aren't producing this would be a good time.

I'm hoping to do a full cleanout with power washing and ammonia scrubbing, plus ivermectin treatment early this summer at breeding break.

Thanks both Random Rabbit and Sarnia Tricia! I appreciate all the time you both took to give me great answers. Yes I was suspecting that at least part of the problem was due to infrequent breeding. I guess it was just that there were so many different issues that it didn't seem like that could have been the entire problem. But as one of you pointed out, it could have been that there was some bad luck thrown in there as well. I guess I can pretty much blame the lack of frequent breeding and them being overweight on the ones that didn't get pregnant at all and the ones that had only one kit or other very small litters. But would that be the cause of losing two litters of 8 each that both looked premature though they were pretty much on time? And what about that one giant kit followed by 3 small ones? That one really has me puzzled! I'll try to attach a photo of those. I guess that may be where the bad luck comes in. LOL

So I've thought about environmental factors. Nothing is coming to mind. I will continue to work on that issue though as well as planning a better feeding plan and breeding regimen. And that brings me to question whether it is too late to change things around for the rabbits I have, or if I should start with a whole new herd? Could I possibly get by with just 2 breedings a year? I have done that in the past some years, but of course not this last year. Or would only breeding twice a year end up eventually causing the same problems? It's just that I don't know what to do with that many rabbits! I can put some in the freezer, and we do love the meat, but can't eat that many. Suppose we can give them away. But now If the does I have are too fat with fatty deposits around the ovaries, will putting them on a diet and breeding more often help reduce that fat, or are they just ruined? I guess there's always trial and error to find out.

Thank you again for your help. When I've had issues of any kind this is where I always come. <br /><br /> -- Fri May 19, 2017 6:06 pm -- <br /><br /> Also, wouldn't it be kind of odd for 3 does to pull hair and start a nest unless they miscarried? I have 14 does altogeter. 3 False pregnancies seems kind of high isn't it? Especially when I saw them breed?

Question.... What feed are You using ???
There have been issues with some feeds, at various times, that have added to reproductive issues.
If where You get Your feed doesn't rotate their stockpile of feed often... certain nutrients will diminish in the feed.

(pulling fur and making a nest happens often with does that did not take. They have false pregnancies yet they still go thru all the motions of getting ready to kindle.) ( really frustrating for us humans !!!!)

We've had problems, too. We've switched to an organic pellet and now we've seen our first litter in over a year. One litter out of twenty six breedings is not normal. But, it was from the doe who had been bred to a buck who had been eating a different brand of feed and she had started on the organic pellets halfway thru her pregnancy. I've got four more litters due the first week of June and these are from does who have either been on the organic pellets since mid-April or have at least had them since they've been bred. The bucks have been eating organic pellets since mid-April. If all of those litters show up, it will be a good case to indicate tainted feed.

I've heard that in 2011, a herbicide was approved for use on alfalfa fields to 'ripen' them all at the same time. I guess dying off from poison counts as 'ripening'? In any case, it's been allowed since 2011 and I don't know how widespread it is by now. I asked the feed manufacturer and they emailed back as to how they depended on the farmers to follow all applicable laws regarding agricultural laws and such. I'm guessing that may have something to do with fertility in rabbits.

I first heard about it from a gardening forum where someone was mentioning that if you use manure on your garden and the animals were fed from fields that were sprayed before harvest, enough herbicide remains in the manure to kill off the garden. I think I may be seeing some of that with two of the five lettuce varieties not showing up, but I need to do a test germination on some remaining seed to make sure it's viable seed.

As for the frequency of breeding, we will frequently not bred a doe until she's over a year old and have a year or two between breedings. These are angora bunnies so they aren't bred as often as other breeds. Maybe angoras don't have the same difficulties with long amounts of time between litters, though?

I've had several missed breedings out of normally reliable does .... I had chalked it up to the heats effect on my bucks and one of those does being well beyond her prime - I just need one more litter out of her .... to get a replacement. She's due tomorrow .... showing no interest in her nest box. UgH.
She may get one more chance this year as I don't have does due beyond June as its just too hot.

katievictoria":1kksepwi said:

Thanks both Random Rabbit and Sarnia Tricia! I appreciate all the time you both took to give me great answers. Yes I was suspecting that at least part of the problem was due to infrequent breeding. I guess it was just that there were so many different issues that it didn't seem like that could have been the entire problem. But as one of you pointed out, it could have been that there was some bad luck thrown in there as well. I guess I can pretty much blame the lack of frequent breeding and them being overweight on the ones that didn't get pregnant at all and the ones that had only one kit or other very small litters. But would that be the cause of losing two litters of 8 each that both looked premature though they were pretty much on time? And what about that one giant kit followed by 3 small ones? That one really has me puzzled! I'll try to attach a photo of those. I guess that may be where the bad luck comes in. LOL

So I've thought about environmental factors. Nothing is coming to mind. I will continue to work on that issue though as well as planning a better feeding plan and breeding regimen. And that brings me to question whether it is too late to change things around for the rabbits I have, or if I should start with a whole new herd? Could I possibly get by with just 2 breedings a year? I have done that in the past some years, but of course not this last year. Or would only breeding twice a year end up eventually causing the same problems? It's just that I don't know what to do with that many rabbits! I can put some in the freezer, and we do love the meat, but can't eat that many. Suppose we can give them away. But now If the does I have are too fat with fatty deposits around the ovaries, will putting them on a diet and breeding more often help reduce that fat, or are they just ruined? I guess there's always trial and error to find out.

Thank you again for your help. When I've had issues of any kind this is where I always come.

-- Fri May 19, 2017 6:06 pm --

Also, wouldn't it be kind of odd for 3 does to pull hair and start a nest unless they miscarried? I have 14 does altogeter. 3 False pregnancies seems kind of high isn't it? Especially when I saw them breed?

Click to expand...

You do seem to have a lot of oddities... I've been thinking and could you have rats? maybe mama had them and rats ate them before you could do anything?
Also, your question re: breeding 2x a year.... I think if you have very large or could work something to join two cages and leave kits with moms for as long as possible this would also help with the chubby bunny situation as well.... (like 10 weeks?) I say keep trying to breed till the heat makes it impossible.