So this morning I head down to water the rabbits and for apparently NO REASON, my best and favorite rabbit is dead. So angry! I'm sad too but...angry because this is at the absolute worst time. I've been putting off breeding my doe...and he was my doe's buck. Now I've lost his color and conformation entirely, augh!

I've examined everyone else, and aside from some nips one of my youngsters has from a scuffle, everyone else seems just fine. No idea what the heck happened...won't lie, this has me really frustrated and discouraged.

Im so sorry for your loss! *hugs*
Please don't get discouraged. I recently loss one of my best holland does and a nice herd buck..both were old but it does get hard to get back up and continue to breed when you loose a special rabbit thats close to your heart. Let this be a drive to breed more and make a even better herd..its really all you can do.

Oh, Kyle, what a travesty! I had a similar experience- I started my herd with 2 bucks and 2 does, and lost one of the bucks before I bred him for no apparent reason as well! He was my broken blue, and such a character. Believe me, I feel your pain.

JWQ is right on with her advice. I intend to breed my little broken blk buck asap- he was the lone survivor of the rash of mousie attacks, so I got lucky with him once already.

it bites when you lose them for no apparent reason.

I always assume a heart attack. That something happen that caused a scare and ergo they died.

Totally bites when it happens though....

Sorry you lost him, Kyle... but if there was a hidden weakness there, you really don't want it in your herd.

Maybe it was a good thing you didn't breed him if he was sick in some way. So very sorry for your loss.

Part of the problem is that I really -liked- him. He was the only one who liked me better than food, he'd rather cuddle and get petted than eat food or have snacks. In retrospect that may have been part of the problem, he's always leaving food in his bowl and while he ate enough to get by he didn't have a craptonne of weight. My goal was to get him a little more solid for showing in spring. Now he's died unshown, unbred, and this is making me crazy, he was my only Lop buck!

I can't help but be discouraged, I've had three breeding misses, and now this. I'm majorly set back, here I was hoping I'd have my Lop buck and some of his babies to show in spring, now I have neither.

Admittedly, I agree, if he had a major flaw, then I guess it is ok not to have his genetics in my herd but...he was my "dream buck." The color and conformation I wanted!!!

I'm so sorry! Its hard losing a rabbit you're close to like that - I lost my "baby" Checkered doe, Pepper, not long ago - and it sucks. Very sorry for your loss

It's that Murphy's Law. If they are the PERFECT color, temperment, breed - goodness watch out. I know a gal that had a beautiful and perfect Elop buck that went through a tornado and then a dog attack. Luckily, he did sire offspring but she didn't get to keep any of them.

We use that saying around here "never keep your eggs in one basket" -- we end up keeping more rabbits than we 'need' just because you never know what could happen. And we keep them in different pens - lest something happen to one, the other is safely somewhere else.

Hope you get another one just as beautiful and as big of a sweetheart as he was. Any chance you can go back to his breeder and get another out of his parents?

Thanks everyone, some lunch and griping at my friend over coffee and I feel some better. I'm still bummed about the setback, but now I'm viewing the spring shows as an opportunity to try and find another good buck. There won't be another Chuck (yes I had the bad luck of actually naming him) but I can maybe find one who'll fill the need for that color and conformation in my rabbitry.



Unlikely...they were getting out of Lops and had given some to a friend to take to the show to sell. It was like this magical moment when I saw him, I dragged my friend and roommate over and said "that's what I hope to have someday" and then the gal informed me he's for sale...we had to cart him home in a cardboard diaper box because I was so sure I wouldn't buy anything at the show so I brought no carriers. XD!!!

However, just as there are more fish in the sea, there are more Lops out there.

Now I'm REALLY determined to get my big bossy meat-doe bred. I want some babies to cheer me up.

Hope you learned your lesson... always bring a carrier! Or three!!!

So sorry for your loss, Kyle. I hope you can find an even more excellent buck quickly. It's really tough losing your favorite, especially when they aren't old yet. Bunny-Wan Kenobi, our 10-year-old, lost his favorite just a couple of months ago, poor thing.

Im sorry for your loss.its always the nicest ones that die fot no reason.

Sorry for your loss. Can't imagine how frustrating it would be to lose your best/favorite rabbit :'(

Kyle, sorry for your loss. I feel your pain, I just got a really nice little buck, a siamese satin cross, to be my main buck. Even though they are just pets/meat rabbits, I really wanted him for breeding. The other day I find him with a twisted neck. We are thinking wry neck. Most likely will lose him, but giving it all we've got. I just got a litter from my new doe, and that made me feel better.

Oh believe me, I know that now. I plan on bringing three carriers with me to any show I attend and trying hard to limit myself to just three. I rationalize it this way: if I have too many, I can cull my herd and either send 'em to freezer camp or for particularly cute Lops, sell as pets...so the more the merrier.

Though I'm tempted to test Murphy's Law and go to the first show in spring with nothing but a cardboard box. That way, since I have no means of reasonable transport to get 'em home, I'm sure to find the perfect rabbit. Kidding of course.

Is it wrong that I feel some better knowing I'm not the only one this happens to?