Rac

So I'm very new to this.

Two weeks ago I got a mating pair of New Zealands along with eight of their month-old litter (the two best were kept by the previous owner).

I also got a 4 x 8 hutch that had a solid floor (vinyl covered). It's sitting just a few inches off the ground. I back to several square miles of woods.

Everything was fine for the first week. Last Saturday I replaced part of the vinyl floor with 1/2" hardware cloth to try to improve the sanitation.

Tuesday I found two of the runts dead. One of them has had a sore (even when I got it) about the size of a pea on her back. I didn't see any other marks. Assumed it was shock from the move/infant mortality/what happens to runts. I didn't find them over the hardware cloth, but they weren't that far away.

This evening I found two more dead, and though they weren't the biggest they were certainly vigorous little bunnies. The rear-end of one was opened up and the other had a wound on it's underside. I found them on top of the hardware cloth.

My working theory is that I've got a raccoon/predator visiting for a nocturnal snack. As such I blocked off the hardware cloth area until I can prove/disprove/improve. The problem with this theory, to me, is that the first two runts didn't have any obvious wounds, but maybe I just didn't look closely enough.

Or is something else going on?

Thanks. I'd like to figure this out before I lose all my rabbits.

It sounds like predators to me. The two without noticeable wounds could have been frightened to death, or killed by running around trying to get away. Or maybe the wounds were missed. Based on your description, I really believe you have predators.

A couple of suggestions:

1. Raise the hutch- put it on blocks or make legs for it- get it off the ground.

2. Replace the hardware cloth. Get some good 1/2 x1" cage wire. The hardware cloth will not deter all predators, it breaks down easily, and it is not great for the rabbits' feet.

3. Maybe find a way to isolate the hutch- a dog run maybe? Put it up against your house?

Now for the non-predator related comment. I am assuming you have all the rabbits in one hutch (if I am wrong, forget all that follows ). If that's true, you have a few things to think about. First, your doe is likely pregnant again. If the buck and doe have been together for two weeks, you are possibly looking at kits in the next two weeks. Make sure she has a nest box ready at about day 28 from the day you put them together.

Having the existing kits and the new kits in the same hutch can lead to problems with the new ones not getting to feed. It can also lead to the older ones hurting or killing the little ones. The buck can also cause problems for the kits. If she does have kits in a couple weeks, your existing ones will be about six weeks old, and most likely not at a good processing size. If possible, get yourself a grow out cage built ASAP for the kits you have now.

Once that's done, I would consider, at the least, splitting the hutch into two sections- one for the buck and one for the doe. This allows you to control breeding. Myself, I would leave the hutch as is for the doe, and build a cage for the buck. That way the doe has lots of room to raise her litters, and you can still control breeding by bringing the doe to the buck when you want to.

Yes, they're currently in all together. The doe and the buck have been together for the past two weeks, as they were when I first got them. I did notice this evening that he was trying to mount and that she was refusing him.

I was thinking about ripping the hutch apart the weekend and rebuilding it into 42" x 12', with (4) 30" x 42" for the 3 does that I eventually hope to have and one for grow out, along with 24" x 42" on the end for the buck. Planning on using 1/2" x 1" welded wire for the floor, with the entire assembly 3' off the ground.
--I was thinking about having part of the hutch over my compost bins, which are boxes made out of pallets. Are predators likely to climb the sides of these and still give me problems?

As I mentioned, I blocked off the hardware cloth. Hopefully there won't be any more fatalities before Saturday.

(Sorry, double post.)

(Sorry, double post.)

Well, based on the fact they were together when you got them, you could be in for a second litter at any time. If it were me, I would re-do the hutch this weekend. Just in case. If you decide to do that, I have a few things you might want to think about:

- 42" deep is going to be tough for you to get to the back of. My cages are 30" deep and I have to reach. If you go with that depth, make sure you put in BIG doors so you can get your shoulders in to reach to the back. Also consider the height of the hutch, taking into mind the reaching.
- if any of the sides are wire, add "baby saver" wire- a 4" tall strip of the floor wire size along the bottom of the wire sides. This will keep any kits from getting out and hopefully, any predators from getting in.
- if you are going to eventually have three does, I am assuming you might be thinking of breeding two at the same time to try to prevent any possible issues (no milk, large litters, etc). If that's the case, a single 30x42" grow out cage may not be big enough for NZ rabbits. You can add another grow out cage down the line, just something to have in mind.
- one last thing. I believe you are in Virginia. A wood hutch in summer would concern me, due to the heat issues. I would look at making as much of that hutch wire as I could. We did that with a the hutch we were given when we started with rabbits, and it has made a HUGE difference when it's hot.

As to putting the hutch over the compost bins, you could still have problems. Whatever it was knows the rabbits are there now. I would look into an enclosure of some kind, or moving the hutch closer to the house. There are some threads on predators I would look through.

Please post some before and after pictures! I would love to look at them. I constantly get ideas from the folks here.

I put pictures of the old and new up here:

post236004.html

Btw, I'm wondering if the fatalities were caused by a botfly infestation. I never did find any marks left on the hutch from predators. I had thought that the mother and one of the remaining kits just had sores from whatever had been getting to the other ones, but then this morning I figured out what it was. I know that there were a couple lumps on the other kits that I couldn't figure out.

The litter hatched about four weeks before I got the bunnies. They were being kept outside by a kid in his backyard. I'm guessing that he knew even less about keeping rabbits than I do, so maybe a runt died and got infested and passed it on.

I love, love, love the new hutch. It looks terrific.

This will sound strange, but get a quart Ziploc baggie. Fill it halfway with water and add a few shiny pennies. Nail it up on the side of your hutch somewhere. It will help keep flies away. Really! It works

A couple questions about that trick:
--Do I need one bag of pennies on each side?
--Do I need to keep refilling the water?
--Do I need to switch out the pennies after a while? (That is, will they dull and lose efficacy?)

I use one bag. I made sure it sealed up well, and have not had to replace either the water or the pennies.

With the length of your hutch, maybe put one at each end.