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Truckinguy

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I went out to do chores this morning and found Black Doe in the nest box with a mouth full of fur so I fed and watered the chickens and when I went back she was out of the nest box so I checked it and found these four kits in there. One was intact at the front of the nest box away from the others and the other three were covered up where they should be but partially eaten. I"m going to go out on a limb here and say they are not just "overgroomed". Either Black Doe is a cannibal or something, likely a rat, got in there.

Renovations on the colony start today and it will be made as solid as I can. I have a lot of cages piled up in the yard to rob for cage wire so hopefully I can line the inside of the colony in wire. The floor is concrete patio stones so that is solid.

It's been a heckuva week with the mink getting the roosters and now this. I think this calls for a wee sniff of Johnny Black tonight and a good night's sleep and start the week fresh in the morning.
 

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Oh no!!! Poor little things. :cry:

I agree that it was probably not overgrooming- when I have see that, usually ears, feet, or tail are missing. The only time I have seen the skin stripped was in one instance where the doe had chewed off an ear and must have pulled it free, ripping a strip of skin across the head toward the other ear... but never have I seen the whole body skinned like that.

I hope you can get their pen secure. :clover: It might be a good idea to remove the other doe to a cage until you finish it just in case she is due to kindle as well. Perhaps both does should be removed, as a matter of fact, since they may be territorial when reintroduced if one is still on home ground.
 
What a rotten week you've had, Truckinguy! :cry: By all means some Johnny Black and a good sleep tonight. :buds: :zzz:

The way those kits were stripped of their flesh looks very similar to something that happened here when the rats were at their worst. We had put down poison and several times I had to dispatch dying rats. Once though, the poisoned rat managed to get into a place where I couldn't whack it. I came back half an hour later and found it on the floor of the goose house, dead and stripped exactly like that. I have every reason to think that another rat had eaten a good bit of the dead or dying one.

So, yes, do secure your colony pen as best you can. You might also want to put down some secure bait stations with a single-feeding poison. When rats get that aggressive, it suggests that their population is getting out of hand.
 
That could quite well BE your doe.

I've had does do this with singleton dead kits. Most does will not clean up this way, but some do.

BUT it could also be rat damage OR the result of a good scare to the doe.

Time will tell when she has her next litter.

So sorry you needed to deal with this.
 
Poor babies :( Doe is a first timer?

I also think that this means rats. I mentioned this before somewhere and it won`t hurt to say it again - it really helps to have guinea pig(s) with rabbits. Rats somehow can`t stand them, I dont know whether is the smell or the noises, but when we see rats we just get guinea pig and they go away. No need for traps or poison.
 
Thanks, it has been a crappy week. I've had a lot of success with the rabbits over the years and some really good times with them so hopefully things will turn around and sunny days will be here again! :D

The Black Doe has had three litters now that I know of and all three were chewed to a certain extend so it's quite possible that it's the doe. I"m wondering if the kits were all born dead and she was cleaning up. Anyway, I"ll secure the colony and I'm adding a new doe to add some fresh blood to the colony and we'll go from there. It's all the more frustrating now that I've found a couple of good customers who will buy all the rabbits I can produce and call me once in a while to see if I have any available. They've been pretty understanding when I explain but having a couple of good customers that could start making me a little money now when the rabbits decide to take a break is disappointing.
 
If that doe is eating her young I'd toss her on her kister. Repeatedly having dead young is not a doe to keep especially in a colony situation. An entire litter dead does not speak well to me of that does capabilities.
 
Those look a lot like the ones I found after the rodent attack. Mine were a little more chewed but the same. I couldn't blame the doe, her kits were a week old when it happened. Plus she was loosing her mind when I came in.

Sorry about the luck. Here's hoping it gets better. :beer:
 
Do you have others in the same area that have survived? If it's a rodient, it should be attacking others....
 
In my case none have been bothered. But the last cage in the rabbitry isn't as well lit as the others. Plus I'm pulling huge mice out of there daily now.
 
macksmom98":3h0s9x9b said:
Do you have others in the same area that have survived? If it's a rodient, it should be attacking others....
Click to expand...

I haven't had a litter here since late summer. On doe just built her third nest with no litters in sight. I'm currently working on renovations to the colony that will seal up the outside walls and each doe will now have her own compartment and be taken to the buck for breeding. That way I'll be able to keep track of the litters and I"ll know if there is a problem with an individual doe. I"m sure learning some lesson from this colony.
 

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