First attempt at breeding : Meat Rabbits - Page 2

That's the umbilical cord probably, and taking them in is what you should do for them during the day.

I absolutely recommend just bringing the kits in during the day. Try it once and see what happens. My mamas go immediately to the kits when I return them to the nest and feed them right away. I would be careful about the difference in temps tho, dont want to shock them by having them in the a/c and then outside at night, and the temps are still high. You could even just leave them out there for an hour or so, then return them to the house. If you are already loosing them tho, there isnt much that could get too worse so I would experiment and see what works!

Thanks for the advice. I placed them in my basement garage. It will be much cooler in there, but not air conditioned. Will put them back out first think when I get home. The mother was a little confused when they left. I am hoping she is glad to see them when they come back. Fingers crossed this works.

__________ Wed Jul 20, 2016 12:19 pm __________

The day away from mom went well. They are all still alive this morning. With near 100 degree weather this week, I will stick with bringing them in during the day. The big ones outside get the frozen two liter. They seem to be faring pretty well.

Nice to see its working out for you. This is the easy part. I have 12 week olds that I am having a problem harvesting. 5 pounds just does seem big enough for a meal.

Well tomorrow will be two weeks and the kits are doing good. Four of them are going strong. Three of them like to wonder from the box when Mommy is around. Got a cute shot of them snuggling with her early one morning. I do have a question. When do I need to stop taking them out of the heat? We are in the mid 90s and will be for a while.

I would keep going for at least 4 weeks maybe even six week. Make the transition slowly and make sure you got a frozen two liter in with them.

bigfoot_158 wrote:I would keep going for at least 4 weeks maybe even six week. Make the transition slowly and make sure you got a frozen two liter in with them.

Thanks I will do that.

Your welcome..

I was asked to post weights so others could compare. Currently each one at the three week mark was about three quarters of a pound. They are from Cross Roads Rabbits. Others have rabbits from them as well and wanted the follow up.

So how many babies made it? And how are they doing?

bigfoot_158 wrote:So how many babies made it? And how are they doing?

Four have made it. The three that didn't died within the first few days.

They are doing great. Growing pretty well and are eating already. Soon they will leave momma.

__________ Tue Aug 23, 2016 7:36 am __________

Quick update. Five week weights are in. They are each just over 1.5lbs. Really starting to put on the weight. I am mixing some oats and sunflower seeds in with the pellets. Mom is now in her own cage with one of the kits to help her transition milk wise. Looking to re-breed her and my other doe around the first of September.

__________ Thu Sep 08, 2016 7:59 am __________

Went home yesterday to find on of the new litter dead. I had my son with me and my wife was at church, so I couldn't open it up to see what killed it. I am guessing heat related. I have a frozen two litter in the cage which is in the shade. None of the others in its cage show any signs of trouble.

It did have a lot of fluid below its mouth all the way down to its feet. Very clear. So not sure if that would indicate what it was.

TheChad
I have found the 4-8week window for kits is particularly distressing.
Like you I am just starting out, (almost a year now) have a few does (just moved up to 4 breed-able does)

I find that age the digestive system of the bunny is VERY sensitive to changes in feed, frightening things, strong breezes.... I think you get my point. I had 3 babes in that 4-8 week old range out for some cuddles with the kids in a fenced area and one ate more grass than the others.... one died, one got sick and has recovered and one had no issues.

Just learned to expect that age to have issue and have fresh mint & parsley ready for digestive issues.

Sounds like it might have been heat related. When they are under stress from heat they drool like crazy and end up soaked - was the head also cocked back? There is a post on here somewhere with pics - I will see if I can find it.

__________ Thu Sep 08, 2016 4:09 pm __________

Here it is: photos-of-rabbits-in-heat-distress-t14903.html

I checked the pictures and the amount of fluid under the neck and hands was much more. I do have a gravity bowl system so it may have gotten in the water, but the body was a good distance from it. I don't remember how the neck looked. I will note that the others in the cage with him didn't have any wetness on them, but it could have just been that particular one that was the issue.

I am hoping this heat breaks soon.

__________ Tue Sep 20, 2016 7:14 am __________

Well we are at the ten week mark and sadly they are just 3.5 lbs. I think it is a combination of the summer and my doe being smaller than the other two. If my other doe finally has kits this time, one of them will replace her. They also have the digging gene and are dumping food out like there mother. A lot of food since I free feed them.