Should I give up on this doe?

Hello all,
I have been having problems with one of my does. She has had four litters with me, her first went very well. She had 7 healthy kits and raised them perfectly. Her second litter went slightly worse as she had 9 kits, one died at birth and a second died a few days later and she injured one a couple of days after that which I don't blame her for as she was very stressed due to our neighbours setting off fireworks. There were 3 kits in the third litter however they were dead by the time I got to them. Today she delivered 9 premature fetal kits who were born alive but died not long after birth. I am in two minds as to whether or not to cull her from my breeding program as although she has had poor luck with her last litters she did raise her first perfectly and would love to know everyone's opinions on the matter
Many thanks
Ellie

I think we need some more information about the situation. Such as "how old and what breed is the doe?", "What Country/State/Province are you in (General works ie: Southern US, or Northern NV in my case)", "Any major changes in housing or living environment?" "Any changes in feed before or during pregnancy?"

I agree we need more info. Is the buck the same for all four litters? Do you know why the 3rd litter kits died? Was there added stress or a change in diet for the 4th litter?

6 out of 9 kits growing to maturity is actually pretty good.

In my experience, those does that get worse, have a hard time improving again. It seems like the actual act of kindling is enough to stress them out at this point.

But, I make allowances. I have a doe that has had 3 litters with me. First one was ok, but I immediately noticed that she kindled all 9 on the wire. Got them all in, she did fine. 2nd litter, she again had them on the wire, but also seemed to have some problems birthing, so I lost 5 of 9, but, she fostered 2 from another litter, with no problems. Her kits have won me some nice prizes and are healthy. Her third litter I refused to let her have them on the wire, so I put her in my bathroom, in an xpen, with a nestbox. Had them all in the middle of the floor, never built a nest. So, since I slept on the floor next to the bathroom, I heard them squeaking, built them a nest, trimmed her belly fur and she's been a great mom ever since. I swore that she would go. But, since I know how to get around her problems, I'll keep her for one more litter. What remains to be seen is if this lack of kindling ability transfers to her daughters. But she is a great mother... so I have hope. Not everyone wants to, or can, jump through these hoops. And, if her daughters do the same thing, then it's all be quite futile.

I have the "3 strikes, you're out" rule. Very rarely will I make an exception. Just my two cents, but here goes.


I had a Giant Chinchilla doe who had 2 litters with me ( no, I was not her breeder and these were her first litters ever). First, she was very difficult to breed (always took, just never in the mood, etc). She finally had 9 kits, one was underdeveloped. It was obviously born dead, the other 8 did fine for a few days, then all but 1 died. She did not feed them. The last kit was killed by a coyote when he was 3 months old, so that has nothing to do with her, but she barely ever took care of him either.

So I rebreed this doe, again she has 9 kits. None underdeveloped this time. Never feeds any of them. They all die. Needless to say, Sugar Bean (my Giant Chinchilla doe) got the gun. :x

Personally I would give her one more try... But if it doesn't go this time... cull.....

I wasted a lot of time with a doe, beautiful broken Magpie!
she didn't like to breed, I had to convince to feed kits and was an ok mom if she figured out the feeding thing...
she stopped letting the boys do their job (tucked her tail) ...
so I had a long chat with her and told her she had until "X" date to produce a litter for me....


she made a really nice pelt.

Thank you for all your replies, the doe is a Belgian Hare and the same buck has sired all four litters. She is just about 2 years old and I am in the U.K. But understand this is an American based forum however there is no forums geared towards breeders based in the UK. I have no idea how the litter before died as they were dead by the time I got to them, they had no injuries to them, were full term and were all in the nest lined with fur although I just assumed since there were only 3 they didn't generate enough heat to keep themselves warm even though the weather was fairly mild and she raised her first litter perfectly fine during December. There has also never been a change in her diet during the time I have owned her.

The last litter was a very strange one, she delivered the babies in front of me at about 1 in the afternoon as I was re filling her hay. They seemed very premature for the fact the due date is in only 2 days. The babies just flopped out of her as she was stood in front of me and she didn't seem to be in any sort of distress. They were all born alive and wriggling but died after about 10 minutes. Today she pulled some fur and lined her bed even though she already delivered her kits which I thought was kinda strange?

I am mainly hesitant as she is a really nice doe with a temperament to die for and always lets the buck do his thing which is really hard to find around here but at the same time I don't want to be breeding bad mothers into my line.

Do you have another buck you could try? Has your buck fathered any successful litters with other does? I'm just thinking here that if you can't find any real reason for her to be the issue, could it possibly be him? I'd give her one last go, and maybe try a difference buck if possible, then decide what to do with her. If her personality is as wonderful as you say you could possibly Cull her from breeding, but keep her as a pet if you like her well enough. This is just my thoughts though

Yes I do have another buck I could try her with, I've just always put her to the same one as she crosses really well with him. He has had litters with other does but they are all really good mums and would take on any babies. I think I'll put her to a different buck and give her another chance. Thank you all for your help