Recent content by ladysown

one lb rabbits respond really well to blunt force trauma to the back of the head. I don't tend to use broomstick or choke chain methods with rabbits this size because if you pull too hard you'll take the head off. That doesn't tend to work well for the pet food crowd unless you get the odd...

why did they die? Cold weather? Poor nest? Stomped by doe? Predation? Dragged out of the nestbox? The time of rebreeding doesn't affect kit mortality in my experience.

so once you have your colony established I would keep back daughters from your original buck and then BRING in a new buck. That way you can rotate in new blood very easily.

2000 sq feet or 200? 2000 seems really large. 10 x 20 would be 200 sq feet. and should work well for four does and their offspring. Keeping the buck (or bucks) separate helps you control genetics nicely and makes it easier to bring in new blood.

e.cunniculi explains the first rabbit. The second rabbit I'd suspect back teeth issues. Rabbits can get spurs on their back teeth like horses can, but unlike horses you can't "float" their teeth without medical intervention. The third sounds like G.I. Stasis more than anything.

i cull anything that gets shows it has a poor immune system. Blowing snot is one of those things I cull for.

not down to NC as I'm in Ontario. :) Go to the rawfeeding groups on facebook and ask if you can post there. I had a base price $2/lb for every extra step I charged $1 more. I kept the heads/feet/fur as people would buy those separately for $1 each. those who didn't want the internal...

with rabbits you cull the ones with poor immune systems and keep the best. If it throws sick (as in gives you babies that are weak, unthrifty, or catch everything), you cull it. Most easily seen in does (over the course of two litters) but happens in bucks too.

i make my own cat food (have a good recipe I use) grind (mice and small critters whole, everything else skin removed) and freeze for a good while, then lightly cook it up for them. Did raw for a bit but one time of cat throw up and I was like nope, cooking it. that was just too "ick" for me...

When I did dog food I just tossed the rabbits in the freezer in a freezer bag.... sometimes cleaning out the guts and sometimes not. (at the start that's what I did). but it changed over time.... I stopped doing it because of so many people wanting it different ways. head on, head off, skin...

ah, so you have learned something for your next litter. Check for poopy butts starting at two weeks of age and until they are abit more than four weeks. If you do find any poopy butts make sure there are no wet corners AND that there are no solid areas for kits to sit on and get another case...

how much do they weigh now? at 11 days out, I'd pull out the ones closest in weight (assuming you need four?) and feed those separately. (as long as they are from the same group, I wouldn't be mixing rabbits from different groups at this stage).

GI stasis in a kit at 3.5 weeks would be a bit odd. Mama's milk stabilizes their gut and they aren't eating much at this age. It could have nibbled something it shouldn't have like wet, or moldy food, and then gotten ill from that. OR had something genetically wrong with it. If it had a...

e.cunniculi. Got it from mom. needs treatment with panacur ASAP.

oh lovely, check them at three days for which ones are single or double mane. :)