Does sharing nest?

[Delicatessy]

So I have four bunnies. 2 bucks and 2 does. Due to general laziness, while they were growing up I kept them all together. Well I separated the bucks and gave them their own cage and kept the two does together about a week ago.

Today as I did my daily rounds of feeding and watering there was fur everywhere and in a corner of a cage I found a nice fluffy nest... with 14 babies. One was DOA the other 13 were alive and kicking. The wire cage had a thick bedding of cardboard and hay so they were not born on the wire.

I think I may have butchered their nest while counting the babies and one of the bucks who I had decided to kick out of his cage went straight to the does and while I was messing with the babies, he bred both of them, or tried to. I kept picking him up and taking him out of the cage, but he would just hop right back in. :roll:

Now the question is, the two does are both first time moms, one is a mini rex, the other a NZW mutt so significant size difference. Will they successfully share a nest or should I split the babies, give one mom her own cage and hope to god the sudden change doesn't throw her off of taking care of them?

 

[katiebear]

Did both does deliver in the same nest? If so then they may both care for the kits.
As for the buck breeding them....expect two more litters in a month.
Any cage that a rabbit can get out of, a predator can get into.

 

[Marinea]

Well, my first question would be whether you are sure both does kindled. I know that 14 kits is not impossible for a NZ at least.

I would take a look at the does and see who kindled. If one doe, leave the kits with her and move the other doe. If both kindled, I would separate them and the kits, giving both their own nestboxes. I would keep an eye on both sets of kits and make sure they are getting fed and move kits as I needed to.

And I would be ready with nest boxes again in a month.

Congrats on the kits!

 

[Delicatessy]

The mini rex is grey, NZW is white. Since the fur was a mixture of grey and white it really seems as if they both decided the have their babies in the same spot and both pulled fur to warm them up. I guess I will find out in a week or so on whose babies are whose, if the buck is my mini rex they will be easy to tell apart, if the the buck is my NZR, no telling whose babies are whose.

I will try to separate the babies and give six to MR doe in a new cage and leave seven with my NZW doe.

As for the rabbit escaping, he didn't. He is partially free range as in I kick him out every now and then for 1-2 days so he doesn't end up fat. He used to be a house bunny so anytime I want him back I just open the door and wait for him to hop right in.

Oh and I turned the mini rex over and she had a few droplets of blood near her vent. So I am pretty sure she at least kindled.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I will try to separate the babies and give six to MR doe in a new cage and leave seven with my NZW doe.

Mini Rex usually have small litters of 3-5, so at most I would give her 4 or 5 kits. The NZ should be able to handle a lot more than the 8 or 9 that will give her.

 

[Delicatessy]

Just checked on the mini rex doe that i moved. found her in my little nest grooming her babies and a few of them wiggled under her for a quick meal. I was worried she might not recognize her babies were there but it seems she is caring for them. Fingers crossed this litter is successful.



So checked on NZW doe. Apparently two in her litter had wiggled away during the night and disappeared Did I mention she had them on the floor and not in her nestbox? It looked so perfect that I did not move them. Well, now I wish I did. Moved her and her litter indoors into a proper nestbox (kitty litter pan) and moved two kits from MR nest to NZW nest so she keeps her seven and MR doe has the 4 for her nest. This is both the first litter of the doelings (at 4 1/2 months of age) and me. Hindsight is always 20/20

 

[katiebear]

The first year or so with rabbits is a learning curve...some loose babies..some loose adults..Learn from your mistakes. And learn from others.
Proper nest boxes are very important. There are a couple of threads with directions on how to build them. Or tractor supply sells chicken nest boxes that will work..they are metal but I like wood.
Sorry for your losses..

 

[Delicatessy]

I remember while searching for rabbit supplies a few months back I came upon a georgia business that would sell rabbit supplies though their website consisted of a single flyer. I would prefer to support my local businesses rather than the big names like Bass and Klubertanz for the convenience of not needing to wait on shipping. Unfortunately I lost the link to that website. Anyone know what I am talking about?

 

[Zass]

Klubertanz isn't a big name It's a little family business, which is why they have such awful wait times on occasion.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Apparently two in her litter had wiggled away during the night and disappeared

Search at least a twenty foot perimeter around her cage. Those tiny kits can crawl surprisingly far. If there are any piles of loose debris (leaves, hay, etc.) they may have taken shelter there.

If you find them and they are ice cold, they may still be alive. Check their toenails- if they are filled with dark colored blood, they are truly dead, but if not you may be able to save them by warming them back up. I like to warm towels in the dryer and place them in there with the door closed to contain the heat. Make sure to alert your family so they don't accidentally turn the dryer on.

I would prefer to support my local businesses rather than the big names like Bass and Klubertanz for the convenience of not needing to wait on shipping.

BASS, Klubertanz, K-W Cages, and probably every other cage supplier are family owned businesses.

To avoid shipping charges, you can attend a rabbit show in your area. The show catalog will list the vendors who will be attending, and you can pre order what you need.

 

[Easy Ears]

Mini Rex usually have small litters of 3-5

Hmm....MammaSheepDog, would it be normal for a mini rex/ Dutch cross to have more or less do you think than that? I had my mini rex / Dutch cross have a litter of 8. (I've only had one litter from her so I don't know what is "normal" or "Average" for her)

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Hmm....MammaSheepDog, would it be normal for a mini rex/ Dutch cross to have more or less do you think than that? I had my mini rex / Dutch cross have a litter of 8.

I think Dutch have larger litters than MR, but am not certain, never having bred them. Most of my Mini Rex does only have 3 or 4 kits, but one routinely has six.

 

[Marinea]

I had Dutch rabbits before I switched to NZ, and a litter of 8 was not unusual.

 

[Delicatessy]

Thanks, did not know that they were family businesses. Though I like Bass website more than Klubertanz (hard to navigate) so would probably order from there.

 

[Sagebrush]

I have had my dutch deliver as few as 3 to as many as 9. I just had a first time doe give me 5 beautiful blues today. I like the look of Bass over Klubertanz as well. I just happen to live about 12 miles away from K-W cages and will be going there for all my supplies till I can make it to one of the larger shows in the area.

 

[Delicatessy]

Update. Another three kits escaped NZWs nest. Though the four in MR doe nest are still there and happy. Both does are feeding the babies but the kits with NZW keep escaping
Found the 3 escapees. One was still moving and became quite energetic once warmed up. The other two got warm too but still weren't moving. Put them back in the nest just in case but if they are still not moving in a couple of hours I will proclaim them dead and move on.
Removed NZWs nest and will be keeping it in my dresser drawer in my heated room and only bringing them back to momma for feedings.
I really need real nest boxes!

 

[Sagebrush]

A kit is truly dead when it is warm and dead. The other two kits are gone, I would go ahead and pull them from the nest to keep the other kits from getting chilled by the dead ones.

 

[Delicatessy]

So, another baby crawled out of the nest and disappeared. I ripped apart the whole room the kits were in and found nothing
I'm down to 8 and I believe only one mom is feeding them. Also processed one of the bucks and plan on selling the two does after they have raised this current litter and the next litter they are pregnant with. Raising rabbits is a lot of work so I plan on keeping only our one pet buck. I may breed rabbits again in the future but not until I make a drastic overhaul in how I am currently caring for them.
Will update again when they have opened their eyes and are hopping around. Hopefully will have found my camera by then.

 

[Dood]

Are you using a nest box or just a corner of their cage?

Normally rabbit next boxes have 4" high sides to contain the babies as in the wild they would be underground in burrows and cannot get lost so rabbits havent really evolved a sense of direction and the does will not return a lost kit to its littermates like cats or dogs will do

 

[Delicatessy]

I was using a kitten litter pan but switched it out after losing 5 babies from escaping it. Currently the babies are in a cardboard box with a 5-6 inch lip so they cannot crawl out accidentally. There is also a heater placed in front of the box so they don't catch a chill. So far haven't lost any more babies and they are all fat and healthy. In the process of buying some nest boxes so I am prepared for the next litter. <br /><br /> -- Mon Jan 12, 2015 10:51 pm -- <br /><br /> I noticed a problem today. One babies eyes was glued shut so i got a wet cloth and wiped it and pried the lids open. Well he can see now but almost immediately afterwards started doing some sort of full body twitch. Do you know what is wrong with him? He's my favorite in the litter. Pure black with a white stripe on the forehead.