Don't Want To Jinx It.....

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Random Rabbit

Random Rabbit

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So, i'm only gonna whisper this... one time....very quietly.....

"We have baby bunnies ! "

Three litters ... all to first time does... all seem to be doing ok.

With the weather being so miserable this winter, i had about given up hope of any litters this time of year. DH to the rescue !!! He cleared space in his workshop and we set up a stack of cages there. While it is not super warm there... it Does stay above freezing...close to 40. No drafts and it is quiet in there.

I'm hoping that i am far enough away so that they cannot hear me typing this, as i said... i don't want to jinx them. Keeping my fingers crossed for them to make it ! But i am so pleased !!!!! Can You tell ?? :)
 
YAYAYAYAYAY!!!!

Oops...I mean. Man, too bad they are NOT going to make it (see, I'm jinxing you the way to WANT it to go, lol, *wink,wink*)
 
Thank You all for the encouraging words !! These are our first bunnies in about 15+ years. We used to raise and show rabbits back in the 1980s and early 1990s. Then, what i call 'everyday real life' got in the way and we phased out the rabbits. We're both retired now and wanted to do something Together that we Enjoyed... so we decided to go back to our favorite breed, Palominos. In 15 years a lot has changed !!! The Pals were very difficult to locate... but we traveled a bit and now have a nice nucleus of a herd.

I would never have attempted 'winter breeding' if it was not for those on the forum, who posted the different things they have done to bring litters thru the cold. We've never considered bringing them into a house type building befor. Of course we did not Have an 'extra' building before either... Thank You to All of You who have posted Your successes. We would not have tried it all by ourselves that is for certain.<br /><br />__________ Sun Feb 20, 2011 7:53 pm __________<br /><br />*sigh*... checked the nests tonight. One litter of only two bunnies... did not make it. :( Of Course it had to be the breeding that i wanted most of all. It is the does first litter... so we shall give her another try very soon.

just ... *sigh*..... !
 
Congratulations on the babies! Sorry your little litter of two didn't make it. :(

Ladysown is right, it's very hard for only two to keep warm enough, even in summer. I've seen a couple of people talk about fostering out litters of only one or two to another doe (or splitting the two up between two does) so they have a better chance. Beyond fostering, you probably would have had to either carry them around in your bra, or keep them inside on a hot water bottle in order for them to have a decent chance of making it.

And, like Shara said, she should be very receptive if you don't wait long (more than a few days) to breed her back. Hopefully she'll have at least three this time, maybe more, and they'd have a much better chance. :)
 
Sorry you lost the litter of two, Random Rabbit. :( Were they being fed? Did the doe pull enough fur to cover them well?

I used subscribe to the notion that litters of one or two would not be able to generate enough body heat to keep warm, but my experiences this winter with our colony rabbits have changed my mind. We had a litter of two survive a night that dipped to -20 degrees Fahrenheit. At eighteen days, one was trampled to death in a territorial scuffle (we think) but it certainly did not die of chilling. The other is doing well. More recently our other doe kindled two but lost one of them at birth. The lonely only did just fine even in zero temps. The doe pulled a mountain of fur. At one week, we did have to intervene and bring the kit (and doe) up to the house, but again that was due to territorial problems. It is now a fat slug just opening its eyes.

My thinking now is that one thing that may have made a difference is the style of nest box. We are using nest tunnels - covered boxes about three feet long. I've also heard that some people use covered nest boxes in cages (actually, these boxes are often external boxes that hook to the side of the cage) with good success in cold weather. I don't have enough data to confirm that a covered box makes a difference, but it is something we should perhaps be considering.
 
Thank You for the suggestions and kind words. Guess we are not the only people that these things happen to.

We have wood nest boxes. She had pulled a lot of fur and had a nice nest. This particular doe, to quote what Jack said in one of his posts.."sat in the box like a hen". I had thought Her body heat might help keep the buns warmer. They were actually showing the gold color, perhaps she squished them with her sitting ! We're planning on breeding her bacl quickly. I really would like buns from her !!!

On a happier note... this AM i checked the other two litters... lots of wiggley , squirmmey gold buns !! Fingers crossed !
 

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