Dumb Doe

[baefull.wolfbunnies]

:rant: Ugh!!! This is really frustrating me. When I bought my doe (whom I named Avista) I was told that she had kindled several times with successful kits living to butchering age. Since I have had her (almost a year) she has kindled and lost 3 litters. EVER SINGLE TIME I have had a nest box/materials in the hutch with her.

1st litter - massive amounts of fur pulled but she never fed them. So I pulled them out and attempted to hand raise them, lost all 7 over a period of several weeks (http://rabbittalk.com/cleaning-a-kit-t24786.html)

2nd litter - was a semi oops litter a few months after the first. I let all 4 (at the time) out of their hutches in a run and let them socialize, i saw both bucks mount her and decided to play it safe by putting in the box and materials. This litter of 3 showed up a month later. Avista kindled in the night, no fur pulled, no hay in the box, it appeared as if she kindled on the wire and then tried to keep them warm by laying on them. They were chewed up.

3rd litter - She has been living in a colony setting with my remaining buck for nearly 5 months. I have had a nest box in their since month 2 (as a just in case measure) I keep cleaning it out so that there is always clean hay in it. There were no kits yesterday morning, and when I went out there after work today there were three dead kits in three different places in the colony hutch one of which was on wire with two of its legs chewed off and a patch on its side gone. From the bite marks I am assuming mice or rats as the marks were smaller then rabbit teeth.

I am really upset, it looks like one of the kits in this litter would have had the cinnamon coloring but beveren-ish size. This latest set of kits were three different colors. One was a light grey, the chewed one was a darker grey and one was a brown almost black. This set of kits are what I am trying to go for. I want a cinnamon colored beveren.

:wr_wall:

 

[Petlover500]

I'm sorry to hear that Stuff like that sucks... ugh. And its always super disappointing when you get a beautiful kit /:
What do you plan to do with the doe now? Are you going to keep trying, sell her, or?

 

[Zass]

There could be an unseen health issue involved that she didn't have before.

For example, I've only ever had one doe fail to care for a litter.
I eventually discovered that she had small abscesses in her teats.

 

[baefull.wolfbunnies]

And its always super disappointing when you get a beautiful kit /:

Thanks

What do you plan to do with the doe now? Are you going to keep trying, sell her, or?

While I care for my rabbits like they were pets (I spoil them with treats[but not too much]) I have them because they are essentially livestock. I got into rabbits so that I knew where the meat I eat comes from/what goes into them. I'm currently deciding between giving her a fourth chance or freezer camp. Honestly I'm leaning towards freezer camp.

I eventually discovered that she had small abscesses in her teats.

How would I check that? Avista is very hand shy, except for the few days leading up to kindling (even then she is only semi hand shy). Everytime I try to pick her up or pet her she flails around so much that I'm afraid she'll hurt herself.