Hello from Flagstaff, AZ

[Jamielrh]

My daughter and I just got into rabbits about a year ago. My daughter is 10 and doing the 4H thing for showing and basic rabbit care. But I have found great interest in the animal husbandry of it all and decided to try and breed some of our own home growns for her to show in the fair this fall. We have Holland Lops, and so far have had 2 litters with only 1 surviving each time.

 

[Nibbles]

Welcome to RabbitTalk. Do you mean a high fatality rate?

 

[Jamielrh]

Nibbles Yes, she only had 2 kits the first litter, and 1 died 24 hrs later. But the second litter she had 3 kits, one living and 2 stillborn, then followed up 24 hours later with 2 more stillborn. Not sure why she is having such a high mortality rate, because the lady I got her from said she was proven and had already had 3 litters successfully without any stillborn.

 

[SableSteel]

Welcome! I am in southern arizona. Stillborn kits and peanuts are very common in holland lops.

 

[EnglishSpot]

Too many genetic lethal recessives which is the reason for all the fatalities. If you're staying with the breed, expect to have high body count.

 

[Nibbles]

Nibbles Yes, she only had 2 kits the first litter, and 1 died 24 hrs later. But the second litter she had 3 kits, one living and 2 stillborn, then followed up 24 hours later with 2 more stillborn. Not sure why she is having such a high mortality rate, because the lady I got her from said she was proven and had already had 3 litters successfully without any stillborn.

That's a bit sad, hopefully, it gets normal. Are you considering other breeds moving forward?
(with reference to the posts of @SableSteel and @EnglishSpot)

 

[SixGun]

Hi Jamielrh,
I'm here in AZ also.
I'm sorry you're having a tough time. Don't let this initial rough road hold you back.
Have you tried talking to the breeder? Maybe she can give insight into the stillborn issue. It could be a diet, parasite, bacteria or even housing/nest box issue. It could also be affected by the doe's age, or maybe a genetic issue with the buck. There are a LOT of variables.

How many rabbits do you have? Just the single buck and doe?

 

[Jamielrh]

So I am slowly trying to build my herd. I started just with the one buck (clover) and then added the doe (sweet pea). She was proven when I bought her, but I think I may have waited a bit too long before I bred her. It had been a good 6-8 months since her previous litters. I recently acquired a new buck(ezra) that is also proven and had good success. I plan to mate him to my doe(sweet pea) as soon as her most recent kit is fully weaned and separated. If she does better with this buck, I am assuming it was due to either the previous buck(clover), or just waiting so long between liters. I won't be breeding the original buck(clover) again due to him having health problems, I will probably have to put him down. But I am considering keeping one of his male kits(Nimbus) to replace him as a breeder. I am also considering bringing in a second doe to introduce some outside genes. Both the new proven buck(ezra) and this new possible doe(willow) are related though, so I would probably use the junior(nimbus) I am keeping with her (willow).
Hope the names made it easier to keep track instead of more confusing.

 

[Jamielrh]

I dont like the dead babies, but I also don't mind small litter sizes. This was part of the reason we chose Hollands. I am not looking to supply our area with all the rabbits they can want. We are mostly doing it for personal show rabbits for my daughter for the fair. We are petting out anything that has undesirable traits, and if we get to a point that everything is coming out pretty good, we might sell to other 4H-ers. But we may also just have enough litters to keep the brood does viable until we are ready to raise another one the next year. So we are wanting to keep very small scale. Probably 2 brood does at a time, tops! And I may even alternate them instead of 2 litters at a time. I have done a lot of research on the Holland Lop breed and am finally feeling like I am starting to know what to look for. I would be tempted to try another dwarf breed (we are very limited on space), but the hollands are just so good natured.

 

[Nibbles]

So I am slowly trying to build my herd. I started just with the one buck (clover) and then added the doe (sweet pea). She was proven when I bought her, but I think I may have waited a bit too long before I bred her. It had been a good 6-8 months since her previous litters. I recently acquired a new buck(ezra) that is also proven and had good success. I plan to mate him to my doe(sweet pea) as soon as her most recent kit is fully weaned and separated. If she does better with this buck, I am assuming it was due to either the previous buck(clover), or just waiting so long between liters. I won't be breeding the original buck(clover) again due to him having health problems, I will probably have to put him down. But I am considering keeping one of his male kits(Nimbus) to replace him as a breeder. I am also considering bringing in a second doe to introduce some outside genes. Both the new proven buck(ezra) and this new possible doe(willow) are related though, so I would probably use the junior(nimbus) I am keeping with her (willow).
Hope the names made it easier to keep track instead of more confusing.

Those are beautiful names. Glad you're on top of it, and thanks for sharing.