How old is too old to breed for the first time?

[Buknee]

Oh no! That’s awful. I’m so sorry to hear about the lost kits. More difficult for a child though.
Until my barn is finished I’ve got some in the house, including this doe. Next weekend the last wall goes up, thankfully just in time for cold weather.
She’s pulled lots of wool and is eating and drinking well. She had a pile of greens this morning and was happy and active. She’s been checking on them frequently and is doing a fine job so far.

LOL
I had to read your comment twice. "More difficult for a child though." Yes, my 34 year old son is a child. "My baby forever he'll be.' Haha...........

Congrats on the healthy litter.

 

[user 8990]

LOL
I had to read your comment twice. "More difficult for a child though." Yes, my 34 year old son is a child. "My baby forever he'll be.' Haha...........

Congrats on the healthy litter.

ROTFL!
Sorry for assuming...! Love it.
Thank you!

 

[user 8990]

Pretty sure they are all agouti.

 

[user 8990]

Actually turned out to have a blue Charlie and some broken blacks and a solid chestnut agouti! This tells me several things about the genotypes. Six kits are all black based with no chocolate so I am assuming that Willow is BB and Buster is Aa and Dd. I’m very pleased with the litter so far. Really anticipating their wool...

 

[user 8990]

Three days old. English/Satin Angora.

 

[user 8990]

Willow’s appetite has definitely increased and she’s eating really well. Finishes the hay from the feeder and is always looking for a refill. Free choice pellets right now and she’s got two water bottles. Very impressed with her maternal instincts.

 

[Sapphire16]

View attachment 32452
Pretty sure they are all agouti.
View attachment 32452

 

[Sapphire16]

Beautiful kits, I just received an almost identical litter from my agouti based doe and buck, looks like my charlie may be a blue also! Congrats! I think the parents are AaBbCCDdEE ;and Eej

 

[user 8990]

Beautiful kits, I just received an almost identical litter from my agouti based doe and buck, looks like my charlie may be a blue also! Congrats! I think the parents are AaBbCCDdEE ;and Eej

How cool, congrats! So much fun figuring it out. I really need a REW! The blue is so pretty with the white of the charlie. Think the kits are two types. I took these this afternoon and they are growing, even the smaller ones.

 

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

Definitely is some size diversity in there

 

[user 8990]

Definitely is some size diversity in there

Yes I agree. My small scale has been unpacked and the plan is to weigh them today. It would have been better to weigh them at kindling but late is better than never.
Little by little things are getting better setup and the rabbits themselves are teaching me what they need. With the barn being finished as I type, things will come together quickly now. Lights are going up too. Going to hang the cages and collect manure from the side to save space in depth. 3 levels. Can’t wait to get the rabbits out there! It’s so much work with them mostly inside! Also I can’t wait to move my new rabbits out of quarantine l. Have two separate quarantine areas happening simultaneously and it’s not fun! Important though, so I do it. Another group is going to need the quarantine so that’s being disinfected. We’ll see how far we get today. Having the barn herd together is going to save many steps and I’m really looking forward to having a nice, easily maintained rabbitry. It’s doubling as a feed room but with 3 levels it should be fine. I have two mounting blocks for steps.

 

[user 8990]

The blue charlie is actually opal. Definitely has agouti markings in the ear. The litter is quite varied in size. My eyes are telling me that the commercial type kits are larger. I wonder if type is related to color the way it is in horse genetics.......?

 

[user 8990]

Nine days old.

 

[user 8990]

19 days old. Found a few out of the box on day 12 and yesterday they were all running around and binkying. Still a large size discrepancy but they are all doing fine. Friendly and sweet kits. One thing is odd to me regarding the color of the charlie is that the white isn’t a true white compared to the other broken black kits, which are very stark in comparison. Is this a satin trait? They only carry one gene for satin being f1.

 

[user 8990]

These kits are so active I can't get a clear shot. One out of 20! Three are super chunky and the other three are still quite small in comparison. Never did get them weighed as the scale wasn't operating properly. Doing a lot of work getting set up on the farm and I'm sick to boot so everything is moving in slow-motion. At least that's how it feels. The rabbits are my therapy.
They are 3.5 weeks now and all are eating and drinking besides nursing. Hopefully weights today plus some grooming for Willow.

 

[user 8990]

The 3.5 week old opal charlie.

 

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

The 3.5 week old opal charlie.
View attachment 32956View attachment 32956

Awwww

 

[user 8990]

A few things about this test breeding I'm finding interesting. The size variation being the obvious one. The doe is English Angora and the sire is Satin Angora with two different body types. The commercial type kits are significantly heavier than the others. I'm wondering if I should breed the doe again if she's going throw such small kits with an incredibly slow growth rate. That's not a trait I'm aiming for in my herd. I know the buck has produced a very large, cross breed before I got him because he's in my herd too and I love that buck. He's big, friendly, and has the most beautiful eyes here. He's a wooler and his wool is lovely too. So the buck is not the issue here. It's the doe's contribution that's in question. Is it worth a shot to rebreed her to a nicely conformed English buck or has she already shown me what she's capable of in this regard?

 

[user 8990]

 

[user 8990]

The agouti at 4 weeks.