(I now have Kits & Questions!) My Colony Set-Up

[Savy]

Thanks for all this info MaggieJ.

I think I'm going to go ahead and take your advise to cull Ellie (the nest attacker) once she kindles & raises her litter by herself. She has begun to try & attack me now when I feed her. She has bitten me 3 times & this is not acceptable. I'm not sure what has gotten into her but I think she'll be heading to freezer camp and I'll be keeping a doe from my current litter. (I'm hoping the cold kit I saved is a Doe!!)

And yes I do have plenty of nest sites available..4 to be exact! I thought it was very neat of my girls to share they nest like they did! They've been together since a fairly young age!

But on the upside my babies are doing wonderfully & should be opening their eyes soon. They are little digging & squeaky things now! Very cute though! My little kit that was cold seems to be the runt of the litter. He/She is very small. Also 2 of my black babies got pretty neat fur colorings in! They have white bellies, white inside their ears, white feet & tan all over their heads, necks & backs. Very neat to me! lol

Sooo I got some other questions again...(Bare w/ me guys this is my first litter)

-I've read that you need to clean the nest out and place the babies in a new clean nest around day 9..Is this appropriate for colony babies if so how do I do this?
-Do you think my saved kit will be alright even though its soo much smaller? Anything special I should do?
-Would any of you like to see some updated pics? (If so I'll add them up as soon as I hear from you guys!)

Thanks again!

 

[MamaSheepdog]

We always want to see pics! Your description of the black kits with white has me very intrigued!

I haven't had to clean a nest out yet- the bedding is never wet, and there are very few bunny berries in them. There may be another reason for cleaning them out that I'm unaware of though.

 

[MaggieJ]

The reason to clean out the nest at Day 9 or 10 is to try to prevent nest box eye. The kits will open their eyes very soon after that and bacteria from the soiled nesting materials can infect them. After all, the kits are peeing and pooping in there all the time, even if it still looks fairly clean. Usually you can salvage the fur blanket because it is on top and stays fairly clean.

In a colony, where the nest tunnel may be permanent, just put the kits in a box while you clean out the old materials and replace them with fresh ones.

You will not eliminate the risk of nest box eye by cleaning out the nest, but you will reduce the chances of the kits getting it.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

The reason to clean out the nest at Day 9 or 10 is to try to prevent nest box eye... You will not eliminate the risk of nest box eye by cleaning out the nest, but you will reduce the chances of the kits getting it.

That makes sense, Maggie. I have been very lucky so far then, because I've only had a single kit with a very mild case that cleared up as soon as I cleaned the eye with warm water.

 

[Savy]

Hey again!

Thanks for the help/advice MaggieJ & MamaSheepdog

I will be doing a nest clean tomorrow morning! (day 10 for the black kits & day 9 for the white kits)

Also MamaSheepdog-The unique colored babes looks very similar to the big bun in your avatar picture!

But anywho..everybunny is still doing just fine in the nest and I'm so excited to see them little eyes open! My black kits are huge! And of course my little kit that almost past is still so tiny!! I'm really hoping its a doe & I can replace Ellie with her! If not...I may just alternate my bucks. I just can get my self to part with the little one! :roll:

I have pics to show too!

-Kits in the nest


-One of my unique colored black kits



-My little tiny kit


-My Mommas


-The Pappa


-And lastly is Ellie (The Nest Attacker :angry: )

 

[OneAcreFarm]

I would not even wait for Ellie to have her litter. Her attitude could be passed to her young, and she may even act that way toward her own kits. If you are going to cull her, I would do it now and get it over with. You would likely not want to save any of her kits to breed anyway.

Your other mommas are lovely and the kits are precious! That interesting one looks like some kind of otter to me, agouti maybe? I am not great with color genetics but it does look otter.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Ellie looks so sweet, you would never suspect that behavior from her! I can't blame you for wanting kits out of her, but you are risking passing her aggressiveness to her young. It would be a shame to invest the time and feed in a doe from her, only to discover the same trait when she matures. I know it will be a hard decision to make, especially since you only have two other working does right now, and you will probably need some time to consider your options. She may be a great mother, just not suited to colony life- but if your goal is colony raising, you don't want to pass her attitude on. I'm glad I am not in your place! :x Decisions, decisions...

I think your little kits are agouti as One Acre said- they would be called castor if they were Rex, and are marked like a wild rabbit. Your kits and parents are all lovely, and you will be delighted when the little guys open their eyes!

 

[Savy]

Thanks OneAcreFarm & MamaSheepDog..

I didn't think it'd be possible for me to have any colorings on my kits other then Californian or Black..So exciting! lol Did the Otter or Agouti coloring possibly stem from the Champagne D'Argent in Emma? The two kits that are colored like that are my biggest piggies too!

Now my little one is still so small & I don't think hes getting enough to eat. I was told to grab my does twice a day for 5 minutes and lay the babe on her belly & allow it to nurse. I started doing this yesterday morning. He seemed like he was eating but he would move from teet to teet. Is this normal? Is there anything else I should be doing. Its the smallest kit from both litters so the poor thing has 9 fatties to fight with to get fed.

Also on Ellie I can't bring myself to cull her until I've let her have her babies. Its a me thing and I just can't do it. Now grant her and her babies will be meat rabbits....But they will be grown then & I wont have such a guilty conscience about it.....

Thanks again guys!

Sorry for such a delay..I run a small horse rescue as-well and sometimes things get overwhelming!!

 

[digitaloutlaw]

I agree 2 bucks together is asking for problems. When I bred one of my bucks last week afterwards he was stomping around acting like he was a bad butt was even jumping at my pitbull through the cage. Any other time he is a very calm nice rabbit but after breeding he gets a little feisty

 

[Devon's Mom Lauren]

I don't think your 'black" doe is actually black she looks more like a wideband agouti.. the kits are definatly chestnut. She looks like a silver-tipped steel actually. Champagnes are self with silvering that shows up as they age/mature. NZW could hide agouti as well as the Cali, and would only show up when paired with a full-colour "C" gene which your dark doe has..