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She was a beautiful rabbit. I am sorry for your loss. I went through a bad delivery 8 weeks ago with one of my NZ/Cali mixes. Same as yours, she is a large rabbit, which is why I kept her. Her first litter was a typical 4 kit litter, so I had no reason to suspect a problem with the second litter. But my goodness! She was a couple of days late, also, and then one morning as I walked in, she began dropping kits in the nest, on the wire, back and forth. It was as if she was waiting for me before she was going to let them go. I was catching each kit as it came out, dead, dead, dead, In the end, 6 were born dead and 3 were born live. One of the survivors has hip dysplasia, which I had never had in my rabbitry before, the other two appear normal. All three just turned 8 weeks. The gal with the bad hips will be culled at 12 weeks. She's doing remarkably well, given her circumstances, and is a real sweetie, but I will process her at 12 weeks so long as she is continuing to thrive between now and then (I raise for meat).

The particular buck I had bred mom (they share same sire) to was also bred to 2 other does. I have already processed one of those litters and 50% of the litter had bladder sludge (buck and doe were litter mates)... a hereditary condition and something else I have never seen in my herd. The second litter (buck and doe are mother and son) is due for processing next week and is 8 kits and all 8 kits are exhibiting the slowest growth rate I have ever seen in my rabbitry. In the end, I have culled the buck because he never achieved senior weight and I have concluded he was carrying some genetic issues that caused the genetic abnormalities in the first 2 litters I have mentioned, and I am suspecting in this last litter because he was the common factor in all 3 litters...so a pretty safe bet.

Again, I am sorry for the loss of your sweet Bella.
can you tell me what bladder sludge is and do you only know it when processing?
rabbits are so interesting and fun but I'm just starting and have only processed my first five but I can see I have alot to learn from you ladies and gents. I think I got lucky the first time so I will keep those mates and hope next time will be just as easy. I lost alot but she had 14. Can you imagine?
 
can you tell me what bladder sludge is and do you only know it when processing?
Rabbits have an unusual means of processing calcium (compared to other species). They excrete excess calcium through their urine. But that means that they can build up calcium sludge or stones in the bladder, and/or blockages in the urethra.
High calcium feed is to be avoided in adult rabbits - alfalfa can cause this. In countries where alfalfa is not fed to rabbits or doesn't feature in their pellets, it's rare. There can be no signs at all, or you may see a rabbit straining to pee. Unfortunately the only cure is surgery.
 
She was a beautiful rabbit. I am sorry for your loss. I went through a bad delivery 8 weeks ago with one of my NZ/Cali mixes. Same as yours, she is a large rabbit, which is why I kept her. Her first litter was a typical 4 kit litter, so I had no reason to suspect a problem with the second litter. But my goodness! She was a couple of days late, also, and then one morning as I walked in, she began dropping kits in the nest, on the wire, back and forth. It was as if she was waiting for me before she was going to let them go. I was catching each kit as it came out, dead, dead, dead, In the end, 6 were born dead and 3 were born live. One of the survivors has hip dysplasia, which I had never had in my rabbitry before, the other two appear normal. All three just turned 8 weeks. The gal with the bad hips will be culled at 12 weeks. She's doing remarkably well, given her circumstances, and is a real sweetie, but I will process her at 12 weeks so long as she is continuing to thrive between now and then (I raise for meat).

The particular buck I had bred mom (they share same sire) to was also bred to 2 other does. I have already processed one of those litters and 50% of the litter had bladder sludge (buck and doe were litter mates)... a hereditary condition and something else I have never seen in my herd. The second litter (buck and doe are mother and son) is due for processing next week and is 8 kits and all 8 kits are exhibiting the slowest growth rate I have ever seen in my rabbitry. In the end, I have culled the buck because he never achieved senior weight and I have concluded he was carrying some genetic issues that caused the genetic abnormalities in the first 2 litters I have mentioned, and I am suspecting in this last litter because he was the common factor in all 3 litters...so a pretty safe bet.

Again, I am sorry for the loss of your sweet Bella.
Thank you KelleyBee. Who knew that there would be so many lessons to learn in raising rabbits. I appreciate you sharing your experience. Please update me with how it all works out.
I have been wondering if the buck could be the culprit. I had not used him before Bella. I haven't used him with any others because I am a bit gun shy now. I will probably end up getting rid of him one way or another.
I just bred his sister. I hope there are no issues with her. She is 9 lb. 15 oz. and just turned 5 months. She was over 6 pounds at 12 weeks, so I kept her for breeding.
 
Rabbits have an unusual means of processing calcium (compared to other species). They excrete excess calcium through their urine. But that means that they can build up calcium sludge or stones in the bladder, and/or blockages in the urethra.
High calcium feed is to be avoided in adult rabbits - alfalfa can cause this. In countries where alfalfa is not fed to rabbits or doesn't feature in their pellets, it's rare. There can be no signs at all, or you may see a rabbit straining to pee. Unfortunately the only cure is surgery.
ok good to know. Thank you smart rabbit person. I will check my feed tag tomorrow. I notice their urine can be very colorful ha. The first time I saw orange urine I about had a heart attack lol
 
can you tell me what bladder sludge is and do you only know it when processing?
rabbits are so interesting and fun but I'm just starting and have only processed my first five but I can see I have alot to learn from you ladies and gents. I think I got lucky the first time so I will keep those mates and hope next time will be just as easy. I lost alot but she had 14. Can you imagine?
Yes, 14, is too large a litter for most does to raise by themselves, but there are things you can do to minimize your losses. My Satins frequently have 12-16 kits per litter during their first breeding season, and over the years I have found some ways to cope with that. Especially if you're raising meat rabbits, growing that many bunnies at once is pretty nice as long as it doesn't overtax the does.

First, rabbits tend to take fosters quite well, so I try to breed at least two or three does at the same time. If possible, I breed an older, more experienced doe at the same time that I breed a young, inexperienced doe. This accomplishes two things: older does tend to have smaller litters, so there is room to add some of the "overflow" from a young, super-productive doe's litter. My Satins can raise 8-10 quite well, but you'll get to know your does and how many they can handle and still stay healthy. Second, if the new doe doesn't have a clue how to care for the kits at first, not only can you foster at least some of the bunnies to the older doe while she gets tha hang of it, but if the new doe hasn't built a decent nest, the more experienced doe will usually have a well-made nest, from which you can pull some fur to add to the new one's. The drawback is that sometimes older does (especially if they've been let run to fat by being overfed or out of production for a while) won't conceive at all. That's why I breed three if at all possible. If you don't have that many breeding does, you might be able to coordinate your breeding dates with a fellow breeder. Another Satin breeder friend and I usually try to time our breeding schedules so we'll both have options if something goes wrong.

When, in spite of all those efforts, only one doe had a litter of 16, I had success in saving most of them by splitting the litter into two nest boxes, which I kept indoors most of the time. I took the first box out to the doe in the morning, and she happily hopped in and fed them. I brought that box back inside when she was done. In the evening, I took the second box out. At first it took a little "encouragement" for her to go in (actually, I pushed her in), but she fed the second batch that way. Over the next three weeks she got the drill and didn't have to be "encouraged" anymore. At three weeks, they're out of the box all the time, so I just put them all in the cage with her. The ones that didn't compete quite as well could eat hay and pellets. She managed to raise 15 of the 16 this way, and amazingly she did not lose condition any more than a doe normally would raising a litter. It was a fair bit of work on my part, as well, but it turned out to be well worth the effort.
 
Yes, 14, is too large a litter for most does to raise by themselves, but there are things you can do to minimize your losses. My Satins frequently have 12-16 kits per litter during their first breeding season, and over the years I have found some ways to cope with that. Especially if you're raising meat rabbits, growing that many bunnies at once is pretty nice as long as it doesn't overtax the does.

First, rabbits tend to take fosters quite well, so I try to breed at least two or three does at the same time. If possible, I breed an older, more experienced doe at the same time that I breed a young, inexperienced doe. This accomplishes two things: older does tend to have smaller litters, so there is room to add some of the "overflow" from a young, super-productive doe's litter. My Satins can raise 8-10 quite well, but you'll get to know your does and how many they can handle and still stay healthy. Second, if the new doe doesn't have a clue how to care for the kits at first, not only can you foster at least some of the bunnies to the older doe while she gets tha hang of it, but if the new doe hasn't built a decent nest, the more experienced doe will usually have a well-made nest, from which you can pull some fur to add to the new one's. The drawback is that sometimes older does (especially if they've been let run to fat by being overfed or out of production for a while) won't conceive at all. That's why I breed three if at all possible. If you don't have that many breeding does, you might be able to coordinate your breeding dates with a fellow breeder. Another Satin breeder friend and I usually try to time our breeding schedules so we'll both have options if something goes wrong.

When, in spite of all those efforts, only one doe had a litter of 16, I had success in saving most of them by splitting the litter into two nest boxes, which I kept indoors most of the time. I took the first box out to the doe in the morning, and she happily hopped in and fed them. I brought that box back inside when she was done. In the evening, I took the second box out. At first it took a little "encouragement" for her to go in (actually, I pushed her in), but she fed the second batch that way. Over the next three weeks she got the drill and didn't have to be "encouraged" anymore. At three weeks, they're out of the box all the time, so I just put them all in the cage with her. The ones that didn't compete quite as well could eat hay and pellets. She managed to raise 15 of the 16 this way, and amazingly she did not lose condition any more than a doe normally would raising a litter. It was a fair bit of work on my part, as well, but it turned out to be well worth the effort.
alot of work on your part I'd say. I only have two hutches, one split for mom and dad and one for the growouts. But it is something to consider for the future. Thank you.
 
Rabbits have an unusual means of processing calcium (compared to other species). They excrete excess calcium through their urine. But that means that they can build up calcium sludge or stones in the bladder, and/or blockages in the urethra.
High calcium feed is to be avoided in adult rabbits - alfalfa can cause this. In countries where alfalfa is not fed to rabbits or doesn't feature in their pellets, it's rare. There can be no signs at all, or you may see a rabbit straining to pee. Unfortunately the only cure is surgery.
The rabbits I processed with the bladder sludge were just 12 weeks, so not adults. Also, the feed was the same for them as it has been for all others. From what I've read, studies have been done to understand why some rabbits develop this condition, from hereditary issues, to inactivity, to calcium content of food, etc. Nothing to this point is conclusive, tho.
 
The rabbits I processed with the bladder sludge were just 12 weeks, so not adults. Also, the feed was the same for them as it has been for all others. From what I've read, studies have been done to understand why some rabbits develop this condition, from hereditary issues, to inactivity, to calcium content of food, etc. Nothing to this point is conclusive, tho.
Inactivity makes sense.
 
I had a Doe yesterday with a retained placenta and bleeding 15 hrs after kindling. Worked with a farm raised herbalist by phone. Made a tea of Dandelion Root, Red Rassberry leaves, and Herba Santa. Added organic cider for blood sugar and taste. She passed a very small kit and then placenta within the hour. She's doing great today. Tending her kits and feisty as ever. I didn't read all above posts. Hope I didn't repeat much.
 
I had a Doe yesterday with a retained placenta and bleeding 15 hrs after kindling. Worked with a farm raised herbalist by phone. Made a tea of Dandelion Root, Red Rassberry leaves, and Herba Santa. Added organic cider for blood sugar and taste. She passed a very small kit and then placenta within the hour. She's doing great today. Tending her kits and feisty as ever. I didn't read all above posts. Hope I didn't repeat much.
that is awesome. congratulations on a job well done. mother nature and god together can cure anything
 
They were in the nest box, but separated.

I have most of my mommas in homemade hutches and they are all in an enclosed area. Plus, they are inside a fenced area that nothing large can get into. The dog is not allowed in their area either.
Missy's situation is pretty complete opposite. Thankfully, they just moved all of the metal cages into a nice pallet barn. But....a little too late for Missy's litter. On the really cold night, they all died. Missy was taking care of them. There were 4 other litters, that I know of from other breeders, that were lost that night.
Really sad, especially for poor Missy.

Okay; glad they were all in the box. These girls are very good about that. 🙂 Sad to hear the weather took them.
 
Usually when one gets stuck, the ones behind it in the line are born dead. It sounds like the stuck one was born last. It's not unusual for a stuck dead one to be born outside the nest, as the doe can be trying to expel it for some hours.

Yes; that seems to be the more common way it happens. It sounds like Missy did well with the situation, however it went down. 🙂
 
Looks like you got a good one there!!!
Thanks, I did. She is super sweet and soft. 11 lb. 3 oz. at 5 months. She will be a nice size. I just found a light gray buck to pare with her yesterday. Same age and size. Spring babies!
 

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