OneAcreFarm
Well-known member
Is anyone out there getting successful litters? I have been having nothing but misses since August, it seems...so frustrating.
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Kits....anyone?
- Thread starter OneAcreFarm
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Same problem here. Misses, lack of trying, and false pregnancy... I have had one litter lately, and only 5 in it. 3 died. The mother isn't caring for them properly, so I have to put them in with her every day for feeding. I think I will have no more breeding until spring, because the does just won't. 
OneAcreFarm
Well-known member
Mine will, I am just not getting any litters. I am still not that good at palpating so it is hard for me to tell, so we waste a whole month each time there is a miss.
sommrluv
Well-known member
Someone here mentioned that extreme heat sterilized their buck for months. I wonder if letting her house with him for a few days will have him 'shoot all the blanks' out?
I've had two success since the summer, but we only had about 10-14 days of that 100+ heat. One doe just died kindling. We had one failure as well and I believe she took this last time around. Will know end of the month!
I've had two success since the summer, but we only had about 10-14 days of that 100+ heat. One doe just died kindling. We had one failure as well and I believe she took this last time around. Will know end of the month!
We had three does kindle this week. Two litters were successful, although there were a couple of losses in the second. The third, a first-timer, kindled only two on the colony floor instead of in the nest tunnel and both were dead. I think she had a rough time and we'll likely send her to freezer camp. We're overcrowded as it is.
I'd like to note that our current buck is young and our summer was not as hot as most people experienced. We are surrounded by water and also were able to keep our bucks in deep shade. It helps. If you have a junior buck, I'd suggest you give him a try.
I'd like to note that our current buck is young and our summer was not as hot as most people experienced. We are surrounded by water and also were able to keep our bucks in deep shade. It helps. If you have a junior buck, I'd suggest you give him a try.
OneAcreFarm
Well-known member
MaggieJ":3trjrgqp said:
I have two that are only about 5mos old...is that too young? They do spend a lot of time trying to "nail" each other....need to get them separated.... :x
It's pretty young... but lots that age have managed to get the deed done. The main thing with a very young buck is to try to ensure that his first encounter is a good one for him. Give him an eager doe if at all possible.
Just checked my notes and our boy, Pudge, was almost eight months old when we put him in with the girls.
Just checked my notes and our boy, Pudge, was almost eight months old when we put him in with the girls.
We've had a bunch of litters but they are all first time does and we lost most of the large breed kits. They don't understand the nest boxes since they've never used one and they try to make their own nests in random locations. We tried letting them dig a tunnel but the kits were found dead in the bedding over the entrance a few days ago so the tunnel was boarded up and we have new plans for the nesting situation in the colony. We did get 5 mini rex and 7 netherlands about a month ago.
Out of 8 does, I have had 2 successful litters. most are proven does. Hoping this time they took. Most of them are due in a week. We shall see. The heat here was extreme. This my first year of breeding rabbits through the summer. I'm wondering if this is normal or if it was just due to the heat.
OneAcreFarm
Well-known member
Legacy":qai9s9ct said:
Yes, it was so terribly hot here in SETex this last summer...we had really great litters before that...
We had several misses over the summer with the heat, and our senior buck, but I switched to using our junior bucks who were breeding at 5 and 6 months old. We did ok then. We've been getting very lucky since then, producing consistent litters, but we've been cooled way down for a while now, too. I think alot of you had some pretty nasty heat to contend with this summer, and it stuck around a long time!
I only have 2 does that have missed lately, but they have both missed 2x, even with my "sure thing" buck, and are on their 3rd try. If they don't produce, they are out!
We also changed the way we breed, before we were sticking the doe in with the buck, and letting them cover the doe once or twice. Now, we let them breed, put the doe back in her cage, come back an hour later, breed them again, and repeat one more time........if we don't forget. It's a pain, but it really seems to be working much better for us, and the litters are much more consistent.
I only have 2 does that have missed lately, but they have both missed 2x, even with my "sure thing" buck, and are on their 3rd try. If they don't produce, they are out!
We also changed the way we breed, before we were sticking the doe in with the buck, and letting them cover the doe once or twice. Now, we let them breed, put the doe back in her cage, come back an hour later, breed them again, and repeat one more time........if we don't forget.
It's a pain, but it really seems to be working much better for us, and the litters are much more consistent.I've been putting does in, letting the buck breed once, and then throwing them in an extra cage while I do chores. Then I put the doe back in and try to get them to breed twice more. The does seem much more willing the second time after they think it over for a minute and they lift better on their own. It seems to help especially with my young does that are confused about what to do.
Iggysbabysitter
Well-known member
I had good numbers from each of my first time does... but all but 2 have died. Things like the does drying up, the does dieing, fosters being rejected, and un-expected cases of bloating (I still have no idea why 2 just got massive bloat, considering they've been in the house for weeks). I have gone through 2 bottles of baby oval, 8L of homemade electrolite, and 1 pk of kitten milk replacer in a month and a half... and I have 2 kits to show for it . GRRRRR. I'm sooo glad that blood line is being culled out at the end of Nov.
home*sweet*home
Well-known member
We have a colony and the 3 does and the buck have been together since may or June and we had our first litter yesterday. (It was very hot this summer) We have 4 fat little kits and a fat little runt. The two other does are pg too. The male has tried to rebreed the doe, but she is not interested. I love how they regulate themselves!
I've only been back to breeding rabbits, after a 20 year hiatus, since this year. We had our first litter born at the beginning of January. I kept 3 does & 2 bucks from that litter of 7 and had 2 more does bred for February. One was unsuccessful and the other had 9. Got the missed doe bred for March & the one who kindled in January had her second litter in March.
We are near the coast and usually have cool summers so heat wasn't a problem here.
Of the 3 does that i kept from that first litter, 2 have already had their first litters and 3 more from the march litters have kindled this month.
My does that ARE bred, as opposed to the ones that have missed, all seem to want to carry straw at least a week before they are due. I did have a couple of first time mommies want to build the most BEAUTIFUL nests right between the nest box and the side of the cage. I left the nests they built for a couple of days and then just before they were due I carefully moved everything into the nest box and slid the box over to where they had made the nest before. This worked for one of the does. The other one had her kits on the straw that I had spread around on the wire, just in case. She only had 3 and one was still alive when I found them. I kept him warm in my shirt all day and then in the evening I tucked him into another nest of 8 [the smallest litter available] and that was my most experienced doe, who is on her 5th litter this year. Those kits are a month old and all 9 are doing great. I re-bred the one whose kit I fostered and she looks pleasingly plump and due in about 10 days.
I have developed a plan, that seems to be working so far, of breeding at least 3 does at a time so that I can foster if needed. Today I found one of the does who's not due until the 27th carrying straw so I quickly gave her a nest box and enjoyed watching her gather up everything she could find and start to carry it to the corner. So I moved the nest box into that corner & she now has it filled with straw. No fur yet, but there's plenty of time.
I have been keeping a lamp on a timer in the rabbitry so that the rabbits have at least 16 hours of light every day and I also use the Bragg's apple cider vinegar in the water, 1 tsp/gallon. I don't know if either or both of those things have helped but since everything is going the way I want it to I'm going to keep doing it.
We are near the coast and usually have cool summers so heat wasn't a problem here.
Of the 3 does that i kept from that first litter, 2 have already had their first litters and 3 more from the march litters have kindled this month.
My does that ARE bred, as opposed to the ones that have missed, all seem to want to carry straw at least a week before they are due. I did have a couple of first time mommies want to build the most BEAUTIFUL nests right between the nest box and the side of the cage. I left the nests they built for a couple of days and then just before they were due I carefully moved everything into the nest box and slid the box over to where they had made the nest before. This worked for one of the does. The other one had her kits on the straw that I had spread around on the wire, just in case. She only had 3 and one was still alive when I found them. I kept him warm in my shirt all day and then in the evening I tucked him into another nest of 8 [the smallest litter available] and that was my most experienced doe, who is on her 5th litter this year. Those kits are a month old and all 9 are doing great. I re-bred the one whose kit I fostered and she looks pleasingly plump and due in about 10 days.
I have developed a plan, that seems to be working so far, of breeding at least 3 does at a time so that I can foster if needed. Today I found one of the does who's not due until the 27th carrying straw so I quickly gave her a nest box and enjoyed watching her gather up everything she could find and start to carry it to the corner. So I moved the nest box into that corner & she now has it filled with straw. No fur yet, but there's plenty of time.
I have been keeping a lamp on a timer in the rabbitry so that the rabbits have at least 16 hours of light every day and I also use the Bragg's apple cider vinegar in the water, 1 tsp/gallon. I don't know if either or both of those things have helped but since everything is going the way I want it to I'm going to keep doing it.
