Missing pieces?

[CaffeinatedBunnies]

My second litter arrived yesterday, 10 little popples in a beautiful nest tucked behind a wall of hay. All 10 alive and popping but one missing a front paw and one missing an ear . Is this what's known as overcleaning? They're not deformed, there are scabs where the parts should be. Should these be...gulp...my first culls? I'm leaning towards yes, particularly since I was able to check them this morning directly after a feeding and three of them looked unfed, including the two injured kits .


According to my six year olds imagination maybe the pieces are still in the mommy bunny and they'll have to wriggle out and attach to the babies. Not sure if that's a :lol: or a :shock: haha.

 

[imajpm]

Are these meat bunnies? Your one ear ought to be ok. You'd just have to keep an eye on it in hot weather. The one legged one I dunno. I have a 3 week old litter where the doe over cleaned too. She had one kit missing a foot and ear but also had them on the wire. When I found them they were nearly gone so I just warmed the three "whole" kits and let the other go. I know they can get along on three legs but I've never raised one.

One guy in a FB group had a young rabbit get his leg pulled off at the shoulder. That rabbit did well and I think he became a house pet but it was a clean amputation and not a stump. I think if it were mine I'd cull that footless kit since it's a large litter anyway.

And your 6 year old... :lol: :lol: :lol: kids gotta luv them!

 

[HansenHomestead]

Had this happen with my last litter from B when she had 11. The kit was missing all the toes one foot, and half it's tail. I kept an eye on her tail, and foot, and she did great until she hit about 2 months old. Not sure what happened went out to feed everyone, there she was dead as a door nail.

 

[Zass]

Had this happen with my last litter from B when she had 11. The kit was missing all the toes one foot, and half it's tail. I kept an eye on her tail, and foot, and she did great until she hit about 2 months old. Not sure what happened went out to feed everyone, there she was dead as a door nail.

Makes me wonder if there was more to the original situation than over grooming? Like maybe the doe knew it had something wrong to begin with.. Maybe she started to eat it, and then didn't go through with it for who-knows-what reason? :?

 

[HansenHomestead]

Zass - Thank you for making that point. What happened with that kit was I do believe it was drug out the nest in a teat, and onto the wire. When I happened upon the "scene." I was just entering the garage, and could hear a kit screaming bloody murder so I ran to the does cage, and she hopped to the side as I approached, and there was a kit laying in the wire moments from freezing to death. She was super stiff, and frozen when I found her.

I snatched up the kit took her inside, got her cleaned/warmed up, and fixed up her foot, and took her back out to the nest. She quickly became named. "NoToe," haha. She was very sweet bunny, and I admit I had fallin' for her.

My thought was, the kit was drug from the nest on a teat, momma did not notice it for quite sometime, and when she did she, tried to dispose of the body by eating it.

 

[ladysown]

if they are meat kits leave 'em be til it's time to butcher, then do 'em up.

if looking to sell to pet homes.... If they are indoor bunnies they'll be fine. But if you are at all uncertain, then cull earlier rather than later so you don't get attached.

 

[Miss M]

I've had a few overcleaning incidents, too. One lost a tail, and that was pretty funny. Simply grew up with no tail, and joined the rest of them in the freezer. :roll:

Funny bit about your 6-year-old! Trying to come up with an explanation for everything at that age.