Neglected doe

[Jonis58]

Hi, i am new to the whole rabbit breading thing. i was having a hard time finding a doe for my buck, there were some for 30$ which i though was ridiculous.. but i figured these people must know what they are doing to have the gull to charge that much.. anyway long story short i broke down and paid the 30.. when i went to get the rabbit i was shocked, it was half the size it should be for its age(12 weeks) had urine stains on feet and MOUTH!!!! i took the damn thing anyway but was very disapointed in the conditions this rabbit must have lived.. they didn't show me they're rabbity(i know, first sign somethings wrong) but in all honesty i wanted to take this rabbit out of the deplorable conditions it was likely living in.. when i got home and put her next to my buck, its was very clear the rabbit was unhealthy. its drank water for about 30 mins straight and her poop was tiny little dried up balls.. 2 days later she is looking much better and very curious.. she is very friendly so they were not abused, just unnourished and dehydrated.. I think the young child of the house was the one looking after the rabbits.. or not looking after i should say..

Basically all i want to know is.. is this doe going to be able to produce and will the neglection lead to smaller baby's that won't make good meat?

should i take the loss and find another Doe or should i let it play out and see what her first batch looks like?

i could have got a doe from the same breeder i got my buck, but wanted two genetic lines to start.. im now thinking inbreeding may have been the way to go?

opinions wanted
thanks,

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

If all you have is the one small doe-- go back to your bucks breeder and get a couple does from there-- IF the neglected doe gains condition, you will have a set of genetics to work with, and if the size is utrtionally related, rather tan genetic, you should be able to get small litters of 'normal' growth kits from her. MAke sure she has a kindling partner just to cover all bases, when you breed her...

 

[Dood]

In-breeding is not a huge problem with rabbits, you won't get mutants, usually the first signs are lower fertility rates or weaker immune systems. The doe could produce larger offspring but if she is that stunted then she will likely have a harder time producing large litters and/or feeding them.

I would wait until she is 8 months old to breed her and see how it goes.
- if she produces better than herself then I would keep her daughters and cull her once her daughters have kits if their own.
- if she has a hard time I would cull her and get another doe, who is in a 30 day quarantine before bring placed near your current stock.

It would have been a better idea to not put your rabbits togeather as they can pick up each others germs and with the stress of moving it can weaken their immune systems and lead to disease cropping up.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Hi, i am new to the whole rabbit breading thing. i was having a hard time finding a doe for my buck, there were some for 30$ which i though was ridiculous.. but i figured these people must know what they are doing to have the gull to charge that much.. anyway long story short i broke down and paid the 30.. when i went to get the rabbit i was shocked, it was half the size it should be for its age(12 weeks) had urine stains on feet and MOUTH!!!! i took the thing anyway but was very disapointed in the conditions this rabbit must have lived.. they didn't show me they're rabbity(i know, first sign somethings wrong) but in all honesty i wanted to take this rabbit out of the deplorable conditions it was likely living in.. when i got home and put her next to my buck, its was very clear the rabbit was unhealthy. its drank water for about 30 mins straight and her poop was tiny little dried up balls.. 2 days later she is looking much better and very curious.. she is very friendly so they were not abused, just unnourished and dehydrated.. I think the young child of the house was the one looking after the rabbits.. or not looking after i should say..

Basically all i want to know is.. is this doe going to be able to produce and will the neglection lead to smaller baby's that won't make good meat?

should i take the loss and find another Doe or should i let it play out and see what her first batch looks like?

i could have got a doe from the same breeder i got my buck, but wanted two genetic lines to start.. im now thinking inbreeding may have been the way to go?

opinions wanted
thanks,

Jonis58, Welcome to RT! Glad to have you here. Now, about your situation....

$30 is not too much for a good rabbit. Some of mine are more than that....it depends on the breed, on the quality and if the rabbit is pedigreed or not. Now, this particular rabbit you are talking about, maybe it WAS too much, since she seems to be NOT in good condition or health. What breed is the rabbit? Are you sure it is 12wks? It maybe much younger. Are you sure it is a doe? I usually check when I go look or have the breeder show me. Did she give you any pedigree paperwork with it?

As far as not showing you their rabbitry...it may not be a sign of something wrong at all. I don't allow random strangers that come to buy rabbits into my barn...its a security issue and a bio security issue, especially if that other person has rabbits of their own. I don't want them bringing disease into my barn. I am not saying that the person ISN'T hiding something, but just because they keep a closed rabbitry does not mean they are. Make sense?

It does sound as if this rabbit was not taken care of very well, and I hope that you have quarantined her away from your existing rabbit for the time being. Breeding two rabbits from the same lines can be very advantageous, if you are willing to cull hard for anything not meeting your standards. It is less of a genetic "roulette", since you know what is in that line. I would keep that doe in quarantine until it reaches adult weight before you think about breeding her. Where are you located? Maybe we can help you to locate some better stock that doesn't break the bank.

 

[Secuono]

You don't mention breed, $30 is average for most common meat breeds around here. Not showing a rabbitry isn't always a bad sign. I wouldn't let people wander through my property, they can see them from the fence, nothing is hiding them.
Were the other rabbits the person had also that size, maybe they just have slow growers?

 

[jollysrabbits]

you must quarantine both your rabbits now, it is very possible your doe could be sick (any rabbit actually) never bring new stock in and mix with older healthy stock without first quarantining them 4-6 weeks. Luckily you have only 1 other animal, you can very easily infect an entire herd. See how she grows out if you feel she can be healthy if not start from scratch or get more does from the other breeder, like mentioned above.

 

[Jonis58]

thanks for allt he fast responses!!

when i say put them togwether i mean next to the buck in a separate cage.. cages apart by about an inch. so not quarantined, but not touching or sharing food/water bottles. She doesn't show signs of being sick. no diahrea or running nose or anything liek that.. her poop is getting bigger and shes eating normaly. i think i will let her grow out but also take the advice on getting another one from the same breeder as before..

as for the pedigree papers. no, i wish.. its incredibly hard to find breeders around here(Vancouver BC) there are tons about 4 or 5 hour drive from me out int he country, but that's a days drive and about 100$ in gas!! there is no courier that will take live animals up here.

it is possible she is not that old yet, like i said these people were not professionals by any means.

as for the 30$ i say that allot because i got my buck for 10$ and hes is such a healthy nice looking rabbit. OH YEA the rabbits are New Zealand whites.

thanks again!!

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Hi Jonis!

:welcome: to the forum!

The reason for quarantining is that different herds carry different germs, so they are immune to different things. Also, even though the rabbit appears healthy, the stress of the move will cause any sub clinical illness(es) to manifest themselves. Usually this will happen in the first 4 to 6 weeks, which is the recommended standard quarantine period.

If possible, I would still move them apart. If that is not an option, place a barrier of some sort between the two cages. Cardboard or even a feed bag will do the job if they can't reach it and chew it up.

:congratulations: on getting your first rabbits! I wish you many happy, healthy litters, and a full freezer. :dinner:

 

[OneAcreFarm]

thanks for allt he fast responses!!

when i say put them togwether i mean next to the buck in a separate cage.. cages apart by about an inch. so not quarantined, but not touching or sharing food/water bottles. She doesn't show signs of being sick. no diahrea or running nose or anything liek that.. her poop is getting bigger and shes eating normaly. i think i will let her grow out but also take the advice on getting another one from the same breeder as before..

That is close enough for illness to spread from one to the other. I second what MSD said, at least put some kind of barrier between them if you cannot separate them any further than that. My quarantine area is about 100yds away from my barn.

as for the pedigree papers. no, i wish.. its incredibly hard to find breeders around here(Vancouver BC) there are tons about 4 or 5 hour drive from me out int he country, but that's a days drive and about 100$ in gas!! there is no courier that will take live animals up here.

I understand, it is sometimes hard to find quality breeders of any breed in some areas. We have many breeders on here from Canada, so maybe you can get hooked up with one of them!

it is possible she is not that old yet, like i said these people were not professionals by any means. as for the 30$ i say that allot because i got my buck for 10$ and hes is such a healthy nice looking rabbit. OH YEA the rabbits are New Zealand whites. thanks again!!

Even for a NZW without a pedigree $10 is a heck of a deal. I would go back there to get more if I was you. I sell NZW's and the cheapest ones I have are $25 pedigreed.

 

[Jonis58]

Thanks for all the great advice! I will move her farther away and put up a barrier between the two.

 

[Whipple]

BC has a huge rabbit community. There are a couple groups on Facebook. A few NSW breeders in BC and Alberta. One I know of breeds strictly for commercial meat, although her stock is $60 for jrs, and rightly so.
If you only want to pay $30/rabbit, I highly suggest getting mutts. Which taste just as good.

There is a show on the island on the 20th btw.

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

Welcome to the forum!

If I am buying a rabbit, and I feel the rabbit isn't what I want, I walk away...I bought a doe once who was a little rangey and from questionable breeding. That dang doe was a nutball and all of her kits were screaming crazies, and all of 'em were lean and rangey like her. Culled every last one of them, doe included. Hopefully you don't have a similar situation on your hands!

Though for the right rabbit, I would pay $30 or more...again, for a rabbit I want/need and that's strongly dependent on breed.

As for pee stains.......she may have been on a solid-bottomed cage or near a buck........bucks spray, and they especially like spraying does they fancy. :mrgreen: My Mini Rex buck loves to pee, pee, and pee some more...he sprays the walls of his cage and rubs up against it, and he lost resting-board privileges because he pees on it, and smears it all over his head. Nothing says YUCK like a cheerful greeting from a freshly urine-soaked bunny!!! And of COURSE he's a white rabbit so it stains him all over, LOL. He's the only rabbit I've known who can pee-stain all four feet...WHEN HE LIVES ON WIRE. Goofy boy!!! So you may just have a doe who likes to sit in pee or who was near a very enthusiastic buck.

 

[Miss M]

Welcome to RabbitTalk, Jonis!

Everything's pretty much been said, but I wish you luck with your rabbits!

I recently bought a doe (Cali) for $35+, and I can't wait to get more from the same breeder!

 

[Punch]

One more thing to add if that doe was malnourished for a while her growth might be stunted and even if her genes are good she might have trouble when it comes to kindling.