Picking her replacement

[TeaTimeBunnies]

So I have a doe that I've mentioned multiple times before, and I love this super sweet doe and was so excited to finally get to breed her. Well she has turned into the rabbit from hell because of her pregnancy hormones. Because I don't enjoy having to be quick and dodge her attacks in order to feed her or clean her litter box I'm planning on replacing her in the breeding herd with one of her daughters and keep her as a pet. Now I am likely going to have to face the rabbit from hell again before I can replace her since this is her first litter, but I am not going to tolerate this level of aggression even if it is because she is pregnant. So now that there is a background as to why I'm replacing her, I will try to explain what I'm looking for. This doe is my meat mutt doe so her daughter would be for the same purpose, I also don't want a doe that tries to attack me through the bars as I walk past. I figured for the meat side I'd go for the biggest doeling in the litter, but what would y'all suggest as far as temper goes? The sire is another very sweet rabbit and his dam has a great pregnancy temper of primarily ignoring me and whatever I'm doing, but still letting me give her a pat on the head when I'm around. Any suggestions on what I should keep an eye out for?

 

[SarniaTricia]

Have you tried:
Coming along the top of the cage and holding her down?
Sometimes what is going on is a dominance thing that needs to be squashed.... literally.

A replacement doe should have the correct body type for meat and be fast growing...
Here is a blog I regularly read again to help remind me of my goal for the Harlequins I raise:
http://hillriserabbitry.blogspot.ca/201 ... bbits.html

 

[shazza]

i agree with sarniatricia - sometimes you need to show her who's boss for a bit and she'll chill. additionally, she may calm down after her first litter. it's not uncommon for does to have horrid personalities on their first litter, only to calm down afterwards and be more amicable. i have a doe that was HORRIBLE (like, always using the kevlar gloves every time i needed to pick her up or clean in her cage,) was even more horrible when she was pregnant, then almost immediately after kindling she became a different rabbit. she's not exactly FRIENDLY now, but she wouldn't lunge at me anymore. she did try to box me for a bit, but a few days of getting pinned and now she just sits in the back corner and glowers at me, and i can pick her up and do health checks/etc if i need to. so i would wait and see how she acts after the kits wean, and during her second pregnancy. hopefully she'll chill out a bit.

 

[TeaTimeBunnies]

Thank you both. I tried holding her down and got a nice hole in my arm. I suppose I'll give her a chance with her second litter before I make the final decision on replacing her

 

[shazza]

https://www.amazon.com/Resistant-Sleeve ... T3WT2RVDGH i highly suggest having some of these lying around, they've saved my arms many times with my former demon bunny, and moving growouts around that aren't as used to being handled. i kept seeing people at shows with these and thought they were brilliant. of course your fingers are still exposed, but you can go into the cage with the back of your hand toward the rabbit and if they lunge they probably won't get anything vulnerable.

 

[SarniaTricia]

I have a set of Kevlar sleeves and LOVE them.... sometimes I even remember to use them... :lol:

 

[TeaTimeBunnies]

I think I have talked my fiance into us getting some arm guards soon. Even if she calms down, it wouldn't hurt to have them available incase of other monster mothers

 

[MaggieJ]

A pair of used kid evening gloves with the fingers cut off short (but leave enough to protect the delicate skin between the fingers) work well too -- at a fraction of the price of Kevlar. EBay or thrift shops often have them and if they are discoloured, they go cheap.

I used a pair for several years -- bunny barn chic! :lol: