Question about BOSS

[Miss M]

Oh, what a cutie! His eyes are starting to open, too!

 

[michaels4gardens]

If the kits are pretty much the same size at birth, then I would not worry about a fast growing kit , but-- if you have a doe who kindles a huge kit along with some small or regular size ones, and does it every time, {regularly}- it usually comes to a sad ending. The huge kit will eventually "get stuck" and either cause the rest of the kits behind it to be still born, or kill the doe.
I have a big brown Buck,[probly Flemish X ] and when he is bred to my "New Zealand" does will have a few Brown kits that will fast out grow the rest of the white ones, but they are about the same size at birth, so it is no big deal.

 

[Richard & Tresa]

Just an update:

Everyone is doing fine!

The kits are catching up in growth to our big grey, but there is still a difference. Even our "runt" is almost indistinguishable from the others.

They turned 3 weeks old yesterday and I finally removed the nest box (It was still clean and they just seemed to enjoy going back in to sleep and I figured any time spent in the box was a break for mom.)

We feed our doe a breakfast pregnancy/lactation meal of:
A special blend of all sorts of stuff Tresa put together. I know there's fennel in it but I forgot the rest of the ingredients. All are natural and help with milk production and keeping the doe in great shape. Also: fresh young blackberry leaves (helps increase circulation and dealing with heat, ecinacia leaves general health ingredient and helps prevent milk gland problems, Fresh strawberry leaves and a few slices of peaches (She LOVES peaches and helps to make sure she finished her special breakfast. We are up to about a tablespoon and a half of BOSS too!


A few days ago, I noticed the kits wanting to help themselves to her special meal... So this morning I built a short "nest box" for the kits and provided an elevated "loft" for the doe. I installed a short rail around the loft so I could put her special meal dish in so she wouldn't knock it over when she ate... She still hasn't figured out she could escape the kids and instead, placed her front legs on top to reach the dish. Kits took the opportunity for a "quick snack" from mom. Most of the time she didn't mind. I figure she'll learn that she can climb up and get a complete break when she wants to.

Is it ok to feed BOSS to the kits? (It would be in a shallow dish and I couldn't control who gets how much.

Until then, I'm completing the last grow-out cage so when the day comes, I can separate them from the doe... Like a lot of what I've read, better to leave them with the doe for as long as possible as long as mom doesn't mind. We've been letting the kits munch on mom's greens that we bring a few times a day and they seem to enjoy them without any changes in bowel movements. We plan on continuing to increase greens to the kits as they grow. The rest of our rabbits are fed a variety of greens from our gardens...

OK... now to work on building a miniature captive bolt gun to dispatch them (Seems kind of a contradiction compared to how we treat them... We don't name them, but we hold and rub all of them, especially on their heads. The captive bolt gun is similar to the "Rabbit Zinger" with a few modifications (I'm a professional motion picture special effects artist and prototype developer)... The idea is that getting the freezer camp candidates ready by rubbing their heads (They go into a frozen state of bliss)... The captive bolt gun will have a soft prosthetic flesh like tip that we will rug their heads with until the moment I pull the trigger. I'll share more as I progress... For now, I need to build more quail grow out cages, auto feeders and waterers... Just got the incubator stabilized and ready to begin a hatch. The Jarel Urban Homestead is developing nicely! We've been getting eggs from our chickens and it's still two months early!

=D

Richard

 

[Zass]

Sounds like you guys are doing really well with the rabbits!

Boss shouldn't harm the kits, but too much might make them fatty at butchering time.

The small amount they manage to snag before the doe chows it all down probably won't affect anything

 

[Richard & Tresa]

Thanks!



We really are pleased with our first go around! I need to plan her next breeding so that she has a few weeks off (At least 2weeks)... I want to be able to remove the kits when the doe is beginning to get annoyed, but not aggravated. Need to have a third grow out cage ready so that we can separate the kits from each other into groups of three. Then send the fryers to freezer camp and allow three to grow further for possible new doe (hoping the large grey one) and/or retaining the 2 or 3 left for roasters (We'd love to BBQ or crock pot a few). Meanwhile, Caprica can start creating our next batch. We have a second doe "Oreo" (Part NZW, part Californian, hence the name) that should be ready for breeding by Thanksgiving for Christmas bunnies!) I am contemplating building an insulated shed where the current shade set up is so that we have a duplicate/mirrored set of cages facing the first with a hallway running the length of cages in between to walk through. Doors at both ends and windows on the open side of the current cages for morning light. I'll then build a small evaporative cooler (Built one for the house and currently lowering the temp of the entire 1,500sq/ft house by 26 degrees for only 250 watts! We never turned on our central air conditioning once!) The shed will be insulated, the doors will allow for great ventilation and allow for four more grow-out cages at the far right... maybe this winter....

Thanks again!

Richard

PS: Photos: The current "hutch" originally had a translucent fiberglass roof. It's against the shop and protected by afternoon hot sun. I built it with side walls that open and close for ventilation and protection from cold. I then added a second roof using a reflective tarp (double thickness) and added misters. Surprisingly, the side walls help keep in the chilled mist cooled air! Each cage has a small fan to blow in the cool air without the mist. Each fan has a molded plastic cap that covers the motors to protect them from water corrosion. Breeders are on top, grow out cages on the bottom. The center cage area now has our extra Quail grow out cages but will be replaced with a similar sized grow out cage. Once everything is in place, I'll install an automatic watering system with hard ABS pipes, insulated in foam and a full return system with a small pump that returns the water to the tank. The tank can receive frozen 1 gallon water jugs in the summer and contain a small aquarium heater for the winter to prevent freezing.

OK.. back to work here!

Thanks again!

Richard

 

[Zass]

Where are rabbit sized recliners?
the mini hot tubs?
The cable TVs?


You know you'll need one for each cage

 

[Bandits Bunny Farm]

I spy, with my little eye.......


FUZZIES!!!!! :lol:

 

[Richard & Tresa]

My wife and I almost peed in our pants at your response!
:lol: :lol: :lol:

I thought about the recliners... but they require the use of levers to lower and raise the backs...

and we all know... that rabbits don't have opposing thumbs!

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Great reply!

(But you know, they could thump on a remote for the cable TV!)
:lol: :lol: :lol:

Thanks for the laugh!

Richard & Tresa

going out now to pet the little guys and see how the farm is doing...

 

[Marinea]

VERY nice setup! Those are some spoiled buns.

Oh...to solve the TV problem...move it all over in front of the window and let them watch through there Of course, then they would want control of the remote...and then they might disagree on what to watch, so additional televisions might be needed...yeah, I got nothing.

 

[Hattie]

Just bought a small bag of BOSS. I have a 2 month old buck and a 1 yr old doe. Is the boss safe for the buck in small amounts as a treat? Doe is molting something fierce so I was hoping a littke would help her as well

 

[Marinea]

I don't give a lot of BOSS in the summer months, but small amounts would be fine for the buck. If you are looking to put some weight on him, rolled oats is also a good choice.

 

[Hattie]

Don't think he needs to put on weight just thought it might be a nice treat ocasonaly