Rabbit balls?

[AShelBunny]

I'm sorry for being naive.

But I have two bucks and they don't have any obvious balls.

Why does this buck have giant balls? And mine don't? I know mine are fertile.

I took in some neglected rabbits and now I don't know what I'm doing.

I'm disturbed and scared of them. My husband said to feed to cats. I said let's wait 30 days and cull/dissect one.

We are meat breeders.

How do you know the meat is good in this case?
What would you do?

 

[Scooter1A]

Are the rabbits acting mean? Probably just scared. Be calm around them. If they seem healthy wait it out. Lungs, kidneys and heart are things to check if you go that way.

 

[AShelBunny]

Are the rabbits acting mean? Probably just scared. Be calm around them. If they seem healthy wait it out. Lungs, kidneys and heart are things to check if you go that way.

They're acting pretty normal.

Seem a bit neglected and dirty.

But there are signs of aggression in the past. One rabbit has his hair on his head chewed off. One rabbit has her nose bit and deformed.

 

[AShelBunny]

Are the rabbits acting mean? Probably just scared. Be calm around them. If they seem healthy wait it out. Lungs, kidneys and heart are things to check if you go that way.

Oh I'm scared of diseases not behavior.

 

[Scooter1A]

They're acting pretty normal.

Seem a bit neglected and dirty.

But there are signs of aggression in the past. One rabbit has his hair on his head chewed off. One rabbit has her nose bit and deformed.

Maybe they were starving. Jeez. That's sad. I think they will be very happy soon.

 

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

Some Bucks just have bigger ones than others

I have a 7-month old who looks like he barely has any but he was able to have Kits, and I have/have had Bucks where it's pretty easy to see them

 

[Alaska Satin]

I'm sorry for being naive.

But I have two bucks and they don't have any obvious balls.

Why does this buck have giant balls? And mine don't? I know mine are fertile.

I took in some neglected rabbits and now I don't know what I'm doing.

I'm disturbed and scared of them. My husband said to feed to cats. I said let's wait 30 days and cull/dissect one.

We are meat breeders.

How do you know the meat is good in this case?
What would you do?

Rabbit bucks can withdraw their testicles; it often happens when it's cold or when they're alarmed. And they will almost always have them out when they're excited. When it's hot, they'll sometimes lay on their side with it all hanging out (they look like pervert flashers). But sometimes they seem to have their own agenda. Older bucks sometimes look bigger, and there are also differences due to genetics. Put up some pictures if you want possibly better answers.

From the original photos you posted, they don't look horribly neglected. Of course I might think differently if I could get my hands on them, but these rabbits don't look disease-ridden or starving, rather they look pretty sleek and rounded:


The doe's nose looks completely healed:

I've had bunnies like that, that got their nose nipped when they were kits and the doe next door was "defending" her own litter from what she saw as an invader.

They're acting pretty normal.

Seem a bit neglected and dirty.

But there are signs of aggression in the past. One rabbit has his hair on his head chewed off. One rabbit has her nose bit and deformed.

The bald head was probably from "barbering" and while it's not desirable, it's not necessarily aggressive. It's more like grooming gone crazy; the one getting the haircut usually just sits there. Sometimes it comes about due to a nutrition deficiency, but I've had perfectly healthy bunnies do it. It's not a big deal unless you're intending to show the rabbits. I don't care for the behavior, so I don't keep barbers for breeders.

The way you describe their former living situation would make me expect them not to look 100%, but I wouldn't be super worried, especially if they act normal - really sick rabbits don't usually behave normally. The big issues I'd look for would be crusty ears or patches of raw-looking skin with missing fur and whitish dandruff (ear and fur mites); snotty noses and sneezing, spraying mucous everywhere (possibly Pasteurellosis); and inflamed genitals with sores around the vent and usually also the nose and paws (vent disease). The photos show smooth healthy rabbits, and the buck's scent glands, while not appealing, wouldn't be anything I'd be overly concerned about; either you can clean them for him or leave it to him to do so (having the run of the row of cages, he may very well have spent recent weeks in a state of fairly high excitement and activity). If you have specific concerns, post some more photos and the more experienced folks on here can give you their interpretations.

Having holes between the cages lets them get into mischief. You should count on every doe being pregnant! Since they would have had to work out a hierarchy, there would likely be fights, especially since there was really nowhere for a cornered rabbit to hide, in a row of connected cages. It probably wasn't like a colony that had lots of holes and crevices for retreat.

While I doubt they're purebred Silver Martens (note that I am not saying that the people you got them from are lying - an outcross could have been long ago), they actually look like they have fairly nice meat type from those photos of the doe and kits. If they were S.M. crossed with Silver Fox or Champagne D'Argent (which would be my guess looking at all that silvering), they'd probably give you bigger meat rabbits than purebred S.M. IMO it would be a shame to get rid of them, if you could use more breeders. There's not all that much that they could bring into your rabbitry that would be a real disaster (except for Pastuerellosis and vent disease).

 

[AShelBunny]

Awesome thank you!

This makes me feel more confident. I must be honest I'm totally new to this. I had my first litter in December, my second in January.

I'm being extra critical about everything.

The people we got them from are wonderful they just were tired of it and burned out. Definitely look seemingly happy and healthy besides the things I mentioned. I think they will turn out to be good additions.

I'm glad to hear someone deem them keepers. I was originally going to get a doe from them.

I wanted 3-4 does and a buck. But now I have a lot. I was planning on staying in the New Zealand family.

 

[Scooter1A]

Awesome thank you!

This makes me feel more confident. I must be honest I'm totally new to this. I had my first litter in December, my second in January.

I'm being extra critical about everything.

The people we got them from are wonderful they just were tired of it and burned out. Definitely look seemingly happy and healthy besides the things I mentioned. I think they will turn out to be good additions.

I'm glad to hear someone deem them keepers. I was originally going to get a doe from them.

I wanted 3-4 does and a buck. But now I have a lot. I was planning on staying in the New Zealand family.

I think you have alot of bunnies coming. Enjoy the craziness!! I think rabbits are hilarious.