Re breeding after a failed litter

[joybellfarm]

So my daughter has been gifted a mini rex. The bunny is only 5 months old. The owner warned me she may be prego. She had a litter of does living together. And found one of the does mounting the others. After checking her she realized the sex change fairy had came by lol. Anyway before we got the bunny she delivered Yesterday at the owners place. she had 4 1 was doa 2 she cleaned to death and the last one she fostered has a strip of flesh missing. So whats the chance she will repeat the over cleaning again? Were hopping she is young and did not know any better. Also how soon can she re breed her for us? She wants to breed her and a few does and if she does it again she will foster the babies out for us since we dont have a doe to bred with her.

 

[MaggieJ]

A lot of young does who do a poor job on their first litter go on to become excellent mothers the next time around. If this is your first rabbit, it might be better not to have her bred at this time. There is a learning curve for caring for rabbits just like anything else and you may want to get used to caring for her on her own first. Also to be considered is your plan for the offspring. Would you be keeping them or trying to find homes for them? It is not always easy to find good homes for pet rabbits and this needs to be considered in advance, unless you are raising them for meat.

 

[joybellfarm]

Between her and I we have 7 bunnies Hl and MR. And she feeds and checks them every evening make sure if they need water or anything. Her Hl doe is due tomorrow. I had a mini rex due but it looks like she did not take . So we know how to care for them i used to raise meat rabbits a few yrs ago. We do plan to keep a few out of the litter. She is planing on showing a few jrs next spring. And the does we can bred to our buck as they would be unrelated.

 

[MaggieJ]

Good! I'm glad you have experience and a plan. So many people rush in unprepared and then end up not enjoying the experience.

There is no harm in rebreeding a doe just after a failed litter as long as she is in good condition. It is nursing kits that puts the main burden on a doe, not the pregnancy itself. Hope all goes well. :clover: