Really big litters

[ollitos]

We have been consistently having litters of 11 or more. This past week we had two litters of 12 and one litter of 14. I breed two does at a time so I can foster out kits from large litters into smaller litters. That's the working theory. LOL

Normally, we breed in the morning and afternoon. We have the buck cover twice each time. I've decided to scale back and only let him cover once each time.

You'd think that as a meat producer, I'd be thrilled to have more kits per litter but it's a lot of extra work (I swap out the boxes so each grouping is being fed once a day) and I think it's harder on the does. Plus, the larger the litter size, the smaller the kits and the slower the growth.

 

[wsmoak]

I had a similar "problem" -- litters of 10 and 11, when like you I bred two does so I could foster if needed.

Overachievers! I had to build more growout cages.

-Wendy

 

[TerriG]

My does are the same way. We are actually retiring the does that keep having such large litters. They grow slower, and these particular does tend to have kits that are more prone to enteritis. Having a litter of 12, but losing 50% doesn't work as well as having 6-8 and having at least 6 survive. The size difference is shocking. I am ok with up to 9 kits. I do foster kits, but I don't break the litters up into 2 nest boxes or any of that. I leave the nest boxes with my does.

 

[coffeenutdesigns]

I am actually trying to work towards larger litters, but then growout times are not my highest concern.

 

[Oceanrose]

I LOLed when I saw this..

I just had 2 litters.. One of 9, and one of THIRTEEN! And get this, the 13 was a first time English Angora doe... The 9 were from a German/Satin Angora cross, and frankly there's not much evening out to be done, so I've left those alone. The EA litter, one was DOA, one is very small, and the others look ok. I am checking them twice a day and holding the skinny ones onto nurse. I will be shocked if they all make it, but mom is trying her best. I hate to assume they won't make it and cull without giving them a chance to catch up.

I still have 2 or 3 litters due (two are confirmed pregnant, the other I purchased 'maybe bred', and a doe I MUST breed to ever breed the litter I want, as I need to sell a buck. What a weird problem to have.

 

[skysthelimit]

Yeah, I'm getting kind of tired of litters of 10-12.

Especially when I'm trying to increase weight a 8 weeks.

____

 

[grumpy]

Same problem.
one doe-------9 born-----9 saved.

two doe------13 born----10 saved.

three doe----12 born----12 saved.

"production-mentality" gears us to breed to the top
end of our best does. Lesser does stay no longer than
to reveal their weaknesses.

This being said, we end up with what we have.
Too many kits.....and not enough spigots!
Slower growth and harder on Mama. I've got
does that will milk themselves down to nothing
just to take care of their kits. (one's on a
vacation of undetermined length.)

Overall, I'd rather have this set of problems
than the other end of the breeding spectrum.

Grumpy.

 

[Whipple]

I agree with grumpy. I have a doe feeding 13 kits. She's doing great, but I won't breed her back for a bit. The kits are taking forever to grow. But if she had two lifters of 7 in the same time frame, it works out. So no loss

 

[Sinnfox]

I actually have one doe that is about to leave...She had 5 kits, and the small litter size doesn't bother me to much, but the fact that a smaller rabbit had eleven, ten currently surviving,and all but the runt of that litter are bigger then the previously mentioned five has me miffed at the first doe. The larger doe has to out weigh the smaller by at least three or four pounds minimum, but well I guess at least this time the kits lived :/ so that's something?

 

[squidpop]

I'm not big on culling but I'm sure some people would cull the two-three smallest in the litter to make it healthier for the rest.

 

[grumpy]

I'm not big on culling but I'm sure some people would cull the two-three smallest in the litter to make it healthier for the rest.

You're right...it makes more sense to reduce the litter size.

Raising 8 youngsters is much easier that 10 or more.

The doe that had 12 and saved 12 would be an excellent candidate.
Save the best looking 8 or possibly 7 and let them grow properly.
Then, use that litter for replacement does for the future.
It wouldn't hurt to save a son either.

grumpy.

 

[stone soup farm]

My does mostly have litters between 7-9 kits. They have 8 teat so that seems to have worked out great. I know others that were having larger litters of 10-12 and they said the same thing about trying to breed for 8 instead. One of my does recently had a litter of 13, but they were smaller and it made fostering hard, as the litter of 7 had much larger kits. So the smaller ones didn't have much of a chance. I lost 5 total, so back to 8. I think i like that better. My one buck reliable produces litters of 8 and they all survive. My other over productive buck I will only do shorter breeding visits less often and hope for litters of 8 or 9.