ohiogoatgirl
Well-known member
so i have 9 does and 2 bucks.
i had used a friends NZW buck on the does because at the time i didnt have my second buck yet and my other buck is younger and hadnt figured out his "business routine" :roll:
well out of 9 does (2 older experienced does, 2 kindled before but coon got the litters, and the rest first timers) only ONE kindled. it was the first timer cali doe. she had 10 but she ate all the hay i put in there for her to use to nest and she didnt pull any fur. they were all dead on the wire when i found them in the morning. i partly blame myself for this because i have fur saved that i could have given her but i didnt check that night and i had things going on during fri, sat, sun...
lesson learned. no matter what i will be on popple watch next time. i will not be torn from my post!
so question...
i ran out of feed and i feel bad about it but i couldnt get to town so i have had to feed only hay and what was left of the sunflower seed bag for a couple days.
getting feed finally, i was wondering if this might actually work in my favor. with alot of livestock people will leave them on a not-that-great pasture and then a little while before they breed they "flush" the females by putting them on a lush pasture.
i was wondering that even though rabbits are alot different in the way there cycles are real close, all year long.. whereas this works for goats, etc because it puts their system into "ok feeding is great now so time to get a bun in the oven!!" mode and helps them into heat.
curious if it might have any effect on the rabbits.
of course i dont want to overdo it at all and i will have everyone back on feed a couple days before i breed. but i think my buns are doing fine couple days on hay because they tend to be bigger anyway. my minirexs are about 5lbs :roll: so they definitely arent starving!
i'm actually thinking of dieting them, wondering if its internal fat that they arent breeding. though to me they dont look fat, just bigger then most MRs.
any thoughts or tips appreciated! thanks
i had used a friends NZW buck on the does because at the time i didnt have my second buck yet and my other buck is younger and hadnt figured out his "business routine" :roll:
well out of 9 does (2 older experienced does, 2 kindled before but coon got the litters, and the rest first timers) only ONE kindled. it was the first timer cali doe. she had 10 but she ate all the hay i put in there for her to use to nest and she didnt pull any fur. they were all dead on the wire when i found them in the morning. i partly blame myself for this because i have fur saved that i could have given her but i didnt check that night and i had things going on during fri, sat, sun...
lesson learned. no matter what i will be on popple watch next time. i will not be torn from my post!
so question...
i ran out of feed and i feel bad about it but i couldnt get to town so i have had to feed only hay and what was left of the sunflower seed bag for a couple days.
getting feed finally, i was wondering if this might actually work in my favor. with alot of livestock people will leave them on a not-that-great pasture and then a little while before they breed they "flush" the females by putting them on a lush pasture.
i was wondering that even though rabbits are alot different in the way there cycles are real close, all year long.. whereas this works for goats, etc because it puts their system into "ok feeding is great now so time to get a bun in the oven!!" mode and helps them into heat.
curious if it might have any effect on the rabbits.
of course i dont want to overdo it at all and i will have everyone back on feed a couple days before i breed. but i think my buns are doing fine couple days on hay because they tend to be bigger anyway. my minirexs are about 5lbs :roll: so they definitely arent starving!
i'm actually thinking of dieting them, wondering if its internal fat that they arent breeding. though to me they dont look fat, just bigger then most MRs.
any thoughts or tips appreciated! thanks
