Suggestions for ornery Doe

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K

KandEKnopp

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Ok, I know rule #1: Don't have ornery Does in your Rabbitry , but I already broke this rule.
It's a friends doe, and I bred it to my buck, BEFORE I knew she was ornery.
So, with that said, what is my next step? She should kindle anytime.

A). Do I try to foster the kits to a great mom? She isn't due until Aug. 2. With her own litter.
B). Let the doe keep her babies, see how she does... If she changes at all....
I think she is just a little territorial. Once she is in your arms she is ok.
C)........help!


Thanks in advance for any input.

Kris
 
let her keep her kits, see if she settles down. Wean the kits at four weeks and if possible, put them in a with a super kind, very well mannered auntie or uncle.
 
I have 2 white satin does which are as ornery as a junkyard dog. One of them (Maryse) was an incredible mom to her first litter. In fact, I'd list her as probably the best litter mom I've ever owned for the way she took care of her litter and let them go first at the feeder every day.

The jury's still out on the other (Stratus). That gal will tag you good if you don't watch what you're doing. You almost have to do everything around her one-handed because she necessitates using one of your hands to calm her down while the other hand does the work. She's a grand champion, but it was almost embarrassing to see how she carried on when she was on a show table. At her last show, she bit Tex Thomas, and she grunts like a hog whenever she's touched.

I guess my point is this: A mean, ornery doe is not necessarily a bad thing. There are going to be bad litter moms in both good and bad tempered rabbits, and I'd be lying to you if I said that I didn't like my does to be a little over-protective of their litters.
 
I have one doe who is usually really nasty ... truly cage agressive and not much happier when she's on the grooming table, but at least she's not lunging at my hand then... BUT..she raises the nicest sweetest kits you can imagine. Not overly friendly, but very gentle, easy to work with, and good rabbits.

I've got another "attack rabbit" (CB) who also raises up really nice kits. Neither doe has passed along the attitude to offspring. Quite often the aggression or the "orneriness" is from hormonal issues. Now...that is possible to pass along..just like in humans. woman has huge hormonal changes and it's likely that her daughters will, too.

As long as you handle the kits a lot, and don't let the doe get the upper hand with you (like showing the kits that biting at you makes you go away) it seems to work out just fine.

With your doe...give her something to occupy her little self with. A wire ball to toss around, chunks of wood, maybe a small tub that she can hop in and out of and feel "safe" in (that's what works with Aztec, my cage agressive old lady....as long as she's inside that tub, she knows she's safe and I can do whatever I want inside the rest of her pen)
 
OMG. Y'all have made My day. Thank you sooo much!!! I figured you would just tell me to cull the litter.
I will let her be and see what happens. BTW no kits yet.....

THANKS AGAIN. KRIS AND ELISSA
 
I don't mind my does being somewhat protective. I have a champagne doe who will squeak and charge you but that's where it ends. She's easily deterred by a feed scoop or foot in front of her to concentrate on. I did have one nasty little rabbit in my first bunch of mini rex that was just over the top. There are some threads and blog posts on her. She was a bit odd as a kit. Seemed a bit slow and spacey. When she reached maturity she started lunging and screaming at us. By breeding age she would tear through leather gloves and attacked me from the ground a few times. I tried all sorts of things to make her stop but neither treats nor discipline attempts made any impact. I dumped her in the colony for awhile and she chilled a bit but caused arguments amongst the does frequently. She finally took after the 3rd attempt to breed her during which I had to hold her from turning on the buck and eventually lifted her tail for Mocha who was the only buck persistent enough to get her bred. She somehow got worse during the first week of pregnancy and had to be removed from the colony completely after she and Amako who was also bred had it out in the only serious rabbit fight I've seen. She popped out 5 kits, failed to feed them well, still attacked us, and then developed mastitis. I was going to get 2 litters out of her to pick the best and most sane rabbits from and butcher the rest to prevent the spread of their genes to unsuspecting breeders but I decided to put her down instead. Way too many strikes against that one and I was told mastitis has a tendency to reappear. Supplemented the litter with pellets soaked in milk and kept 1 buck offspring with the best attitude. She made a good first meat rabbit cause I wasn't too upset to see her die. There was no way I was sending her off to someone else.

There are grumpy does that you can decide if you want to deal with or let someone else deal with (some people don't mind them at all) and then there are insane does that I don't wish on anyone and I only suggest one way of culling them.
 
Well, I am sad to say, we lost this doe today, during kindling. She had 1 kit cleaned up in the nest box.
But she too was 1/2 in the nest box, lots of blood loss, good amount of fur pulled, gone when I got hm from work today. Just feel bad that is was a friends doe, not my own. :(...
EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON.
 
Im sorry you lost her.i keep telling peopled on the pet board that i belong too there is a risk everytime you breed your doe.usually its the kits you loose.
 
Loss of the kits can happen for a variety of reasons, but loss of the doe is mercifully quite rare. You can raise rabbits for years and never lose a doe. It's not something one can predict and a doe dying during kindling is especially upsetting and likely to leave the rabbit breeder feeling (unnecessarily) there was something that could have been done to prevent it. It's a double whammy. :(
 

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