What you consider a strike.

[ladysown]

Rainey asked this question in another thread : I still wonder what most people would count as a "strike"?

I thought it would make a good thread (perhaps I'm wrong but we'll see)

What I consider a strike

1. If everyone else in the rabbitry is doing their job and one doe is not.... everytime she messes up it's a strike. for instance, if everyone else is raising their kits well despite the weather and a doe does not.. it's a strike. BUT if multiple does are messing up their kits.. it is not a strike it's a mystery to be solved. One year I had a stray cat roaming on top of the cages and my does didn't much care for that. Trapped the cat and took it to the city as a stray. Does suddenly started caring for their kits again.

2. Young doe not breeding... strike each time misses, older does get two strikes IF everyone else is breeding well.

3. Demolished nest after kits are born.

4. Most kits in a litter with nestbox eye two litters in a row.

5. Going off feed at any age. In a young kit it means they aren't kept back as a breeder, in an adult it's just a strike that puts you first on my potential for sale list. On the odd occasion I will keep a kit back who went off feed just to see if I can figure out why... or to play around with ideas about how to prevent it happening again (ergo feeding pineapple juice this winter).

6. buck not breeding, or rough with the does, or too slow at breeding, or not being a pleasant personality

7. does becoming attack does when kits are born. I don't mind the boxing for the first week or the odd growl but attack does a WHOLE different game. I have generally bred that out of my rabbits.

8. Kits being sick in ANYWAY shape of form .. from nestbox eye to sitting quiet in a corner all day when normally a busy body kit to going off feed. It's a one strike and NOPE not keeping you for my herd.

That's my list. Now what's on YOUR list?

 

[Marinea]

My list is pretty much the same. The only thing I would add is a single rabbit having issues with temperature extremes when every other bun is fine.

Good thread!

 

[michaels4gardens]

I would add -- If a "breeding" rabbit has a problem that was contributed to by my management [or lack of management] I don't count that against them. [like my failure to check, or keep nestboxes clean]
also, any young rabbit that has had any defect or problem for any reason, is not kept as or sold for breed stock.

 

[alforddm]

I have to say I have been very very fortunate with the rabbits I have. I have only lost one litter in the 1.5 yrs I've been raising rabbits and that was a first time doe. I have had 14 does have their first litters with me only losing one seems pretty good. That particular doe is on her third litter now. The only time I've had trouble getting litters was after last summer when my bucks went heat sterile.

Because my rabbits seem to have good mothering skills but were on the small side I've been focusing on growth and health. So, I have some does I only keep for one litter. If their kits don't grow out as well or are not as healthy as some other doe's kits they go in the pot and are replaced by young does from a better doe.

I do allow a bit on growth as first time mom's don't milk quite as well as experienced does.

 

[Rainey]

I think what is hard when you're just starting out is setting reasonable expectations. Reading posts from people who've been at this for years and have built up lines of rabbits that meet their goals (and remembering that those goals will be different depending on purpose--pet, show, meat, fur, or whatever) the newbie can feel discouraged about the conformation or growth rate of their rabbits.
So first I culled the doe whose litters were getting smaller and some kits had splayed back legs--and didn't keep any of her offspring for breeding.
Then I culled a doe for biting--repeatedly. She had 8 each litter and raised them successfully but I wasn't putting up with that--kept some of her daughters.
The next cull was a doe that lost her whole first litter and only kept 4 of 11 from her second--those kits went to freezer camp.
But during that time we raised quite a bit of meat and now have 2 proven does that are good tempered and good mothers and 2 junior's we've just bred. We also kept a young buck so now all our breeding stock was raised on the natural feed we use instead of pellet. If we'd had no success, made no progress we would have had to start over with new stock and hope things got better. But since all of our rabbits have bred successfully and we've had no nest box eye, weaning problems, or sniffles we've been able to move forward with what we have. While I'd guess that some other members would have culled all my stock because they'd have better.

 

[Zass]

Things I would consider to be strikes;

Insufficient nesting or nesting in the wrong place. Failure to keep kits warm and covered. Soiling a nest with kits. Failure to feed or care for kits. Poor milk supply. Poor kit growth. Litters of less than 6. Trampling kits. Weaning or drying up early (before 4 weeks) Losing kits to just about anything, if it's the only doe in the rabbitry who is having a problem.

Strait up aggression to me, or to my bucks. (Good description of the difference between a little bit of nervousness and full on attack mode Ladysown.) I also do not want to see more than typical-of-prey-animal fear or nervous behavior in general. Self mutilation, digging at feed, sore hocks or almost any heath problem at all.
Too much body fat. I know being overweight is not their fault, but 9 times out of 10 it's more economical to cull and grow a new doe than it is to diet and deal with repeated failures at breeding.
Likewise being too thin, or failure to maintain condition after a litter would be a strike. Nestbox eye...Only one doe of mine threw ANY kits with that. Culled her and didn't save her kits, no more problem.

Some of the issues I mentioned could be specific problems that a little troubleshooting can easily fix, like feeding grain separate from pellets to avoid digging. It's only rabbits who would dig at a j-feeder of only pellets that would get a strike.
Likewise, a doe not maintaining her weight after a litter could simply have worms. I do not count minor parasite infestations against them. A weak immune system that could not resist parasites at all and that doesn't take well to treatment would be culled.

A doe dragging kits out of the nest on her teat would be considered innocent, since it's my fault for providing poorly designed boxes.

A buck just has to be the best example of that breed that I can find, healthy, willing and able to do his job, and not be aggressive or fearful to me or to does.

I also cull towards breed standards when applicable. The harlis cannot be too large or too small. The japs cannot be low rufus or have white marks. Serious conformation faults like pinched hips, wry tail, or very low or narrow shoulders also have to go. Really only the very best are saved to breed.

One might wonder how in the world I manage to have any rabbits at all. :? :lol:

I really don't have room for many rabbits though, so I have to think up reasons to be exclusive.

Most of my rabbits have none of the behavioral or reproductive issues. They breed willingly, pull fur, have decent sized litters in the box, wean them somewhere in the 4-8 week range and do not display too much in the way of fear or aggression. First time does tend to do as well as any other.

The current litters aren't growing exceptionally fast, but they seem to be decently resistant to cage-levels of cocci exposure, have zero problems with going off feed or enteritis, they handle fresh foods and forage very well, along with their hay and pellets... They get fat more easily then I'd like.
Overall I am pretty satisfied with my herd.

 

[HansenHomestead]

Since I have only been doing this for a little under a year, I don't have much to provide, but here's what I've got so far.

1. Repeated illness.

2. Poor growth rate in kits. (The first litter was my fault for not providing sufficient enough feed.)

3. Loss of litter.

4. Failure to breed/get pregnant.

5. aggression. (Normal upset during, and after kindling is forgivable.)

6. litters under 6.

7. Nest box eye.

 

[SoDak Thriver]

:nice: This is a great thread. Super helpful.

 

[macksmom98]

I would say all these are good, and basically anything that is a negative and going against what you expect them to do in a normal situation, or anything that requires intervention or extra attention. Then it's up to you what you want to put up with. I have put up with a lot, by my own choosing, but I am learning you really don't have to do that