What Rabbits Do You Have? Show Off Your Rabbits Here!

[shadow rabbit10]

After we built our new chicken coop, one of the old ones was empty, and I decided to get couple bunnies for my kids.

I have miniature lop (girl), holland lop (girl) and lionheadxholland lop (boy), and they are all living peacefully together in their hutch, and free at the backyard at the daytime.




I might be a hippie and all that jazz, but I personally think bunnies are happiest when they have their own little family around them, rabbit duo or trio. And, it's fun to see how they play with each others an have different kind of moods, like all the living creatures.

(And before you're worried about bunny population explosion, all my bunnies will be neutered after one and only litter. The Lionhead lop boy is still baby, and these girls a bit older than him, so we're still waiting that to happen)

Nice set up. I love the colors of the brown lop (sorry can't tell if it's the Mini or the Holland) and I love the fuzzy lop mix! Nice pictures too.

 

[Bunnylady]

Welcome to the thread, LeEgg!

Before I say anything, I want to warn you that I tend to speak plainly, and that seems to offend some people. As far as I am concerned, they are your rabbits, the way you keep them is your business, OK? I am not criticizing. It's just that you said you have kids, and I have had conversations with people who said, "I want to get some rabbits and let them have babies so the kids can learn about the natural process of birth" (or something like that), and then the kids get traumatized by things going in ways that the parents never imagined.

I just want to be sure that you know what you are getting into, OK?

You say that your buck is just a baby, and the does a bit older. I hope your does are at least 6 months old, because if your buck is 12 weeks old or older, he could be fertile. In rabbits, "the act" takes mere seconds to perform, so you may never see the rabbits mating; the first thing you know about what's going on may be a big pile of fur in a corner somewhere. Does can make a terrible hash of things the first time around; sometimes the first thing anyone sees are a bunch of dead, half-eaten babies strewn around the cage - not a pretty sight for a tender young mind to come onto. Of course, what's really sad is the baby that the mother chewed the ears or a foot off of, that is still alive . . . . So for the sake of your kids, if you even think you might have a pregnant doe, you want to be the first person going out to check on the rabbits.

Rabbit does are potentially fertile most of the time, so unless one of your does is just too old to breed, if one is pregnant, the other most likely is, too. IME, does in a colony setting tend to breed at the same time, so litters frequently are born within days of each other. A doe's natural instinct is to dig a burrow to have her litter in; she may defend it ferociously. (be warned, she may also dig out of your yard!) Does in a cage/colony setting may choose the same corner or nest box to have their litters in, and the first litter may get killed as the second doe does her nest preparation. This is one reason that people that keep rabbits in colonies frequently separate out a doe that they believe is pregnant. A newly-kindled doe is a bundle of nerves; she may kill her own kits stomping in alarm when another animal comes near. A doe may not nurse her young (first-time mothers are particularly bad about this) - there are a lot of reasons why baby rabbits wind up dying. Understand, things may go swimmingly, but they may not, and you need to be prepared for that possibility.

The gestation period on a rabbit is 31 days, give or take a few. A rabbit doe "comes into use" immediately after kindling. If a buck has access to a doe when she gives birth, she most likely will get bred, and have another litter 31 days later. Some people will tell you that bucks will kill kits. I haven't had a great deal of experience with this (it is hard on the doe, so it considered extremely irresponsible to risk back to back breedings like this), but I have never seen a buck show any interest in the babies at all. What I have seen is a buck that is absolutely obsessively pursuing the extremely hormonal doe, and her almost in a panic, running around, jumping in and out of the nest box and stepping on the kits in the process. For this reason, even people who don't isolate pregnant does usually keep the buck separate, and only put him in with the does for a few days at a time. That way, the buck won't be around when babies arrive, and the litters can be spaced in a way that is safer for the doe.

Hopefully, though, things will go well for you, and you and your kids will get to enjoy your furry little friends for many years to come!

 

[LeEgg]

Thank you for your reply. I'm not offended, no worries.

I have couple of smaller rabbit hutches for separating, when needed.

Our backyard has netting buried on the ground, because previous resident used to have couple of digging dogs. I'm pretty sure it's keeping rabbits in as well, and during the night they are fully closed in their hutch(es).

Like I said, I'm planning to neuter all my bunnies right after first litter(s, if both of girls are pregnant), and I'm not exactly novice with animals. I was traumatized as a kid by my dog breeding parents and veterinary sister. I will separate and hand-fed kits if needed.

I know that if animals are stressed out, they will do random acts and may kill their kits, but I'm trying to provide natural and good life to my bunnies, and so far so good everything is going great. I might make some mistakes, but I'm trying my best.

 

[BantyChooks]

i've got a pet rabbit named willow; she is a netherland dwarf. i didn't know all these members had bunnies!!
here is some pics of her.

 

[LeEgg]

i've got a pet rabbit named willow; she is a netherland dwarf. i didn't know all these members had bunnies!!
here is some pics of her.

So cute! Netherland dwarf was my first rabbit when I was a kiddo.

 

[BantyChooks]

aww, thats cool! willow is my second rabbit, the first one was named... drumroll.... bunny. LOL thats what happens when you do not decide on a name for too long!

 

[Sapphire02]

i've got a pet rabbit named willow; she is a netherland dwarf. i didn't know all these members had bunnies!! here is some pics of her.

how cute!

 

[Sapphire02]

I bred my buck to my friend's doe at 6 months and she had two deformed stillborn kits. I don't think the success rate is very high when they are young, even if they do take.

My doe had 8 babies 3 weeks ago. All are doing very well. She was only 4 months when she conceived. This was not a planned breeding. The male was neutered 2 weeks before the babies were born.

 

[LeEgg]

aww, thats cool! willow is my second rabbit, the first one was named... drumroll.... bunny. LOL thats what happens when you do not decide on a name for too long!

Haha.

My first bunny was called Nana, and these 3... well, their names are Finnish: Kepponen ("trick"), Löppönen (doesn't mean anything, it's just a surname in Finland, but it's onomatopoetic name for Lop bunny) and Töppönen("Slipper"), although my english speaking kids call them also "Dragonbunny", "Mommy's Bunny" and "Bunny Slipper", so the name "bunny" is in the use here too.

 

[shadow rabbit10]

So my rabbit is shedding, and while my rabbits have shed pretty badly in the past, this poor rabbit is nearly bald (he has a very thin layer of new hair, but some areas have nothing) where the fur is coming out... Should I be concerned? He is a Mini Rex, if that matters at all (his coat isn't like the others).