4 become 9!!!

[eggyhead]

So as i went to bed last night i was the owner of 4 rabbits, on waking this morning i find 5 ickle babies!!!

How adorable, all moved to a suitable nesting box and covered back over with Mums fur.

 

[DutchBunny03]

Adorable!! What breed?

 

[eggyhead]

Doe is palomino Buck is french lop!. Daughter put wrong pairings in the run...total accident,albeit an adorable accident

 

[DutchBunny03]

Nice. Be sure to remove the buck. They have been known to kill kits. Have fun with your new bunnies!!!

 

[eggyhead]

Thankyou for the advice, the doe lives with a buck, hes been neuted. My daughter put the buck who looks very similar to her house mate with her instead. Opps!. Never the less i have moved her housemate into his own hutch just incase he turns.

 

[DutchBunny03]

Good thinking!!

 

[Bunnylady]

Thankyou for the advice, the doe lives with a buck, hes been neuted. My daughter put the buck who looks very similar to her house mate with her instead. Opps!. Never the less i have moved her housemate into his own hutch just incase he turns.

I'd be curious to know if anyone has actually seen a buck savage a litter. I've been breeding rabbits for about 30 years, and during that time, I have set up many 'colonies' of a buck and a few does in large cages. Sometimes, I have lost track, and didn't get the buck out before litters were born. I have never, ever seen a buck show any interest in the babies, either positive or negative. When you think about it, there's no reason for him to - the doe is fertile again immediately after kindling, so the usual biological reason of trying to bring the female back into season so he can sire the next litter isn't there. What I have seen, is the buck pursuing the doe, absolutely hounding her, and the doe running around, jumping in and out of the nest box, totally stressing out. I can see that babies would get trampled in the process, but it's more likely the doe doing the damage. And of course, nursing one litter while pregnant with another gets hard on the doe's body, so back-to-back litters like that aren't a good idea. Also, I have seen more dominant rabbits take over a nest box, maybe just as a sitting place, which wouldn't be at all good for a litter that is being housed there.

So though I wouldn't worry about your neutered boy "turning," it might be less stress all around for your doe to have a cage to herself while she raises her family.

 

[eggyhead]

Aww thats good to hear, they will remain seperated for for forseeable future.

 

[DutchBunny03]

What happens is that the buck is so intent on the doe that he could chase her around the hutch, and she, thinking it is an act of agression, may retaliate. Or, in all the running around, the kits ae trampled. It is just best to remove the buck to avoid any potential problems.