Anyone else breed/raise rabbits here?

[Little Red Birds]

I’ve raised rabbits ever since I was a mini 4her with my birds. We currently raise Americans (blue variety, rarely see them anymore- they are an endangered heritage breed), Lionheads (REW, Black, Torts), Polish (REW), and Harlequins (Chocolate, Lilac, Black, Blue- All magpies). We raise them for show but all of our retired does are our favorite pets out of all our animals! We currently have seven grown rabbits and nine babies (two Lionhead and six harlequin). One of our American does is due on the 14 (I feel like an awful rabbit mom- it’s her birthday). If anyone else knows of anyone with Americans or has them HIGH FIVE!!!

 

[Little Red Birds]

EDIT: Copper is my 4th rabbit while Butterscotch is my 5th rabbit.

Here are both my rabbits

Butterscotch, a Mini Rex/Lop mix doe.
She was born March 12th.
(Ignore the boxes in the background, my cats had made a mess so this picture was taken before they were cleaned up)
As soon as she's old enough, she'll be getting spayed and then a few months after she's healed I'll be attempting to bond her to my other bun.
View attachment 1806467

Copper, a Dwarf/Lionhead mix buck.
His age is unknown, however I think he's now starting to become sexually mature as his behavior has changed.
He's getting neutered next month.
View attachment 1806469

You might check and see if Copper has “dropped” that’s a definite way to tell...

 

[Little Red Birds]

I need some help please! Does anyone have experience with culling rabbits? Since I’ve got harlequins about 90% of EVERY litter I get is either brood quality or no good. I’ve got a litter of six I will only be keeping 2 of (I might ask for a bit of help on that if I get an answer to this- there are zero harly breeders left in my area) so four have to go. I live super close to deep Amish/Mennonite country so I might be able to get them there but I would like to know how to cull them myself so that I can do it when I’ve got more litters. Anything would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Sara L]

I need some help please! Does anyone have experience with culling rabbits? Since I’ve got harlequins about 90% of EVERY litter I get is either brood quality or no good. I’ve got a litter of six I will only be keeping 2 of (I might ask for a bit of help on that if I get an answer to this- there are zero harly breeders left in my area) so four have to go. I live super close to deep Amish/Mennonite country so I might be able to get them there but I would like to know how to cull them myself so that I can do it when I’ve got more litters. Anything would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

I would recommend watching some YouTube videos about cervical dislocation for rabbits, that's the easiest way for me and it's very quick for the rabbit. If you do it right they are gone before they figure out what's happening.

 

[KikiDeAnime]

You might check and see if Copper has “dropped” that’s a definite way to tell...

Oh, when I first got him he had already dropped. I've had him since March.

 

[Little Red Birds]

Oh, when I first got him he had already dropped. I've had him since March.

And he hasn’t been acting “strange”? As soon as my Americans drop they start spraying EVERYTHING. Including me, which is quite convenient when the school bus is two minutes away lol

 

[KikiDeAnime]

And he hasn’t been acting “strange”? As soon as my Americans drop they start spraying EVERYTHING. Including me, which is quite convenient when the school bus is two minutes away lol

Nope. He acted like a sweet little thing around me. I read up on the behavior before I had gotten him so that I would know when he became old enough to be neutered. Since his age was unknown, I wanted to know what to keep an eye out for.

 

[CoturnixComplex]

Oh! I forgot one.

http://rabbittalk.com/how-to-pot-up-a-rabbit-t6566.html

Mine LOVE theirs. Some are secured right now and some aren't, and they get flung and napped in and stood on and rolled around and just provide hours of entertainment in general.

 

[Little Red Birds]

4 days until she’s due and she’s already dug in! She’s my older American blue doe Aqua! So excited for her!!

 

[Sara L]

Watch how hot the temperature gets, the kits can overheat in the nest box if there's too much fur. Not a fun thing to learn from personal experience, as I did this week.