Double litter of kits!!!

[Duckfarmer1]

Hi all...so this is an interesting rabbit story for ya....I’ve been breeding rabbits for a year now...having fun...it’s a hobby...got the hang of it, etc. I have a rabbit with a litter right now with 6 kits that are just over 4 weeks old. There were 9 but 3 didn’t make it, various reasons. Tonight I went out to check on things...and saw that my momma bunny was bloody....I quickly grabbed her out. Her privates were all bloody. I thought she was having a major problem and might be hemorrhaging or something. Then , I thought, what if she hurt a baby? I ran to the hutch...I put her in an empty One. Checked the bunnies...they were fine, but noticed there was a ton of new fur in the nest box...and I felt around.....oh my goodness...I found five baby bunnies..new ones! One was dead. These babies were only maybe an hour old, if that, because momma was still bloody and cleaning herself up. I was totally thrown for a loop! Two weeks ago an old far friend told us that a rabbit can have old sperm inside her for up to a month and become pregnant this way. I blew him off. Could this be what happened?? I went up to the house and got onto my rabbit forum for help. The one person sa one thing, one another...but then, the known ‘expert’. said that it’s actually a second kindle from the same pregnancy. She said I needed to remove the older ones...only 4weeks..yes, they are eating pellets and drinking water...but...it’s not weaning age. But...the momma would reject the new ones. The older ones have a better chance being on their own. So, that’s what I did. I’m going to add some rolled oats and some kitten formula to their water. But, isn’t this the craziest thing you ever heard? My friends on the other forum are laughing so hard because I’ve had other funny things happen, so they are waiting for one of my hens to turn into a rooster.... here’s some pictures of the 4week. bunnies and today’s bunnies

 

[Duckfarmer1]

Hi all...so this is an interesting rabbit story for ya....I’ve been breeding rabbits for a year now...having fun...it’s a hobby...got the hang of it, etc. I have a rabbit with a litter right now with 6 kits that are just over 4 weeks old. There were 9 but 3 didn’t make it, various reasons. Tonight I went out to check on things...and saw that my momma bunny was bloody....I quickly grabbed her out. Her privates were all bloody. I thought she was having a major problem and might be hemorrhaging or something. Then , I thought, what if she hurt a baby? I ran to the hutch...I put her in an empty One. Checked the bunnies...they were fine, but noticed there was a ton of new fur in the nest box...and I felt around.....oh my goodness...I found five baby bunnies..new ones! One was dead. These babies were only maybe an hour old, if that, because momma was still bloody and cleaning herself up. I was totally thrown for a loop! Two weeks ago an old far friend told us that a rabbit can have old sperm inside her for up to a month and become pregnant this way. I blew him off. Could this be what happened?? I went up to the house and got onto my rabbit forum for help. The one person sa one thing, one another...but then, the known ‘expert’. said that it’s actually a second kindle from the same pregnancy. She said I needed to remove the older ones...only 4weeks..yes, they are eating pellets and drinking water...but...it’s not weaning age. But...the momma would reject the new ones. The older ones have a better chance being on their own. So, that’s what I did. I’m going to add some rolled oats and some kitten formula to their water. But, isn’t this the craziest thing you ever heard? My friends on the other forum are laughing so hard because I’ve had other funny things happen, so they are waiting for one of my hens to turn into a rooster.... here’s some pictures of the 4week. bunnies and today’s bunnies View attachment 2002685View attachment 2002686View attachment 2002687View attachment 2002688View attachment 2002689

 

[Bunnylady]

This actually explains a 50-year old mystery. I won't go into much detail because I am not a rabbit person, but ... yeah. My parents, city slickers, bought three rabbits for eating, and one of them had babies so they separated the other two. A few weeks later she had another litter and we all freaked out. I don't remember the details but there was no way she could have been bred again. Maybe she was pregnant at the time and they were all females or something. I just remember it was this huge freaky mystery, so this explains it. Thanks!

One possibility is a reproductive strategy known as "delayed implantation." Basically, the doe releases eggs, they get fertilized as per usual, but then the resulting embryos don't implant into the uterine wall. Because they aren't doing all the cell divisions of active growth, the embryos require very little in the way of nutrients, so this is thought to have evolved as a way of dealing with environmental stresses. Once the embryos implant, they will of course be growing fast, but if seriously stressed (think starvation) the doe can absorb them.

It's not common for a doe to do this without some environmental stress as the cause, but it apparently can happen spontaneously. A few years ago, a poster on BYH had a rabbit that apparently did it 3 times running - bred once, then kindled a few kits once a month for the next 3 months. This happened twice. I'd have been disinclined to believe it, if she hadn't been so confused the first time, and as the telling of it occurred over the course of something like 8 months, it seemed an awfully long time to be carrying on a pointless joke.

Rabbit pellets probably have MORE protein and fat than rolled oats, so I don't see any reason for the oats. (But read the label--pellets meant for breeding rabbits are different than pellets meant to keep a pet from getting too fat.)

Most long-time rabbit breeders know the trick of giving rolled oats as a baby food. They are easy to chew, easy to digest, and the high fiber content helps to keep the stool firm and formed (which is why oats are often given to a rabbit that has soft stools). No matter how carefully it is handled, weaning is a stress. While the bunnies would most likely do perfectly fine on a diet of pellets, hay and water, the addition of rolled oats and calf manna is done mostly as insurance against digestive upsets/nutrient deficiency while the kits adjust to the change.

 

[muddy75]

Omg they're so tiny! I dont know anything about rabbits...when do they get fur?

mine are 1 week old today

 

[Building Bridges]

View attachment 2002694View attachment 2002695

Oh my goodness!!! I had no idea they were furless a birth!!! I figured they were like puppies. Just goes to show....never too old to learn. Thanks for sharing the photos....they are all adorable!! Hope they do well for you.

 

[Duckfarmer1]

Omg they're so tiny! I dont know anything about rabbits...when do they get fur?

Well each day they get a bit more...by week one they have enough to no longer look like mice. By week two they open their eyes..week three they jump out of the nest and start eating pellets a bit...but, they really shouldn’t leave mom until week 6 and it should be half the liter at a time. Rabbits get stressed very easy, and can die...this is risky...but, it was the best option. They skwiggle a lot even at this point and each day will jump around in the fur. You have to be careful that they don’t accidentally jump out.

 

[Duckfarmer1]

my doe just kindled first litter last week....i had read/heard of your situation happening and i was concerned it may be a possibility as we attempted breeding several times over last couple of months to get this litter.....mine are NZ whites, and i was instructed to breed again in 21 days and wean (remove these babies) at 4 weeks.

Well, this rabbit wasn’t rebred...these babies were just still inside her apparently from the first pregnancy....it makes no sense to me...I was told the ovaries were still fertilized from the initial sperm. I still don’t get it...

 

[NatJ]

I’m going to add some rolled oats and some kitten formula to their water.

Please make sure they have plain water available too!
If they're already drinking some water, then they need water in addition to milk.

At 4 weeks, they will probably be fine. It's not rare for people raising meat rabbits to wean the babies right at 4 weeks. They usually do fine.

I have a rabbit with a litter right now with 6 kits that are just over 4 weeks old

A rabbit's pregnancy is usually 31 days, which is a little over 4 weeks. I think she just got re-bred promptly after giving birth to that first litter.

Is there a buck who shares her cage? (Not a good idea, BTW)
Is there a buck she sometimes gets to visit/play with?
Is there a buck she could have possibly gotten together with for a single minute?
(Assume that a parent, sibling, child, friend, etc could have opened a cage briefly, even if you did not.)

Two weeks ago an old far friend told us that a rabbit can have old sperm inside her for up to a month and become pregnant this way. I blew him off. Could this be what happened?? I went up to the house and got onto my rabbit forum for help. The one person sa one thing, one another...but then, the known ‘expert’. said that it’s actually a second kindle from the same pregnancy.

I'm an expert too! (Or at least, I'll claim to be ) I say she must have just gotten re-bred, with no funny sperm-storing business. Chickens store sperm, rabbits do not.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Hey, here’s a big question..I had put an ad on our local internet to sell the babies, but that they wouldn’t be ready for two more weeks. I literally just got a text from a girl who wants to see the bunnies on Thursday...sooo.Do I explain...obviously, yes...do I, let her take one now, with the same instructions I’m following...of is that too risking...or do I keep the one she picks for the two weeks as told in the ad. More twists and turns!!

I would take her name and number and tell her she is on the list and you will call her when they are ready. In two weeks. Then call her back and see if she is still interested. Because, dude. If she can't follow instructions, "ready in two weeks," how is she goung to follow complicated feeding instructions?

 

[NatJ]

This actually explains a 50-year old mystery. I won't go into much detail because I am not a rabbit person, but ... yeah. My parents, city slickers, bought three rabbits for eating, and one of them had babies so they separated the other two. A few weeks later she had another litter and we all freaked out. I don't remember the details but there was no way she could have been bred again. Maybe she was pregnant at the time and they were all females or something. I just remember it was this huge freaky mystery, so this explains it. Thanks!

I would explain it as: one doe and at least one buck. Doe has bunnies and immediately gets rebred. People find the new bunnies and separate the rabbits. So the already-rebred doe gets a cage with her bunnies, and has another batch about 31 days later ("a few weeks").

Does CAN get pregnant as soon as they have bunnies.