Mini Rex Rabbits...Peanut or runt????

[SabrinaDawn]

Well I am very sad to report that the sweet baby passed last night. He seemed to be doing fine then about 9pm it seemed that he was having trouble breathing and then he just stopped. My children were very upset, even though I had been trying to prepare them since from what you all with experience told me I didn't expect him to live. The other baby is doing fine so far. We are keeping it and the mom inside just because it is getting is cold here at night. He is eating well, has a fat belly and sleeps like a log

. Hopefully he will be fine. Does anyone know why she only had two kits? She has had a total of five litters (this was her 6th) and has always have 6-8 from what I understand. She is not an old bunny I'm pretty sure she is about two (once again forgot to look at her papers). Thanks for all the help everyone offered.

 

[Minniechickmama]

It is all about how many eggs that were released at the time that fertilization took place. Also, the viability of the sperm, so doing the number (if anyone can count that high), there are a lot of things that can go wrong. A doctor once told my mother when she had a miscarriage, "The question isn't what makes things go wrong, but how can so many things go right?" Consider that for a second and it is amazing that so many creatures survive the odds against them. It could be that other eggs fertilized but perished and were absorbed early in the pregnancy. It could be she only had a couple of eggs release this time. It could be the buck is getting a lower fertility. Just so many things.
It is great that you had the one survive. I find if they make it the first week, they are going to make it all the way. I did lose an ND kit this Spring that really shocked me because it was 3 or 4 weeks old and I found it dead in the cage with Momma and little brother. It is sad, but that is the way Mother Nature rolls. It was hard on my kids at first when we started raising rabbits when we had a loss, but now, with so many animals around, they have gotten more used to it. It still bothers all of us when we lose an animal, especially one we have cuddled or played with. If it ever stops bothering us, then I will be worried. I think it is a good lesson for kids to learn early on, because one day we all lose someone human that we love and it is a little easier to understand and to accept.
Good luck with the little on who is left and may it be as cute as a button for the kids to snuggle when it is big enough!
Sorry you lost the other.

 

[Bunnylady]

Some rabbit does manage to have reasonable sized litters when they are 5 or even 6 years old, but the majority show marked reduction in fertility by the time they are 3 years old, and are essentially sterile by the time they are 4 (if they live that long).

Rabbits don't do heat cycles like you see in cats and dogs, but they do experience hormonal peaks and valleys.They are what are called induced ovulators, meaning that they ripen eggs and hold them in a state of readiness; it is the act of mating that triggers their release. The eggs are at their most viable shortly after they ripen, and lose potency as they age. If the doe were mated at a later phase of the cycle, though she may have ripened more eggs, maybe only a couple actually got released. If the buck only mounted her once, it could be that he didn't trigger the release of enough hormone for her to release more eggs. Weight affects the body's balance of hormones, so if this doe is slightly heavy, she may not be experiencing the deeper hormone fluctuations that ripen eggs in the first place.

The rabbit reproductive system is v-shaped, with each horn of the uterus receiving and nurturing the eggs from the ovary on that side. It's possible that she only released eggs from one ovary this time.

Rabbits are affected by day length. A lot of rabbits won't breed during the winter, some breeders use artificial lighting to keep the does working during cool months. It's possible that this doe is winding down toward wintertime inactivity,

So, basically, there are a bunch of reasons why this doe might have had such a small litter. I'm sorry about the on that you lost - sounds like is was a peanut after all.

 

[rabbit pen]

Hi, I have read that overall health and nutrition plays a big part in litter size. Have just had a 2yr standard female Rex mated with a Mini Rex and she had 10 kits 2 weeks ago, with one being a runt judging that the head is in proportion as are the ears and legs, have tried bottle feeding but it wont have it so will let nature take its course. oh and just a thought on getting the lops to mate, its sometimes better to take the doe to the buck for mating so that the doe does not get stressed with the intrusion on its territory from the buck.
The picture of the poor little one that didn't make it was definitely a peanut, apart from the head the ears are a classic sign being very short, hope you have more success next time.

 

[Minniechickmama]

For the last 6+ years of breeding, I have always taken my does to the bucks. That is not the problem. It probably is something to do with the shorter days, colder weather and so forth.

I did just have a litter of 3 out of my broken red MR doe and a Black buck. I got a black peanut who died on day 3, a broken who's color was not certain, but possibly a castor or opal, and a Castor. I also lost the broken when it ended up out of the nest box and on the wire. I am down to just the Castor, and I think it is a buck. I am just excited to have a Castor in the herd again!!!! Now that I know I can get them using my Red, I am pretty jazzed.

 

[coffeekittie]

Hi, I have read that overall health and nutrition plays a big part in litter size. Have just had a 2yr standard female Rex mated with a Mini Rex and she had 10 kits 2 weeks ago, with one being a runt judging that the head is in proportion as are the ears and legs, have tried bottle feeding but it wont have it so will let nature take its course. oh and just a thought on getting the lops to mate, its sometimes better to take the doe to the buck for mating so that the doe does not get stressed with the intrusion on its territory from the buck.
The picture of the poor little one that didn't make it was definitely a peanut, apart from the head the ears are a classic sign being very short, hope you have more success next time.

 

[Bunnylady]

For the last 6+ years of breeding, I have always taken my does to the bucks. That is not the problem. It probably is something to do with the shorter days, colder weather and so forth.

I did just have a litter of 3 out of my broken red MR doe and a Black buck. I got a black peanut who died on day 3, a broken who's color was not certain, but possibly a castor or opal, and a Castor. I also lost the broken when it ended up out of the nest box and on the wire. I am down to just the Castor, and I think it is a buck. I am just excited to have a Castor in the herd again!!!! Now that I know I can get them using my Red, I am pretty jazzed.

Red is an Agouti color, and its a good one to have when breeding for Castors. Castor is not quite the same thing as Chestnut; a Castor is supposed to have a deeper, more reddish color than you see in a Chestnut. The deeper red color is the result of some modifier genes that cause the rabbit to deposit more of the yellow/red pigment in the hairs of its coat. Without the modifiers, you have an Orange, which isn't showable (though it might just get marked down for "poor color"), with them, you have a Red. I have a Red buck that I bought to work on my Tri program (that didn't work out very well), but he's really improved the color on my Castors.

 

[Minniechickmama]

I had already discussed using this doe to try for Castors when I bought her. The breeder had been getting Castors using her Reds for a couple of years. She does carry some Castor in her bloodline, but 3 gens back. I have a good friend who has been breeding MRs for 20+ years who is helping with some of my "project" type breedings. Her mother scoffed at me trying to get some Castors going from this mating, and she is an ND breeder. At first we were thinking the darker kits were going to be Chocolate Agouti or maybe Opal or Lynx. I think if they had been Lynx the skin color would have been a little lighter shade of gray. I did look very close under good light last night and I am nearly 100% that it is Castor. Even with the new fur, I am see a good rufus color coming, which is something when I was breeding Castor to Castor I wasn't getting as good as I had wanted. I would still have Castors if a stinking weasel hadn't killed 4 of them one night. It is hard to find good ones around here. I picked up pellets from this friend who is a Kent dealer last night, and she saw some good ones yesterday that are for sale at a show. I am not sure how much room I have until I butcher my meaties (Calies). Plus, I have a new building going up to move the rabbits to, and that isn't done yet, so I am kind of at a standstill with some of my plans with rabbits.

 

[Minniechickmama]

I ended up losing the other kit, and it was definitely Castor. It just couldn't stay warm enough on its own, i guess. So, I have bred her right back to the same buck and hope this next go around will work better. I did 4 matings with him and he did his thing and she was very receptive. I have also bred two other does in hopes that at least one of them will stick and have a back-up momma if I need one. I don't usually only breed one doe if I can help it, but I wasn't really ready to have more litters this month until I get all the Meaties butchered. Those will be done this week, so I will have open cages. Plus, I am getting my rabbit building started and will hopefully have it ready for the buns to move into before I get the next litters.
I am relieved to know I can get Castors out of this doe!