Rabbit Questions

[purosaviparos]

Have been breeding chickens for aabout a year now and have learned alot. Recently I have delved into breeding rabbits and was wondering if anyone could help me answer the following questions based on their own personal experience.

1) Is it possible to do damage to a female rabbit by allowing the male to over empregnate her, I ask because i have read that it is recomendamble to allow the male to "hump" the female several times over the course of a few days. I have read this is recomendable because sometimes only one half gets empregnated and she will only have 4 kits, if you allow the male several chances it is more likely to empregnate both sides rendering 8 kits.

2) What would be the main cause for the female to eat her kits? I had all my rabbits running free and they had a few litters in the burrows they made and everything came out fine, it got to the point where i could not control them, so i sold all the kits and caged the males and females to start reproducing in a controllable manner, but the first litter that came out, the mother ate 2 of the kits, i seperated the rest and am hand nursing them. Some say too much handling (others say they handle the kits every litter and have never had this problem). Some say it could be a deficiency of nutrients or vitamins, i am going to buy a few multi-nutrient licks for the animals to see if this help, also i am going to buy some sterile gloves for handling the kits. Can anyone give a good answer based on science or their own personal experience?

Please no lame, guessy answers, i already have a few theories on these topics but would like to hear from someone who has experineced the same. Thanks.

 

[lockedhearts]

I know nothing about rabbits, other than how to care for them (had a couple pets) but I know a couple people on here that breed and raise them. You may want to PM Bargain and Debiraymond. They may be able to answer or at least direct you somewhere to find the answer.

 

[Tab003]

#1 No


#2 Sometimes the babies are inferior and it is just natures way. They would have probably died anyhow. Did you see the babies? Were they are deformed?
I handle our babies from the moment they are born and never had any trouble.

www.bunchsbunnybarn.net

 

[goofy98]

I raise french lops and all of this has happend to me.

1) no

2) the main cause for the female to eat her kits would be stress do you have the bucks next them or like in the same barn with them that stresses them out the most or the kits would be a runt or deformend and yes my ferst litter I freeked out she ate her kits and had them on the wier cage and I have only had one secsesfull litter so far I think she only had 5 or 6 and 4 servied. and I have handeled mine sinse birth to but if you where petting any of the uther rabbits or have any trace of them on your hands that could kill them.

 

[purosaviparos]

Thanks for the helpful feedback.

Tab003 - I did see all of the babies, they looked great, one was already dead the first morning when i encountered them but the rest looked very healthy moving about and all looked to be about the same size, so i think deformity and weakness can be ruled out here. But the next day i found one half eaten and the mother had blood on her face (obviously her) and then the next day early in the morning i found another with a few bites taken out of it. I have sinced removed the rest and they seem to be getting by on just regular milk, hope this will provide them with sufficient vitamins and minerals.

Goofy98 - as far as the stress goes, the bucks are not in close proximety. I have a row of cages outside under a small tin roof and just the females (2) are caged, the male runs free on the rest of a half acre plot. He comes by to visit in the night forraging for food, maybe this could be stressfull for the does? Also in those same cages are some young roosters that i will not occupy whom are waiting to become dinner, this also may be stress causing? they make a lot of noise and jump about all day in the cage, coroboration? Because i have heard from too many people that they have always handled their kits from birth and this has never happened to them, that is why I am lead to believe that the canibalism is from another cause. I think i will move her indoors, isolate the situation and give it another go.

Thanks again