Share about recent or expected rabbit kindling?

[Birdinhand]

my daughter has a 6 month old holland Lop Doe and she desperately wants to breed it. we are lining up friends who will take the kits. I've heard they can breed this early. any advice on ideal timing/age. we have quite a bit of experience with urban homesteading and will be doing a lot of research so have no fear, this is not an easter inspiration that will result in abandon babies down the road. if there is anyone near by with a buck who is willing to offer sire, feel free to pm me.

 

[BantamLover21]

my daughter has a 6 month old holland Lop Doe and she desperately wants to breed it. we are lining up friends who will take the kits. I've heard they can breed this early. any advice on ideal timing/age. we have quite a bit of experience with urban homesteading and will be doing a lot of research so have no fear, this is not an easter inspiration that will result in abandon babies down the road. if there is anyone near by with a buck who is willing to offer sire, feel free to pm me.

6 months is a fine age for breeding Holland Lops. I've once bred (for another person) a Sable doe at 4.5 months, and she had a healthy litter. Holland lops and other small breeds tend to mature more quickly than large breeds, too. Just make sure she is healthy and not too small, breed her to a healthy buck, and she should do okay.

 

[BantamLover21]

Well, my Mini Rex doe kindled on Saturday: five healthy kits and one peanut (has a double dwarfing, fatal gene). She's being a great first time mother and two of the kits are Chocolate, like I was hoping for.

On the bad side, my Sable doe's litter did not go well. She went to day 34 (Sunday) and then had one dead kit. It probably was stuck in her too long and that was what killed it. So far, she hasn't had any more, and I don't feel any more live ones inside of her. She could have some dead kits in her that I can't feel, but hopefully not. This particular doe has problems from time to time with litters. One litter will go horribly (lots of stuck kits, late gestation, etc.), and then the next litter, she'll have 5-6 healthy, live kits on Day 31 or 32. I think litter size has something to do with her struggles; if the litter is small, she seems to go longer in gestation and have more problems with stuck kits.

 

[DancingWthDucks]

Well, my Mini Rex doe kindled on Saturday: five healthy kits and one peanut (has a double dwarfing, fatal gene). She's being a great first time mother and two of the kits are Chocolate, like I was hoping for.

On the bad side, my Sable doe's litter did not go well. She went to day 34 (Sunday) and then had one dead kit. It probably was stuck in her too long and that was what killed it. So far, she hasn't had any more, and I don't feel any more live ones inside of her. She could have some dead kits in her that I can't feel, but hopefully not. This particular doe has problems from time to time with litters. One litter will go horribly (lots of stuck kits, late gestation, etc.), and then the next litter, she'll have 5-6 healthy, live kits on Day 31 or 32. I think litter size has something to do with her struggles; if the litter is small, she seems to go longer in gestation and have more problems with stuck kits.

Congrats on the litter!! 5 sounds like a good sized litter for a small breed.

Sorry about your other does litter....

 

[DancingWthDucks]

Here's a pic of one of Floras kits (she ended up having 6- 3 dead/stillborn and 3 healthy) whic are now 5 days old.

 

[Bunnylady]

Well, my Mini Rex doe kindled on Saturday: five healthy kits and one peanut (has a double dwarfing, fatal gene). She's being a great first time mother and two of the kits are Chocolate, like I was hoping for.

On the bad side, my Sable doe's litter did not go well. She went to day 34 (Sunday) and then had one dead kit. It probably was stuck in her too long and that was what killed it. So far, she hasn't had any more, and I don't feel any more live ones inside of her. She could have some dead kits in her that I can't feel, but hopefully not. This particular doe has problems from time to time with litters. One litter will go horribly (lots of stuck kits, late gestation, etc.), and then the next litter, she'll have 5-6 healthy, live kits on Day 31 or 32. I think litter size has something to do with her struggles; if the litter is small, she seems to go longer in gestation and have more problems with stuck kits.

This is typical rabbit pregnancy behavior. Litter size influences how long a rabbit carries the kits and how big the kits grow. Litters of 1 or 2 kits often get carried to day 34 or 35, by which time the kits are usually huge, and the birth process takes so long they rarely survive. IME, it's pretty unusual for a doe carrying just one kit to give birth on day 31 or 32. On the other hand, the only litters I have had that were born on day 28 were numerically very large (12 to 15), and the kits themselves a bit on the small size for that particular breed.

 

[Bunnylady]

Here's a pic of one of Floras kits (she ended up having 6- 3 dead/stillborn and 3 healthy) whic are now 5 days old.

Well, momma's feeding that little tort well - it's a chunk! Congrats on the litter and the good mother!

 

[braehedge]

Three week old mini rexes

 

[DancingWthDucks]

Three week old mini rexes

So cute!

 

[balloonflower]

So, my Apple had her second kindling overnight. Seven new cute squirmy kits. Yay!

There is more blood around the cage this time. Not enough that I'm alarmed at the amount, but more visible over in the corner she hangs out. Is it worth stressing her by moving all to another cage while I do a good job on scrubbing the kindling cage, or should I just try a little cleanup with a rag and wait a couple weeks.