What Rabbits Do You Have? Show Off Your Rabbits Here!

[APDoxies]

There's a learning curve for newbs as myself, it sux. I don't "know" your start lol but mine was more modern. My parents weren't farmers. My grandparents were farmers...then went modern for money, same with my husbands so we didn't have the multi generational knowledge nor did we have the same place. grandparents farmed in Calif & Penn. Different crops/times/temps/animals/predators/even diff illness in creatures...these things are taught to each generation, hands on usually. It was a way of life. Many of us are working backwards trying to find these roots in the chaos of todays world and all the online/book research one can do can't teach losses or culling til you've killed and know one can follow thru, nor can they tell you any one real matter of fact way of doing things.
Don't quit. Make adjustment for next try! We all have to pass along hands on knowledge so none if it gets list to our future generations.

Thank you so much for sharing and for the encouragement. My husband & I both have grandparents who were part time farmers, great grandparents who were full time. I do have the benefit that we are the 5th generation on my husband's side to live on the farm & my husband's family raised meat rabbits years & years ago. But - they weren't big into "trying". If the rabbits made it, they made it. You know?
I guess too, I'm an emotional person - I get attached to each one. Plus, my daughter is involved with the rabbits & I felt sorry for her because she was bummed that we lost the babies.
And, of course, it doesn't help that hubby insists we lost them all because I checked on the bunnies instead of just leaving them alone.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Sounds like your husband is a real "charmer"... :\ In any case, the moms didn't eat or reject their offspring so unless you checked on them and didn't cover them back up that obviously didn't make a difference. Sometimes we just have to work through these things. Wintertime is hard for animals. I had a litter of 11 drop down to 4 because of an inexperienced mom and cold temps just this winter. It's all about living and learning.

 

[Bunnylady]

I guess too, I'm an emotional person - I get attached to each one. Plus, my daughter is involved with the rabbits & I felt sorry for her because she was bummed that we lost the babies.
And, of course, it doesn't help that hubby insists we lost them all because I checked on the bunnies instead of just leaving them alone.

This is for Hubby, from a person who has been breeding rabbits for about 30 years.

If I had a dollar for every time I have heard some version of "you can't touch the babies or she'll kill them," or "just leave them alone, and they'll be fine," I might not be a rich woman, but I'd be a lot better off! Though I'll bet I've seen at at least 10 dead babies for every one of them . . . .

People tell me that they have does that kindle and raise litters when the temps are in the 20's and 30's, and all I can say is, "more power to you!"

Because I can't do it. My baby rabbits die at those temperatures, no matter how good a job the doe does. In fact, I have a bitter joke about being able to predict the weather. I breed some does, and go to my calender, count down 4 weeks and over 3 days, and say, "we are going to have a cold snap/heat wave (depending on the time of year) right about then." I have brought more "Lazarus babies" back from the brink of death than I can count, though those numbers pale when compared to the ones that were beyond saving. Just thinking about sticking my hand into a beautifully prepared nest stuffed with fur to find a mound of cold, dead babies in it (some that were several days old, and had seemed to be off to a good start) makes my stomach hurt.

When I got to the point that I decided I couldn't stand to see one more dead litter, I started doing something that I had been told you couldn't do. I started "kitnapping" the whole litters, bringing box and all into the house. Surprisingly, most of my does are fine with it. These days, if the temps are going to be in the 50's or lower, I will put the doe in a cage that I then put into my hall closet as her due date gets close. Yes, there is a risk of her really making a hash of things, but most of the does I have done this with go on and do their job just like nothing has happened. The babies stay in the house with me, only going out to join the doe for a few minutes in the mornings and evenings.

Yes, it's a lot more work for me, and it wouldn't work with every doe, but at least I have the satisfaction of knowing that I did everything that I could to give the babies a chance of surviving. In all of my years with rabbits, I can only remember one doe that ate her babies (which she also did when she wasn't moved from the rabbitry) and one that completely rejected her litter as a result of my interference. It's an extreme solution, but it works well enough for me.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

It's true, a single icy draft can kill off whole litters. Personally I have been having litters in the teens and 20's all winter, but like I said, even I have problems. We've had three litters so far this winter and each litter has lost at least one kit, and like I said, one of them lost SEVEN out of 11 kits. The kits just kept falling out of the nest box because my new mom bunny would hop in and out all the time. She'd hop in for funsies, they'd try to latch on to feed, and she'd hop out bringing them with her. I'm hoping a bigger cage and a second box (for HER to hide in, instead of the nest) will help her settle down.

I do find that my kits in the nests do OK though. It's important to have a solid, WARM nest box for winters. Personally I actually use corrugated cardboard boxes a fair bit bigger than my does. Then I load the box down with lots of hay so it's the size of a normal nest box, and I use hay as my bedding too so it goes on top of hay and then is surrounded by hay. All those pockets of still air created by the cardboard and a few inches of hay on all sides really do wonders, and then I load the nest down with extra fur saved from failed litters, false pregnancies, and shedding rabbits... But there needs to be at least 4 BIG, chubby, well fed kits to keep each other warm or they won't make it through the sub-freezing temperatures. Birthing is traditionally a spring thing for a reason! If the doe doesn't feed them and clean them and cover them right away then the cold air could suck their strength to the point that they just can't make it outside even if they eat the next few meals. It's really totally up in the air if winter litters are successful. I am lucky to have some does who are good at winter litters.

 

[kacklinkelly]

Great information regarding winter kindling. Does anyone have experience successfully kindling in temps near to or above 100 degrees F? Mine won't be 6 months old until the temp is close to that in my area. If I get brave enough, I guess I could bring momma in the house close to and after kindling.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

We had litters in 90s this year and over the summer I talked to other people who did as well... Because I know some people were asking me about it when I was selling kits. In general my rabbits get cool (not cold) water in their bottles and frozen water bottles 16-20oz bottles changed 2Xs a day, and once more before overnight. My hutch is in the shade under trees and the ground underneath the hutch is damp and cool. I wet it down for the hens who live in that area of my lawn. Otherwise they were in my garage where it is a few degrees cooler. Never lost a doe to heat stress... I also feed VERY little pellets and NO grain in the summer, especially in the week before kindling. Unlimited quality hay, though.

The kits maintain a body temperature around 100 degrees and in the dead of winter a properly insulated nest will easilly reach 90s in the middle of the nest. In the summer, I find the kits simply sleeping in a pile on top of the bedding, sometimes 2-3 piles, but always in piles sleeping. If the kits are trying to get away from eachother constantly it is too hot for them.

In general I have heard similar things from people in similar temps. Some people use wire nest boxes instead of solid ones in the summer so they get more airflow. I would not schedule a rabbit to kindle if I thought it would be over 100 degrees, though. Mid to high 90s during the hottest part of the day turned out pretty OK even during late pregnancy, kindle, and early kithood.

 

[insanity]

Hi
Just got back into rabbits after a few years without any. Last night I picked up this pair of lops.

 

[kacklinkelly]

GOOD LORD How much do they weigh?

They are so cute! And so is your little one.

 

[APDoxies]

Thank you all SO very much for the information! I am taking it all in!
Hubby can be insensitive sometimes & an *****. But he did build all of my hutches in the hottest part of summer - so I let him live.
My nest boxes are plywood. The rabbits are in our coop which has rolled roofing all the way around it to protect them from the wind & precipitation. The mini lop had lots of fur in her nest & the babies were all warm when I checked on them the first time. Mom even plugged the entrance to her house when she wasn't in it with them. I have no idea when the Satin kindled. She's a bit spastic, so we checked just twice for babies. She hadn't pulled much fur for them though.

 

[insanity]

GOOD LORD How much do they weigh?   They are so cute! And so is your little one. 

They should be 12-18lbs but my boy is closer to 20+.