Yay !!!! NEW Bunny kits.... Q&A please ( Update-PICS )

[Apple Hair]

I woke up today with a box ful of babies!!!
They are lionhead mix and I think there are 4-5

I have been doing my reseaarch but have afew unanswered questions.....

1. how long should I wait to handle them....Have gotten various answers not sure who to trust....

2. By when can I tell coloring? ( soon I will have pics to help...)

Thanks

 

[Bunnylady]

You can handle them as soon as the doe gets out of the nest box: I do. I count them, check for damaged/dead kits, make sure there aren't any afterbirths left in the nest - all that stuff. I have had a few does that didn't like my hands in the box, but they went after me, not the kits. In 20+ years of breeding rabbits, I have had exactly one doe to deliberately savage her litter (when I moved her and her new litter into the garage just after they were born). I had another doe that abandoned her litter after a great deal of interference from me. On the other hand, I have had dozens of does that tolerate having their nest boxes removed from their cages every day; many have even been moved into my hall closet to give birth. Having personal experience with those sorts of odds, I think you can safely handle those kits if you want to.

If you know what you are looking at, you should be able to tell most colors the day the kits are born. There are a few colors that look alike at this stage (REW and Himi, for example) so the kits may need to be a little older to tell them apart. Of course, the more you know about the colors of the previous generations of a particular cross, the more you know about what colors are actually possible, so you know what to look for. If, say, the parents are a black self and a blue otter, you know there aren't going to be any Agouti patterned bunnies, so any that have white tummies are going to be tan patterned.

 

[Apple Hair]

Ok Here are some Pictures!!!

I would like to know what I am looking for to differ between different colors.....
I know of colors like tri-colored, black/orange harlequin and a black/orangeTri, Japanese Harlequins, and brokens.
Not sure how to tell all of the colors apart....
There is also one kit (#1) who seems to be all white...Could it be a REW or what?



This is dad...He is a "mutt" from the shelter but we love him spots and all.
Have heard that he my be a broken.... with rheilander mixed in....


This is mom... I don't have any resent pics... these are of when I first got her... Don't worry I didn't breed her at this age
These just show her basic colors... they are much more pronounced now that she is grown....


If any other pics would help I can find them

 

[m.kitchengirl]

I can't offer any guidance, but those are lovely rabbits!
I just adopted a Holland Lop doe & have bunny fever.
They are so much fun. The parents are lovely. I am sure you'll have beautiful babies.

 

[Bunnylady]

Harlequin rabbits have patterns of patches of dark and light hairs. Those with a white background color are called Magpies, those with orange/fawn are called Japanese. The pattern color can be black, chocolate, lilac or blue, so you have Blue Japanese, Chocolate Magpie, etc. Overlay the broken pattern on a Japanese of any color, and you have a tricolor. There is no need to mention the orange/fawn - it is understood. So you have Black Tri's, Chocolate Tris, etc.

Your buck seems to show both broken and harlequin patterns - does he have any orange hairs on him, or is that just sunfading? If not, he's a broken black magpie.

Harlie babies can be wild looking, can't they? It looks like you have at least one Tri in there, but you may need to wait a few more days before you can decide whether some of the others are Japs or Mags. And yes, the all white baby probably is a REW. I have a line of Harlequins (the breed, not the color) that occasionally throw a REW (someone did some outcrossing, didn't they?); I call 'em my "paint-by-number Harlies!"

 

[Apple Hair]

My buck, Joey, does not have orange hairs...So now I know he is a Broken Black Magpie

Thanks Bunnylady for the description of each color,It helps alot

I will post pics of them once they have more hair for clearer colors

 

[Apple Hair]

Here are pics from 4- and 5 days old....their colors have started to come in better so I attempteed to make a guess at them?

Under each picture is what I think they may be, but I am no expert so please make corrections if they are present....





(Left to Right) #6 - #5 - #2 - #3 - #1 - #4


Baby #1- most likely a Rew....is it possible it could have brown or blue eyes or is this in different breeds?



Baby #2- Black and Orange Tri-color?


#3- Black, Orange Harli? or Japanesse Harli?


#4- Same as #3?


#5- Brocken Black Magpie, like father?



#6- Not sure what to call this one... I think it's a harli but can it be if it's black and white? or would it be a magpie because of the white.... Do magpies have to be spots or can they have stripes like this?
.

 

[Bunnylady]

Looks like they're doing great!

Baby #1 is most likely a REW. BEW is recessive, it requires both parents to carry it. Most rabbits that have only one BEW gene have markings like a Dutch rabbit. It would be extremely unlikely for this kit to be BEW, given that neither of your rabbits' coats show any sign of those sorts of markings, and none of the littermates do, either. Brown eyes on a white rabbit, is possible in this case; we'll have to see.

#2 I agree, black tri.

#3, #4, yup, black Japanese harlies.

#5. broken black mag - you're getting good at this!

#6 Black mag. The "ideal" pattern for the Harlequin (the breed) involves large patches of color. One ear is supposed to be dark, the other, light. One side of the face is to be dark, the other, light (this bun's face does this) the dark ear is supposed to be on the same side as the light side of the face, and vice versa - like a checkerboard. The feet are supposed to be one dark, one light, and the back feet reverse the colors of the front. The body is to be marked with bands or bars. In all my years as a Harlequin breeder, I have had less than 10 that did the whole pattern. Most show some parts of the pattern, like this bun. Small spots of color are more typical of the Reinlander, but for some reason this seems to happen with most of my tricolor Mini Rex, too.

 

[Apple Hair]

I can't wait for them to open their eyes they are so cute already

I am not new to rabbit raising but am to babies.... I have been trying to learn all I can about differing colors and your advice has helped a bunch!!!

So excited to watch them all grow up