Deformed kit

[laylabunny]

My orange doe had 4 kits during the night. 3 look normal but the one is definitely deformed. He's half the size of the other kits. His ears are almost nonexistent. The front legs are in a praying mantis position, and he doesn't seem able to straighten them. Also his eyes are very large and round and very very dark. Not sure what's going on there. I honestly doubt he'll make it for very long, poor thing.

I snapped a pic as best I could. I couldn't get the nest box hair off of him...

I'm starting to question this doe. This is the first live litter she's had for me since I bought her. Her last litter of two was dead when I got there. They were HUGE. I have no idea how she passed them. One was extremely long and twice the length of a normal kit. I was actually quite horrified when I saw it. Is this going to be a normal occurrence with her? She is an older doe, being 3 years old. It was hard as heck getting her bred in the first place, but she's a very nice, very small Lionhead.

 

[Jaded]

It looks like a peanut, they usually die within a few days.

 

[HappyFarmBunnies]

Whatever is wrong with it, definitely remove it from the other kits right away. It's not going to make it and it's better for the 3 healthy ones that it not be there. Some think it's cruel, but it's really mercy.
(I've thankfully never had to do this myself, but it is what I have *always* been told by other breeders.)

It's possible that the problem is not her but the buck she is bred to. Any buck bigger than her might cause complications in kit size.

 

[laylabunny]

I had heard about peanuts, but have never seen one myself.

I was wondering about the buck as well. She was bred to the same buck both times. He has other litters that have been perfectly healthy. I've never lost one out of his other litters. With her being difficult to breed I was thinking more that the problem lies with her.
No matter what, I obviously want to avoid this happening again. Should I try a different buck with her next time?

 

[laylabunny]

Well I went back down to check on them and the little guy died. I know it's for the best. Didn't get much of a chance in life.
On the other hand I found a stow away. There are four left. One's a little smaller than the rest, but not bad. Everyone else looks really good. I'm shocked that she had five!

 

[HappyFarmBunnies]

Well congrats on finding a Bonus Bunny! That's always a nice surprise.

I am leaning more towards this being a problem on the buck's part. Some bunnies just don't have genetic compatibility to each other for one reason or another. I would definitely try her to a different buck next time (make sure he is her size or smaller) and see what happens.

Don't get too disheartened, peanuts are inevitable in some breeds, particularly in smaller breeds. My bigger concern is the first litter she had with the huge stretched out babies; that is a more serious problem. Some does can die giving birth to kits like that.

 

[majorv]

laylabunny wrote:

...I'm starting to question this doe. This is the first live litter she's had for me since I bought her. Her last litter of two was dead when I got there. They were HUGE. I have no idea how she passed them. One was extremely long and twice the length of a normal kit. I was actually quite horrified when I saw it. Is this going to be a normal occurrence with her? She is an older doe, being 3 years old. It was hard as heck getting her bred in the first place, but she's a very nice, very small Lionhead.

The two she had that were huge and long, were they born on time or late? I had a doe who kindled unusually late for her,on day 35. Both kits weredead and one was bigger than normaland very long. After talking to a couple of breeders I learned that the kit was probably stuck in the birth canal and the doe was finally able to push it out. Her next litter came out normal though.

 

[laylabunny]

I think she was on time with the first litter. I don't remember it being any longer than ordinary. It's hard to believe she was able to push it out.

 

[lelanatty]

The smaller, more showy does in almost every small breed seem to give breeders problems producing. Their larger sisters are usually very good producers though.

 

[DandelionHollow]

You definetly had a peanut there. Sorry, but it does happen and, as said earlier, they rarely last a few days. A "peanut" is very common in the dwarf breeds and is caused when the parents each pass a dwarf gene onto the kit so it carries 2 dwarf genes.