1st Litter - No Survivors - Now what?

[masseyrabbitry]

My Rex doe started having her first litter Saturday night. She had two,hours apart, by Sunday morning, both were gone. By 6:30 Sunday evening, she'd had two more. We lost one by 10:30 Sunday night. By 7:30 this morning, she'd had three more and all four were gone. She didn't start making a nest and pulling fur til she'd had the fourth kit.

We didn't know it at the time, but the buck was half Rex and half Flemish Giant. So I have three questions.

1. Were the babies too big for the mama because of the buck's size?

2. Did we lose the babies because this was her first litter and she wasn't sure what to do and when?

3. When can I breed her again?

 

[mistyjr]

A lot of time first time momma's there babies dont make it. They might have been to big also, But she needed to pull fur out right away. They also could have died from getting to cold and froze. You could breed her right away. It is best fertile after they have babies...

Dont worry, My LionHead was an first time mommy had 2 babies but they both died and frozen.

 

[polly]

1. Were the babies too big for the mama because of the buck's size? Might not have helped. what age is the doe and what weight is the buck? rex are usually good sized rabbits so my guess would be the buck being a mix wouldnt be good to use or more that personally I wouldnt risk it!

2. Did we lose the babies because this was her first litter and she wasn't sure what to do and when? no if she was birthing them dead then they had a hard time coming down the birth canal most likely. the amount of time inbetween each kit means she was having problems birthing them. On the nest thing it could be a couple of things I have seen does do that when they know something is wrong with a litter and I have also seen it in first time mums but they do fine next time

3. When can I breed her again? with her having problems I would give her a week or 2 before a remate. As long as she is happy and healthy and had a bit of time to recuperate ( that was bound to be a bit stressful for her) I would use a different buck though if it was me even part flemmie is putting big genes into the babies personally I wouldnt use that buck

 

[Silver Star Rabbitry]

She might have had the first ones early. That would explain her making the nest late.
You could rebreed her immediately but I would probably wait a day.

Emily

Silver Star Rabbitry
Raising and Showing Quality Silver Marten Rabbits in North Louisiana.

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[pamnock]

The doe is most fertile within these 3 days following conception (in the wild, she'd rebreed immediately after giving birth.)

Late fall thru early spring is a common time for these problems. I'd rebreed right away. If she continues to lose litters, I'd suspect there is another problem.

 

[masseyrabbitry]

Not sure how much the buck weighs, but he is almost twice the size of the doe. He was not this big when we bred them. He had a growth spurt or something. lol We do have another buck that is full Rex and smaller than the doe, so we're going to breed the two next time. Guess we're selling Hef since he's too big for any of our does. Thanks for all the info!! :-D