A little help with a litter please!

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hunnybunz

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I work in a pet store and made a fewnice discoveries when opening the store this morning:

a) one of our Netherland dwarfrabbits that we thought was a male is in fact a female

b) yesterday we only had six rabbits, and overnight that number doubled!

c) putting a sign up that reads "Please do not disturb! I have babies!"reads to most as "Put your hands in my cage and try to lift up my nestbox!" *roll eyes*

Mommy and babies seem to be doing just fine, though I do have a few concerns. When I put a cardboard box and a couple handfuls of timothy hay in the cage, she went to work on a nest. All six kits are snuggled in the nest safe and sound, but mommy didn't pull any of her fur.Should I be worried about this? She's a first time mom, and about 6-8months old, as far as I can guess. I have an extra My First Home cage that I'll be taking into work in the morning to move mom and babies to the backroom to get some peace and quiet. What other things do I need to know? Should I be giving her a vitamin supplement? Are there certain veggies that I can give her that will give her an extra boost? Any other info or tips anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated!Thanks!

~Dani
 
It has been thirteen years since I raised rabbits from birth, but the biggest thing I remember is try not to worry. The birth and growth of animals is natural and the bunny most likely knows what needs to be done. I would suggest feeding it as you always have. A change in food is a stresser, even if it is a change for the better, and right now it doesn't need that stress. As for pulling fur, that is just an instinct to pad the nest and keep the hairless kits warm, but as long as they are in comfortable room temperature (I would say around 65-75degrees) and are in a nest of some kind and not in the open, then there is no worrys there.

Again I stress, don't let it worry you too much, they can take care of things well and (though you may not like hearing it) you would probably get in the way more then help if you start trying to fix everything for them now. Just sit back and enjoy the babies and don't interfer unless you KNOW something is wrong.:)
 
I'm going to move this thread into the Rabbitry section where seasoned breeders could offer some helpful insight.
  • If Yes... expect her to be pregnant again with another litter. Count out 28 days from the day she had this litter and put a nestbox in with her on that day. The litter will be born anywhere between 28-34 days from the birth of this last litter. With the typical due date of 31 days.
  • If No... Awesome.
Is there a back room that you could move the Momma's and babies to? This would be less stressful on her and would lessen the chances of some stress related complications with her and the litter.

I'm a little confused though... you said that one day you had 6 rabbits and overnight it doubled? ... Does that mean you had 6 "adult" rabbits and then the 6 babies came... or you had 6newborns and then 6more were born the following day?

Now would also be a good time to go through all the rabbits and recheck their Sexes... If there's another Doe in there... it's best to assume she may be expecting as well.

Here'sa great site for determining gender (with CLEAR pictures):http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/sexing.shtml
Bucks - http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/sexingboys.shtml
Does -http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/sexinggirls.shtml

Next, read this thread (it's linked):PIN:The Bunny - From Conception to Weaning and BreedingBasicsthis pretty much covers the basics. If you still have questions... that's what we're here for - don't hesitate to post.

~Sunshine


 
Don't worry.Iknow enough that I'm not trying to meddle too much;) My coworkers were worried about the doe not staying with the kits at all times, so I explained that she'll only feed them once or twice a day. At least I'm not COMPLETELY clueless :D

As I said, I'll be taking my extra cage with me in the morning so I can move them to the backroom away from the customers who *sigh* apparentlycan't read. If the backroom seems to be too stressful, I'll take them home until they're older. I'd rather avoid that though.

Sorry about the confusion... we have two adult Netherland dwarfs that we've had a few months because for some reason nobody has seemed to want them. We also have 4 younger bunnies that came in last week. We keep the younger new arrivals separate from the adults due to aggression. All of us were sure both adults were males.Whoops! They got along just fine up until about 2 weeks ago, so we separated them as well. Our cages are "petting zoos" that are open topped acrylic cubes. They can be used either full size or with a divider panel. Each adult had a half cage to him/herself. However, the doe learned how to jump right over the divider to the other side with the buck. That's where I found her this morning, and it wasn't until I picked her up to put her back on her side that I saw the 6babies (hence the population doubling from 6 to 12 ;)). That means (oh great!) she might already be pregnant again. However, she's not with the buck now, nor will she be again LOL!

Anyway, thanks for the replies, links, and moving the thread. Again any other info will be appreciated! Thanks.

~Dani
 
hunnybunz wrote:
... the doe learned how to jump right over the divider to the other side with the buck. That's where I found her this morning, and it wasn't until I picked her up to put her back on her side that I saw the6babies (hence the population doubling from 6 to 12 ;)). That means (oh great!) she might already be pregnant again. However, she's not with the buck now, nor will she be again LOL! ...
Click to expand...

Yeah, I would suspect her being pregnant again.

Doe's are VERY fertile and VERY receptive (uh hum, Hormonally Receptive) after kindling. If a Buck is nearby (and within"reach"), they'll find any means possible to get to each other - it's thier nature.

Just to make things a little easier for you... here are the dates & tasks to mark on your calendar... Just note, to make things less stressful for your doe - so not to drain her out of condition -This first litter would have to be weaned quite a bit earlier than preferred. If possible, to make things less stressful on them though... When you wean them, I'd house them next to (but not in with)momma doe. Preferably with a plexi-glass or wire barrier. This way they can still see her and feel safe& secure... but can't nurse from her at will, since she'll be tending another litter.

BTW, I'm using 7 weeks as the weaning/rehoming point since it's the median of the recommended 6-8 weeks. ;)

Litter #1 -

5/25/06 - Remove Nestbox

5/28/06 - Wean Litter (Babies4 weeks old [28 days old])

6/18/06 - Babies 7 weeks old... okay to sell/rehome if thriving.



Potential Litter #2 -

5/28/06 - Put in a Nestbox w/Fresh Bedding & Hay for her to kindle in

5/31/06 - Expect Litter / Due Date

6/25/06 - Remove Nestbox

7/19/06 - Wean Litter (Babies 7wks old), Okay to sell/rehome if thriving.



Hope this helps you,

~Sunshine

 
I think I'm getting it :D

From the article:

"I think the reason for intestinal disease at this age is the change from milk to solid food. The intestines become somewhat allergic to the new foods it is processing and sets up are action that can lead to diarrhea or constipation, in any case, causing intestinal inflamation."

Based on the above,is there any merit in starting them with just timothy hay from the time they first start eating solid foodsuntil, say,they're ready to be adopted? Using my own logic I would think the hay would be easier on their tummies than the pellets. Maybe I'm completely off here... maybe not.

Keep it coming!

~Dani
 
hunnybunz wrote:
Based on the above,is there any merit in starting them with just timothy hay from the time they first start eating solid foodsuntil, say,they're ready to be adopted? Using my own logic I would think the hay would be easier on their tummies than the pellets. Maybe I'm completely off here... maybe not.
Click to expand...
That would probably be a bad idea. Timothy hay does not have enough protein, calcium, or calories to sustain growing babies. Plus it has a limited range of vitamins/minerals. Pellets are nutritionally balanced, so you know they're getting all their vitamins and minerals, plus they would contain enough protein and such to feed their growing bodies.As a comparison, feeding just timothy hay to a rabbit would be like feeding only bread to a human. It's a staple, but it doesn't have everything they need.:)
 
To ease the transition, I suggest providing the nutritious Pelleted food as well as unlimited Timothy Hay, and of course fresh water.

You can consider Timothy Hay as basically ALL fiber - it does not sustain as a main staple, however it is necessary to aide in digestive health, especially crucial with a transitioning litter and at weaning time.

~Sunshine
 
Timothy hay and pellets. Got it. That was my original plan anyway :D

When I got to work this morning it looked like mom exploded lol! I know you guys said not to worry about her not pulling fur, but it does make me feel better. It's like a reassurance that her instincts have kicked in.

I set them up in the backroom and they all settled in nicely. Mom seems calm and relaxed, and all 6 kits have nice round pot bellies.

They're so adorable! :bunnydance:

~Dani
 
I have PICS!!!

I'll link to them because there are so many.

In my initial post I guess I should have said Netherland mixes :D

You may notice in a couple if the individual pics of the kits that they look like they have flaky skin. Is that anything to worry about? Other than that, everything seems to be just fine. More pics to come later.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lilagluckpilz/album?.dir=7b9fre2&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lilagluckpilz/my_photos

~Dani

 
They are so adorable!!!
With my litters, i don't 'introduce' anything to them as they are growing up.

There is 24/7 access to hay if they want a nibble and the pellet/flakes mix their mom eats if they fancy something tasty.
This seems to work for me, all my bunnies have been happy and healthy so i would say what you are doing sounds great :)
 
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