Baby Bunnies did not survive

[bunnyfufu]

Hello. I have a sad bunny story that I am hoping someone can shed some light on. I have 2 bunnies-Angel (a 3 year old female Jersey Wooly) and Smoky (a 2 year-old male Lionhead). Angel is the mother and Smoky is her son. Angel has been an excellent mother in the past and had a healthy litter, of which all 5 baby bunnies survived. I have them housed together.
Last summer, Angel got pregnant. I separated Angel and Smoky before the babies were born. She ended up having several litters that summer. The babies were born alive, but did not survive more than a few days/weeks. I would find the babies together, but slowly some of the babies would get cold and die. Other babies would be warm and have full bellies (ie. appear to have been fed) but then they would also be found dead. The babies were always in their nest with Angel's fur.
Incidentally, Smoky's father had to be euthanized due to E. Cunniculi.

I am thinking that maybe Smoky could carry the gene for E. Cunniculi? Or maybe the babies did not survive b/c Angel and Smoky are mother and son?
I had Smoky neutered so this should not happen again. I'm just trying to figure out the mystery. Any ideas?

 

[majorv]

I'm sorry you had such bad luck with the litters. Breeding mother to son, or father to daughter, is not unusual among breeders. It's called line breeding, and can help improve the breed. However, with the good there can also be bad in doing it because if either, or both, parents are carriers of a bad trait then they can carry it to their offspring. By breeding the offspring back to a parent you just magnify the bad trait. This may have been what was happening. We've line bred before and had no problems, except with my Himalayans. Whether EC or something else was the problem with yours, you wouldn't know for sure except through a necropsy of one of the kits.

 

[bunnyfufu]

Thanks for your quick reply. Looking back, I wish I had had a necropsy done on one of the kits. Would the vet do that?

I would like to breed Angel again b/c she has a great personality and is a real beauty. She is 3 years old now. I am thinking of finding a Buck for her inthe Spring. Howerver, I am worried about finding a Buck for her. She is quite aggressive when she gets to know a new bunny. Any suggestions?

 

[BinkyBunny]

Talk with a breeder of Woolies. They can help you decide if her great personality and beauty are a good enough representation of the breed to want to replicate, and if they think so, they may have some good ideas for you and maybe even a man bunny!

 

[majorv]

A rabbit savvy vet could probably do a necropsy. If they don't they would send it off to be done and you'd get a report of the findings. If you're going to breed her again the I agree that you should talk to a JW breeder.

 

[KittyKatMe]

Just a question: how is the mother a Jersey Wooly and the son a Lionhead? I know that's where Lionheads came from but it took a lot of breeding to achieve it...

 

[tonyshuman]

Talk with a breeder of Woolies. They can help you decide if her great personality and beauty are a good enough representation of the breed to want to replicate, and if they think so, they may have some good ideas for you and maybe even a man bunny!

This is a very good statement. In any case, I would not breed her to a related bunny again. It would also be good to give her body a bit of a rest from those unsuccessful litters. A breeder would also be a better judge of how well her personality and/or looks may or may not be passed on to her offspring. She could be a poor mother--some bunnies just don't have the right instincts to take care of their babies.

EC is not a genetic disease, but there may be a genetic susceptibility for it. It usually does not cause death in the very young unless the infection is very acute and stronger than normal. There are some genetic diseases that are recessive and found in dwarf bunnies such as lionheads/woolies that can cause failure to thrive in the newborns. They usually cause the bunnies to look very strange, however. A necropsy might be very helpful because there could be some internal problems with the bunnies, like improperly formed organs, liver shunt, etc., that are causing their death.

 

[tonyshuman]

Check this site for a breeder of jersey woollies near you that might be able to offer advice. http://njwrc.net/
It is often a really good idea for someone who wants to get started breeding rabbits to have a mentor who is already successful.