Finally, pics of my babies

[jil101ca]

I'm still having problems with my computer at home but can upload from my mom-in-laws.here are some of my babies...

this is "dad" I call him Bucky

then we have "Blacky" 3yrs, mixed breed, mother of 9 1st litter. Old owner thought she was a he.

her babies at 1 day

one week

3 weeks

This Little Sis, she passed away when her babies were almost 4 weeks. 1st time mom of 8

i only have pics of her babies at 2 weeks, it was very cold when theywere born, -18 c and she had them buried very deep in her nest. she wasa good mom

somemy girls together, some were camera shy

some of my boys, i ended up losing 4out of little sis

and a honorable mention, Mamapeach

 

[grumpybabies]

They are gorgeous, i want some! please? lol:bunnydance:

 

[TinysMom]

Hi! Cute rabbits...I have a couple of questions if you don't mind.

I noticed you mentioned losing some rabbits out of a litter. May I ask how big your cages are? I'm not trying to be rude or anything - but I read in a book (I think it is Sandy Crook's book on lops) that if a rabbit is in a cage where she feels it isn't big enough to raise a litter - she will oftentimes let them die because she feels she can't be a successful mama.

I know that I was told that for my lionheads...I need an 18" X 24"minimum size for my adults and while I can have mamas in cages that size, 24" X 24" are better. I also have had recommendations of 12" X24" or 15" X 24" for grow-out cages.

I have found that having large enough cages for my rabbits to be comfortable really seems to make a difference in their health and happiness. I'm just wondering if that could have affected your litter.

Secondly, do they have big enough sitting boards? I did see a board in one - and I think maybe I saw a tile in another?

I'm only asking because I found that when I switched from a 9 X 9" tile to a 12" X 12" tile - it made a world of difference in the happiness of my rabbits.

Anyway - sorry on the loss of your doe.....sounds like she did a good job with the nest though.

Peg

 

[NZminilops]

Sorry to butt in and I don't mean any disrespect, but are breeders cages really that little? 24x24 was tiny when I got my tape measure out. How do they have room to move?

 

[jil101ca]

Tiny's Mom... a few answers for you. The 4 babies I lost to entremis (sp?) were from the mom that died just before they turned 4 weeks. They got sick at 5 weeks. These babies were smaller than the others from the same litter and all boys, they almost looked like miniatures with their little ears.The mom was only half the size of her full sister.My cages are different sizes, I make my own to fit the rabbit. my buck and black doe are in cages 24x24x18 h, they are on the medium/small side. My flemish and other large doeis currently in 36x24x24h,the flemishwill be going in a 6' cagebefore she kindlesI'm making it now.my babies are also in 36x24x18h although my little girls are 8 in a cage and will be split up when i get my new cages finished.Do you think I need bigger cages?? the standard here is 18x24x18h which i found was to small even for my smaller rabbits.The breeder I bought my buck from had all her rabbits housed in cages that were 18x18x18h, her rabbits were all very large californian's. that seems just wrong to me.Everyone seems happy, the binkies they do shows me that. Everyone also has boards that are supposed to cover 1/3 of their cage.they keep shoving the boards around and seem to prefer sitting on the wire. After we move Jan 31, my hubby's going tosecure wood so it covers 2/3 of the cages, for their comfort as well as cutting back on hay waste. Alot of hay goes through the cage floors.I'm going to make another post about cage sizes. I want happy, well cared for rabbits.

 

[TinysMom]

Well - many of my rabbits get playtime outside of their cage...but I find that my rabbits will binky in their cages - yes - even that size - and when they have lots of toys and stuff....they are frequently happy.

I have some rabbits that hate being removed from their cages even to play. They find it comforting to be in the cage....it is their boundary.

Once again - some of it just boils down to personality.

Peg

minilops wrote:

Sorry to butt in and I don't mean any disrespect, but are breeders cages really that little? 24x24 was tiny when I got my tape measure out. How do they have room to move?

 

[NZminilops]

Thanks for answering me Tinys Mom , I know you let your rabbits out a lot and how much you love them, it really shows through in your posts. I'm just trying to picture (for those that have them) flemish giants and such in that sized cage - I suppose you can get larger ones though. I've only ever been to "backyard" breeders and they have hutches on the ground.

Anyway sorry to butt in, please ignore me .