Ready To Strangle My Lionhead Doe

[SilverBirchRabbitry]

Some of you may know Princess Fufu, my vienna marked Lionhead doe. Well she has had 3 litters, and killed all of them :[ The worst part is she actually makes a nest but has them on the wire.

I went out this morning she was due today, she had a dead baby on the wire. That is all she will probably have though.

What should I do? Give her another chance or find her a pet home? :expressionless

 

[BlueGiants]

Awww... I'm sorry she did it again. I'd keep an eye on her,just incase shemay have another...

Not all rabbits are cut out to be mothers... unfortunately after 3 tries I'd look for a pet home for her. A lot of breeders believe that maternal instinct is an inherited trait. If mommy doesn't have it, the daughters won't either. So do you really want to work that hard to get a litter out of that kind of doe? Especially if you have to worry about the does you keep out of her.




Edited to add: Ummm... don't strangle her...

 

[SilverBirchRabbitry]

My problem is though, she is a vienna meaning if I breed her to a BEW, the babies will be BEWs. The buck I own is a BEW, I have people waiting to get a BEW kit.

That is my only hesitation, should I bring her in the house and watch her? I will try and feel for more.

Thank you for the advice And I will consider everything you have said

 

[bunnybunbunb]

"My problem is though, she is a vienna meaning if I breed her to a BEW, the babies will be BEWs. The buck I own is a BEW, I have people waiting to get a BEW kit."

So color and sales are worth more than putting rabbits out into the world that comes from a bad mother?

My friend who breeds only gets from stock where both the bucks and does come from great mothering rabbits. She said it has be carried on both sides, in her opinion.

 

[SilverBirchRabbitry]

No I promised these people babies, I dont have any more vienna does, which comes as a problem.

That is your friend not me.

 

[BlueGiants]

You can try one more time. But at some point you have to consider the doe and the kits she is kindling and neglecting/killing.

If she has really small litters of one (or two), you're probably going to keep any doe out of her... and you still won't have any to sell. So now you have to wait til the daughter grows up... and she may perpetuate the cycle of not caring for the kits. Wouldn't it be better to start looking for a doe more willing to care for her kits?

Maternal instinct is tied to proper hormone levels. If a doe doesn't produce enough (or the right levels) of hormones, nothing you do is going to fix that. And it is probably an inherited trait... so the cycle continues.

 

[polly]

Maybe this is just me because w don't use wire hutches over here but I would give her one more chance but in a normal wood bottomed hutch. that way you are more likely to keep the litter if she cant manage it on that then you are going to pass her on.


Meanwhile I would use your BEW with a coloured doe to make a carrier longer way of doing it but it gives you another option.

 

[clevername]

Bad mothering is just another fault to me, like pinched hips, wrong color toenails and white spots on a solid coat... Its certainly cull worthy offense, but if its all you have to work with I don't see anything wrong with sticking with it as long as you commit towards taking extra steps to breed such a fault out.

And I've done this. I've done 2-3 hourly check-ins when a "dumb" mom is due. I've scooped those babies off the wire, taken them from her if she was already in the process of "cleaning" off ears and tails or making a nest on top of them--ACK! I then fostered them to someone competent. And I did this because the "bad mom" was perhaps the best show doe in my rabbitry (of that breed). But now I've taken on the responsibility of breeding in some good brooders, perhaps even breeding back to dad if his line has shown to have better parenting skills. You're resposible for breeding that fault out now.

It may be the case that replacing the doe will be easier. But if you succeed in getting these babies out of her, I would at least inform show and brood buyers that their mom had some trouble caring for them.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

This does not sound a bad mother or intentional killing to me. It sounds like kindling complications. Though, either way, I'd pet her out.