Should I...

[caramel17]

I would like to know if it would be a good idea to breed my Mini Lop, Snowflake again, she is a first time mother, she had 5 kits, but she wouldn't build a nest, and all of them died shortly after their birth, she ate the body of one also, I read that this is normal, but I am scared that if she has kits agian she will do the same thing! If it would be a good idea, just to see if she does the same thing, when is the soonest that I should breed her again????

 

[Alee C.]

In my opinion, I would say don't breed again if this happened once. Also there are many bunnies waiting for good homes in shelters.

 

[whitelop]

:yeahthat:

 

[iLuvMyLilBuns]

I recently bred my rabbit Lila for the first time. She is 18 months and she just had the kits 2 days ago. She built a nest and she gave birth to one kit in the nest and one on the wire. (no idea why) She is nursing them and she's a great mother. (proved a lot of people wrong that rabbits over a year can have babies lol)

Also I had a rabbit a few years ago. She was older probably around 1-2 years when I bred her for the first time and she built a nest and nursed the babies, she was a great mother

With my experiences my rabbits have always built a nest cared for their kits. Maybe just a coincidence or maybe they were very mature compared to a young rabbit that might not build a nest.

Maybe your bunny just isn't mature enough? I'm not an expert, this is just what i've experienced

Maybe breed her in a few months? Good luck! Hope you get some baby buns soon!

 

[Blue eyes]

Is there a particular reason that you want to breed her? Is she a show rabbit and you are trying to improve the breed? Or are you just thinking it would be fun? Or do you want to sell them? Just wondering why you are considering it and what you intend to do with the babies.

 

[majorv]

Moms eating the bodies of their kits may be "normal" but it isn't common. First time moms don't always do it right, but that doesn't mean they will do the same thing again. If you do decide to breed her again you need to be vigilant and make sure there's a nest available when she kindles. As you've found out, kits won't live long outside the nest.

 

[caramel17]

Well, she is about a year and two months old, I gave her a nesting box also, but she didn't use it, I am intending on breeding her to sell the babies and also for show at our county fair. I was hoping that she would be a good mother like 90% of them are, but turns out first litter, I think she didn't know what to do or anything, also, the shelters around where I live do not bring in rabbits, they only bring in cats and dogs, and the occasional snake, but thats it! It is kind of sad that our shelters in Oconto and Shawano Counties, (in Wisconsin) don't have shelters that do so, I adopted my cat from one, and I would of instantly adopted any rabbit that they had their, but they don't house them.

 

[Blue eyes]

caramel17 wrote:

Well, she is about a year and two months old, I gave her a nesting box also, but she didn't use it, I am intending on breeding her to sell the babies and also for show at our county fair. I was hoping that she would be a good mother like 90% of them are, but turns out first litter, I think she didn't know what to do or anything, also, the shelters around where I live do not bring in rabbits, they only bring in cats and dogs, and the occasional snake, but thats it! It is kind of sad that our shelters in Oconto and Shawano Counties, (in Wisconsin) don't have shelters that do so, I adopted my cat from one, and I would of instantly adopted any rabbit that they had their, but they don't house them.

The Wisconsin House Rabbit Society has rabbits for adoption. Their site also lists 6 other Wisconsin shelters that are known to have rabbit adoption programs.
http://www.wisconsinhrs.org/Adoption.htm

One could consider that for every baby you sell, that's one more rabbit that won't be adopted but will be left at a shelter or euthanized. Just a thought.

 

[caramel17]

I will check out the site, but if the shelters are to far away from where I live I probably can't adopt them, as my parents would have to agree to taking me, as I am 13, and I cannot drive! I have a friend that I may be 'adopting' rabbits from since she doesn't want them anymore, but I am not sure yet... If nothing else, I wouldn't sell the rabbits, unless I know that they would be getting a good home, I will keep them for show in that case.

 

[KittyKatMe]

I had a doe that did the exact same thing in her first litter, but I bred her 7 weeks or so after and in her second litter, she was a fantastic mother and raised 6 healthy babies. I would try again and if she doesn't raise the next one, don't do it again. Good luck!

 

[caramel17]

KittyKatMe wrote:

I had a doe that did the exact same thing in her first litter, but I bred her 7 weeks or so after and in her second litter, she was a fantastic mother and raised 6 healthy babies. I would try again and if she doesn't raise the next one, don't do it again. Good luck!

Thanks, that gets my hopes up alot, I did notice that when I took the poor things out of the cage that Snowflake did pull out some tuffs of hair and try to put it around the four that she didn't eat... Hopfully your right, I'll try agian in a couple weeks! Hopfully it will go better this time!

 

[majorv]

If you want the rabbits to show at a fair then try again. You don't need to wait very long before re-breeding. We've had a few first timers who did great the first time and a few who didn't get it right until the second litter. Hopefully, yours will get it right the 2nd time...but if not, then I agree that you shouldn't try again with her.

 

[caramel17]

Ok, when is the soonest you can breed them agian, I'll wait for about a week after that...

 

[majorv]

How long has it been since the kits died? If you plan to show the babies at a fair you need to calculate how much time til the fair and how old you want them to be when you show them. Allowing 30 days for gestation, you can backtrackto when you need to breed her. At any rate,when a doe loses herlitter within the first day or two then you can re-breed in 2-3 weeks.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

caramel17 wrote:

I would like to know if it would be a good idea to breed my Mini Lop, Snowflake again, she is a first time mother, she had 5 kits, but she wouldn't build a nest, and all of them died shortly after their birth, she ate the body of one also, I read that this is normal, but I am scared that if she has kits agian she will do the same thing! If it would be a good idea, just to see if she does the same thing, when is the soonest that I should breed her again????

It is very common for this to happen, so don't get discouraged. A doe usually does not actually cannibalize her kits, but first timers can have difficulties kindling (delivering the babies). When this happens, they may "assist" the process by trying to pull the kits out themselves and, in turn, cleaning up the mess. In other cases, if babies are born dead or pass away shortly after birth, they may try to clean up the nest by eating them. Rabbits are prey animals so leaving dead kits around would not be natural to them.

Now, if your doe were eating LIVE kits, that would be a very different story. But it is pretty typical for a doe to try to clean up a failed litter.

The reason she may have had trouble is because you waited so long to breed her. Rabbits should be bred for the first time around 6-8 months of age. That doesn't completely prevent problems, but it does give your doe a better chance at an easier delivery and better results the first time.

After a litter like this happens, it is best to breed the doe back as soon as possible. She is most fertile at this time, and the longer you wait, the more you risk your chance of not being able to get her started. I know you want to breed for the fair, so under normal circumstances, you would want to calculate desired age and breed based on that schedule. But in this case alone, breeding the doe back as soon as possible will give you the best chance at a successful litter.

It is common practice to give a doe at least 3 tries before calling it quits. Don't give up. Breeding rabbits is not as easy as it sounds, I have quite a few first timers I'm trying to get started here too. It takes time and patience and sometimes some tough first, second or third tries before the "charm," so to say.

Keep trying! And make sure your doe has plenty of hay to nest with when the time comes.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

Blue eyes wrote:

caramel17 wrote:

One could consider that for every baby you sell, that's one more rabbit that won't be adopted but will be left at a shelter or euthanized. Just a thought.

Reputable breeders of any animal species should not be held responsible or blamed for pets that are abandoned by their owners.

When I sell a rabbit as a pet, I take the time to educate the new owners on how to properly care for the rabbit and offer all of my contact information so that they can call or email with questions at ANY time, two days after the sale or ten years after the sale. Likewise, I offer to take back ANY rabbit I sell at ANY time if the new owner decides they are no longer able to take care of it.

Reputable breeders do all they can to ensure that their animals are well taken care of and that they are not added to the number of homeless animals out there. We have no control over what other people do, but we can and do take responsibility for the animals we produce.

Irresponsible pet owners who dump their animals at shelters have no reflection on reputable breeding programs.

 

[Imbrium]

the point being made wasn't that animals you breed would end up in shelters, it was that if someone buys from a breeder *instead* of adopting, that's one less animal getting adopted and therefore one more staying in the shelter

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

I understand, but that statement is placing blame on everyone except the irresponsible person who put the animal there. That's very upsetting to people who spend years and years of time and resources helping to improve the lives of animals, whether it is someone actually raising them or the person who chooses to support a reputable breeder rather than adopt. It implies that we are the people who have done something wrong, and that is not true.

The way we obtain animals shouldn't be a source for division. We are all knowledgeable animal caretakers and can help a lot just by educating others about proper rabbit care.

 

[caramel17]

I agree, some people like buying their rabbits from people that they know, as if you adopt from an animal shelter, you don't always know what you are getting, (like with my cat, she is not very 'litter box trained' as you would wish! But to much for training her anymore she is like 11!) the people that I know, would in a split second rather buy a rabbit from me rather than adopting, people who are inresponsible and give there rabbits to a humane sociiety should have never gotten them in the first place, and if you don't know if you will always be able to care for the rabbit, make sure you get the number from the breeder so you can call them and have them take the bunny back, thats what I did when I got my first rabbits! It is kind of offensive to a reputable breeder, and could also be to anyone who adopts rather than breed, and the animal shelters with rabbit programs are to far to travel to in Wisconsin... most people would rather buy from a breeder then travel over 100 miles to get one, just trying to make a point there...