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Re: Rabbit Talk

PostPosted: Tue Mar 25, 2014 12:31 pm
by pa_friendly_guy
I hope you get them to take Graham. Sounds to me like they did take this time, we will just have to wait and see. Good luck with your breeding program. ;)

Re: Rabbit Talk

PostPosted: Wed Apr 23, 2014 2:19 am
by GrahamB
Well I've learned some valuable lessons today. Doe number 2 was due yesterday and I'd put the nest box in on Sunday. Her problem is she eats any hay I put in her cage, including the contents of the nest box. I refilled it last night still hoping she was pregnant. I'd tried palpating her but never could feel anything. I was in a rush to get to wok this morning and didn't think to check on her. I was also late getting home tonight and wasn't really expecting anything to happen. I looked in her cage and she had not only ate all the hay but had turned the nest box over on its side. Then I noticed there was fur everywhere. Closer inspection revealed eight babies but unfortunately they were all dead.

Lesson one, pay closer attention to her when she is due. Lesson two, wire the nest box to the side of the cage. Lesson three, pack the nest box completely full of hay so if she does eat it, there is some left for the babies.

Doe one is due this coming weekend, so I'll try this strategy with her and hope we have more luck with her. By the time doe two is ready again, I will be off for the summer so I will be able to spend more time with her.

Re: Rabbit Talk

PostPosted: Wed Apr 23, 2014 8:06 am
by SilverFlame819
Try using some nice shavings in her box (NEVER cedar, and if you use pine, make sure it's kiln-dried). It will look less tasty to her, and she won't be inclined to eat it. :) Was this her first kindling? Could be she just didn't realize she was going to need the nesting material for kits? Most does kindle on day 29 or 30. I put a nest box in on day 27 or 28 so it doesn't get too nasty. That gives her a day or two to start pulling hair and make her nest.

Re: Rabbit Talk

PostPosted: Wed Apr 23, 2014 8:08 am
by SilverFlame819
I guess I should specify... When I say "nice shavings" I mean don't put sawdust in there. Just the nice fluffy stuff. Sawdust will cause respiratory problems in the kits, and can suffocate them and cause nasty eye infections.

Re: Rabbit Talk

PostPosted: Wed Apr 23, 2014 11:42 pm
by GrahamB
Good idea Silver, I think I know where can get a bag of nice shavings. I was doing my math and she kindled either the night of day 30 or the day of 31. I put the box in on 29. This was her first kindling and a couple of guys at work agree with you about her not quite knowing what to do. Oh well, it's a learning experience for both of us.

Re: Rabbit Talk

PostPosted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 3:55 am
by mannytheseacow
I'm sorry to hear you lost them, Graham. I'd agree, it's probably just a first time problem. The good news is that the next time around won't be the first time anymore. She proved herself with a large litter, and she can still probably produce another 30 or 40 bunnies yet this year!

Re: Rabbit Talk

PostPosted: Thu May 08, 2014 11:31 pm
by mannytheseacow
How goes the rabbiting, Graham? Any luck yet?

I have a newer California doe that I crossed with my California buck April 1. It was her first litter and I hesitated to do it earlier because it was such a hard winter. At 28 days I put the box in for her and nothing. Tried palpating her... couldn't feel anything. Left the box in ('cause I'm lazy, mostly) and I come home from work on day 37(!) to find white hair all over the cage and 8 little ones popping like popcorn inside the box. She's seems to know what to do and is taking good care of them. Just when we think we know what we're doing....

Re: Rabbit Talk

PostPosted: Sat May 10, 2014 12:52 am
by GrahamB
Great news Manny! So you should have meat in the freezer in August?
I put the box in with the other doe last week but it seems she never took. She said thank you very much for her new playhouse though :? I put both does back with the buck this weekend and he looked pretty happy with himself afterwards. That palpating thing is a knack I haven't managed to master yet. The doe that had them in the bottom of the cage showed no sign of being pregnant, no matter where i stuck my fingers. I'm beginning to think rabbits have a weird sense of humor.

Re: Rabbit Talk

PostPosted: Sat May 10, 2014 4:33 am
by pa_friendly_guy
Graham, Mother nature will take its course. No matter what we do. :lol:

Re: Rabbit Talk

PostPosted: Sun May 11, 2014 7:39 pm
by GrahamB
Yeah you're right there Guy. I've gotten into this mindset that anything that happens on the homestead, happens because it wants to. I may think I have made it happen or had a hand in it, but I think I'm just fooling myself. I've learnt not to stress out if something I planted didn't sprout. With the rabbits, they may not be giving me meat yet, but I've sure got a load of great manure from them.