Animal related topics > Animal Welfare, Pets, Animals

Two mysteries, one a bit spotty and one very black

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doglady:
I went in my rabbit shed on Wednesday morning and laying in the middle of the shed was a tiny baby bunny about a week old.

I have no idea where he came from.







He's pretty isn't he?

I have no rabbit who produces offspring that look anything remotely like this.

I have no doe who has kindled and has babies of this age.

He was laying in the middle of the shed on the floor, well away from any rabbit cages.

Anyway, I decided I would try to hand raise him, as it is nearly ten years since the last one I hand raised.  I temporarily put him in a cage with a doe who had a two week old litter while I fed my animals.

When I went back to get him an hour later he was floating in the water dish, drowned.

As the ARA's would say,if they didn't exist they couldn't die.  Sad, but I guess he was looking for a drin and fell in............Or maybe he was pushed.

The second mystery involves the same doe who may or may not have drowned the baby bunny.

She kindled on April 23 which is 20 days ago.

This morning when I went to feed her she had two more newborn kits.

Unfortunately both the two new kits and the two older kits were all dead.  The two older ones had been buried underneath the upturned water dish.

The gestation period for a rabbit is 31 - 33 days so how did this doe manage to produce these babies after only 20 days?  They were all fully formed and obviously not premature.

Another mystery I will never know the answer to.

MsInformed:
Oh he was so pretty! How odd he just showed up in your barn like that. No does with a litter that age?

The other issue is yes indeed rabbits can carry two different age litters. They have uterine horns just like cats and dogs do and fertilized eggs can implant on one side or the other at different times. The question is why would she stand for a buck when already pregnant and did she and a buck have access to each other? 

It sounds like she got so confused by all these different age babies she just killed them all.

doglady:

--- Quote from: MsInformed on May 12, 2012, 06:20 pm ---Oh he was so pretty! How odd he just showed up in your barn like that. No does with a litter that age?


--- End quote ---

Not a one. I have two other litters in that shed.  One of 3 weeks and one newly born, and they are all solid colours.

Here are some of the ones I just weaned:



















--- Quote ---The other issue is yes indeed rabbits can carry two different age litters. They have uterine horns just like cats and dogs do and fertilized eggs can implant on one side or the other at different times. The question is why would she stand for a buck when already pregnant and did she and a buck have access to each other? 

It sounds like she got so confused by all these different age babies she just killed them all.

--- End quote ---

Yes, I think you're right.

I am so short of cages several of my does and bucks share a cage.  I have never had a problem like this before.  Oh yeah, just in case you are wondering, I don't let the does have more than two litters back to back.  I do move the bucks around.

Those damn bucks though, they are real opportunists. 

When I opened the door to one of my Flemish Giants, who kindled yesterday, I was quite surprised (and somewhat disappointed) to see two rabbits in there.  My Standard Rex buck had managed to squeeze himself through a tiny gap between his cage and hers in order to have his evil way with her.  I had hoped to breed her purebred again, guess she''l be having a crossbred litter!!!

cowgirlTuff:
Strange.. It looks like a checkered Giant Kit, and I have never heard of a doe Having 2 litters weeks apart.. None of our bunnies when we raised and showed did that. Do you think the Doe Killed her kits? Was she a first time Mother? we had first time Mothers do that sometimes give birth then turn around and Kill them its always great to come into the barn and Find baby bunny heads all over the cage becuse the does Ate the babys..

cowgirlTuff:
well you could probly eat the rex flemish crosses!

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