1 kit with malocclusion.

[Alicia9379]

Im looking for some thoughts on my first litter of silver fox kits. I have a breeding trio that I acquired a little over a month ago. 1 doe was already bred. She kindled about 3 weeks ago. She had 6 babies. The runt disappeared around day 2 (i know she ate it, it was eating well at all). The 5 remaining babies have been doing great. About a week ago, I noticed 1 kit has poo and stuff stuck to its bum. I cleaned it off, and continued to monitor. The other babies are completely fine. I cleaned the kits bum off again yesterday. It had much less debris, but still some stuff that gathered there. During cleaning, my son said he could see the babies teeth. I looked and lo and behold, this kit also has malocclusion. Its bottom teeth are already getting long. Hes def not as heavy as the other ones. Everyone else's teeth look fine.

So I have a couple questions. This doe has been such a great mom and is also very sweet. We'd love to have her continue in our little breeding program, but do you think this is somthing that would make her not a great breeding candidate? I have no clue who the buck is, so I was thinking id re breed her eventually and see if any more have malocclusion. But curious if just 1 kit might be a fluke?

For this particular kit, its still active, but maybe a little less active then the others. Its also less weight. Im a tech and have had to trim many rabbits teeth before, but those have generally been pet rabbits and have been at a good weight. Im also not sure what's up with this little gals hind end. Maybe some gi thing going on causing her to not gain as much? What would you do? Monitor? Cull? Try any meds or somthing else? I was thinking Monitor.

Any thoughts would be great! This is new for us, and our first litter. So I just want to make sure I learn what I need to do

 

[Mini Horses]

Personally, I'd give her another pregnancy to monitor.

I don't raise rabbits but many other pet animals & livestock. There are occasions when a fetus just doesn't form "correct". It isn't always a genetic problem. Being a tech, you do know this & just overlooking training because these are there, yours. So, trim those teeth, plan to cull or pet that one out once grown. Accept it as a development issue and give the sweet mom another go. Check her next litter for any possible issues.

 

[Alicia9379]

Personally, I'd give her another pregnancy to monitor.

I don't raise rabbits but many other pet animals & livestock. There are occasions when a fetus just doesn't form "correct". It isn't always a genetic problem. Being a tech, you do know this & just overlooking training because these are there, yours. So, trim those teeth, plan to cull or pet that one out once grown. Accept it as a development issue and give the sweet mom another go. Check her next litter for any possible issues.

Awesome! OK thank you for your thoughts. Thats what I was thinking about doing. Thanks so much

 

[farmerjan]

.. I do not raise rabbits either, but lots of other animals.... and I totally agree with @Mini Horses . We had a cow that had a calf and it's legs looked like the old scissor jacks for cars... That cow took very good care of that calf,,, went to where it was to let it nurse... Honestly, I was ready to destroy it because it could not get up for about 2 weeks... the cow had a low slung udder and she fed it and took care of it. The calf got stronger, finally got up... I would "drape it " over a sq bale of hay at least once a day as it worked the muscles... and it gradually got to where it was falling/walking... then to where it was walking with a horrible gait, then the legs straightened up... and by the time it was weaned, you had to look twice to tell it did not walk perfectly normal. Sold the calf as a feeder, and the cow bred back. and even with the less than perfect udder, she had a couple more calves with no problems. What caused it ???? . Sometimes it is just one of those things. If she had had another like it, she would have been culled.

Sometimes it might be something environmental, or something in feed...exposure to a chemical spray??? you just don't know. I agree that if she rebreeds and it happens again... she needs to be culled. The one nice thing with rabbits, the time frame is short..... not like us with cattle where it is 9 months pregnancy, so a year from calf to calf... you have such fast turn around with rabbits..

Sounds like you are sensible and pretty well informed... Congrats.... look forward to more posts from you...

 

[Alicia9379]

.. I do not raise rabbits either, but lots of other animals.... and I totally agree with @Mini Horses . We had a cow that had a calf and it's legs looked like the old scissor jacks for cars... That cow took very good care of that calf,,, went to where it was to let it nurse... Honestly, I was ready to destroy it because it could not get up for about 2 weeks... the cow had a low slung udder and she fed it and took care of it. The calf got stronger, finally got up... I would "drape it " over a sq bale of hay at least once a day as it worked the muscles... and it gradually got to where it was falling/walking... then to where it was walking with a horrible gait, then the legs straightened up... and by the time it was weaned, you had to look twice to tell it did not walk perfectly normal. Sold the calf as a feeder, and the cow bred back. and even with the less than perfect udder, she had a couple more calves with no problems. What caused it ???? . Sometimes it is just one of those things. If she had had another like it, she would have been culled.

Sometimes it might be something environmental, or something in feed...exposure to a chemical spray??? you just don't know. I agree that if she rebreeds and it happens again... she needs to be culled. The one nice thing with rabbits, the time frame is short..... not like us with cattle where it is 9 months pregnancy, so a year from calf to calf... you have such fast turn around with rabbits..

Sounds like you are sensible and pretty well informed... Congrats.... look forward to more posts from you...

So glad the calf turned out well and was able to get around. I was hoping a fluke. We shall see . I really like this doe. Our trio are our pets per say since I have 2 young kids . So im hoping she continues to do well and her kits turn out to be ok. Im sure I'll run into more weird things with litters lol. But as of now, were just enjoying this new journey and def learning alot

Thanks so much for sharing your advice and experience, its much appreciated

 

[Ridgetop]

We used to raise show and butcher rabbits. Bad teeth occur in any litter occasionally. Raise this kit to 8 weeks then butcher it and eat it. Rebreed the doe and watch for any other teeth problems. Before getting rid of this doe, I would try breeding her to a different buck. Bad teeth can come from either parent, or neither. Sometimes they just happen. However, you should get rid of the bunny wth bad teeth. It is not worth having to trim the teeth constantly.

 

[Alicia9379]

We used to raise show and butcher rabbits. Bad teeth occur in any litter occasionally. Raise this kit to 8 weeks then butcher it and eat it. Rebreed the doe and watch for any other teeth problems. Before getting rid of this doe, I would try breeding her to a different buck. Bad teeth can come from either parent, or neither. Sometimes they just happen. However, you should get rid of the bunny wth bad teeth. It is not worth having to trim the teeth constantly.

Sounds like a great plan to me! Idk the buck she was bred to. All 3 are new to me, with the buck being from a diff person entirely. I can't wait to see the kits from my buck when that happens. My other doe was bred to him and shes due Mon or Tues. So im curious to see what this litter looks like. Both does are from the same breeder. So I'll def be keeping and eye on teeth.

Thanks so much for your advice. I appreciate you sharing your experiences