Culling young

[MMWB]

My NZ doe kindled 13 kits, 12 days ago. 11 live and are all fat and sassy, but there is a huge discrepancy in size within the litter. Her other litters all were reasonably similar in size. The pic below shows some size difference between a larger one and a smaller one.



Three of them are huge, three little. The rest fall in the middle. The little ones have full round bellies, so I'm inclined to think that this is a genetics thing. I may have to consider growing the larger ones out for possible breeding stock.

Do any of you, raising for meat production, ever cull out small kits from large litters to increase resources for the larger ones for better return?

 

[Bossroo]

I always cull the small ones from a large litter.

 

[MMWB]

What is your criteria? Size of litter, size of kits? Do you look to keep 6, 8, 10; or is it more based on individual kits?

 

[Ebers]

I've started culling to a litter size of 8 based on advice I relieved on here with some considerable success the kits grow out faster & seem to be healthier... I've done it with 3 litters so far & the results seem to be consistent.

 

[Hopalong Causually]

I'm new to raising rabbits myself. What do you all think of addressing this situation by breeding multiple does at the same time to allow post-kindling adoptions among them?

 

[Ebers]

I've never fostered kits over to another doe but I know I've read where @Pastor Dave has mentioned it maybe he'll have some feedback on the subject... I do breed my does in pairs for that reason but I've yet to have a small litter that deemed it necessary

 

[Pastor Dave]

Just seeing this on here.
I do foster occasionally, and my does are wonderful up to a week or a little past kindle.

 

[GypsyG]

I'm new to raising rabbits myself. What do you all think of addressing this situation by breeding multiple does at the same time to allow post-kindling adoptions among them?

I usually breed three does at a time so I can foster as needed... I have even kept two does in my herd that usually only have 2-4 kits just for that purpose... I don't reserve any of the little litter kits though, because I sellect for large litter sizes. Both my nursemaid does are half Angora crosses, so it is easy to tell their kits apoart from adopted kts.

I had a litter if 13 born the other day, and my nurse does pregnancy did not take. Natural selection has cut the litter down to 11, I'm not used to having to cull kits and have not done it yet, though the size difference between the biggest three and the littlest three is so dramatic that I probably should.