Duckfarmerpa1
Herd Master
Hi! I’m new to this forum but not new to breeding rabbits. Currently I have a doe..six months and a buck, four mths living together. They are from different litters, different fathers, etc. In the summer I like to keep my youngsters in rabbit tractors until they get older and need separating. Unfortunately I had a bad outbreak of GI Stasis and lost there litermates. So these two are bonded and when we moved to the barn I didn’t want to separate them...as, we all know..stress can cause problems! So, because the buck is immature I figured, no worries. Truthfully, I wouldn’t care if we did have a winter liter. I have plenty of room, and I love this! So, anyways, my doe started pulling fur two weeks ago! No nesting box but they do have a bunny box. It’s a large box..about 11/2’x28 deep with 1’ high for the jumping on. Anyway they have a 4‘ cage x 18” deep. We specifically made some large, so I could have liters..or, they can be sectioned for individual rabbits..each to get 18”x 24”. There’s enough room for at least 32 rabbits, or more, depending. Anyways....so, she started pulling fur, and creating a nest in this box. I took out my buck, in case she delivered. It abruptly stopped. They missed each other and stopped eating as much. So, I put them back...what a reunion! Anyways..today, she started with the hay!
So, first question...do I disrupt her bunny box to give her a proper nesting box, or will this do? Next, could she just be hormonally confused due to the buck being with her? Could it be false pregnancy...but, clearly, not..twice in a week?! Could he have matured early? He’s small! His testies are small... Since I don’t care if she does have a liter, would you keep them together, as to not stress them? But...what about the possibility that a buck could eat the kits? Clearly, this is the first time I’ve had a buck and together at this nesting phase...lol..ugh. As I said, it wasn’t planned. I hate to separate them, and then lose one of them due to the stress.
So, first question...do I disrupt her bunny box to give her a proper nesting box, or will this do? Next, could she just be hormonally confused due to the buck being with her? Could it be false pregnancy...but, clearly, not..twice in a week?! Could he have matured early? He’s small! His testies are small... Since I don’t care if she does have a liter, would you keep them together, as to not stress them? But...what about the possibility that a buck could eat the kits? Clearly, this is the first time I’ve had a buck and together at this nesting phase...lol..ugh. As I said, it wasn’t planned. I hate to separate them, and then lose one of them due to the stress.
