Which breed?

[Pioneer Chicken]

You lost me, P.O., but it looks like you did a great job of research! I'll try reading again when I'm not like this or, more like when my brain's fresh in the morning.

 

[VickieB]

Okay, my kits turned 8 weeks today. They ranged from 4 lbs 2 oz to 4 lbs 13 oz. I got an average on the 8 kits, and it came to 4 lbs and 8 oz. They're 1/2 lb under, but it was really cold when they were in their nest box, and they didn't come out until they were 3 weeks and 1 day. I'm going to assume that might have been a factor, and will see how the next litter does. I have one due today (hasn't kindled yet) with a first time doe. I'll let you know what they weigh once they turn 8 weeks.

 

[VickieB]

I checked on my doe this morning and found a nest box full of dead babies. When I bred her I did put her in with the buck twice, and let him mount 3x each time she was in his cage. I did this because I did not want her having a small litter with huge babies, thinking that would be harder on her than a large litter of small babies.

This is what I found in her nest: 8 large, fully formed babies that look perfectly normal. There were no marks on them to make you think she had done anything to kill them, other than a few very light scratch marks on the head of one baby.

Then there were 2 babies that were obviously not full term babies. I'm assuming they died during pregnancy. Their feet did not look like they were fully formed, and they were about 1/4 to 1/3 the size of the other babies. which gave the impression they had died during the pregnancy, and not that they were just small kits.

Then I found 8 fetuses that were about an inch large.

That was a total of 18 babies. That was way too many, especially for a first time mother.

I am disappointed that they all died.

I will be breeding her again within a day or two, and this time I will cut down the breeding to just one visit to the buck's cage, and probably just one or two mounts.

 

[VickieB]

I'm beginning to wonder, because there were so many fetuses all at about the same stage of development, if somehow or other she was switched with another doe I have.

I have 3 does that all look alike, I can't tell them apart. They are from the same litter. I kept them all because they were such wonderful does. They ranged anywhere from 5 lbs 4 oz to 5 lbs 8 oz by 8 weeks. They had turned 5 months old and I had just started breeding them 2 weeks apart.

Did I accidentally breed her twice... I guess I'll find out in 2 weeks if the other doe doesn't kindle. I need to get them tattooed.

 

[Hens and Roos]

Sorry to hear about your loss That's a lot of babies

 

[P.O. in MO]

Sorry you lost the litter/litters. The last first timer I had kindled a litter of 4. This is the one I posted about that went 35 days and I pulled the nest box at 34 and it was cold so I lost them all. Of the four, two were normal size and 2 were small and undeveloped. I know this rabbit was only bred once. My conclusion was that they either died or stopped developing in the womb. I thought the other 2 would have survived if I hadn't pulled the nest box but after your post maybe not. I have rebred her and tonight is day 31. This is her third and last chance. Thanks for remembering to post your litter weights on the production whites. Would like to comment on that but need to go back and read all that discussion again and tomorrow is chick day at the local farm store and I still don't have my brooder temp where I want it so need to get back to that. Good luck with your rebreed.

 

[VickieB]

Okay, my next doe did kindle so I did not breed the other twice. The one that kindled today had 11 babies, all alive and healthy. I decided against re-breeding the first one right after losing her litter because I have a cycle going with my rabbits and if I did it would have messed that all up, and decided that she would probably like a break anyway.

 

[Hens and Roos]

yeah, glad to hear!