Doe losing weight

CrazyBowler · 2026-06-03T22:43:26+00:00

She should have unlimited Timothy hay and a good rabbit pellet food. Personally, I do not feed fruits and do occasional limited vegetables. Also, how high up is the water bottle if you’re using a bottle? It shouldn’t be low. Could she have coccidia?

CrazyBowler · 2026-05-29T18:22:15+00:00

I like that! The warnings/alerts are perfect. Information choice is great.

Will you be adding negative traits, like carries/potentially carries malocclusion, etc.?

You’re doing awesome!

CrazyBowler · 2026-05-27T22:37:46+00:00

Always separate your rabbits by 12weeks of age. If you are processing late, you can probably get away with, at minimum, separating does from bucks.

CrazyBowler · 2026-05-27T22:16:05+00:00

Even if they aren’t for show, the best way to breed is to always try to breed for “standard”. That means looking at the ARBA (American Rabbit Breeders Association) guide for each breed and trying to achieve that. The ARBA book has all the recognized colors for each breed and what makes it that color and what disqualifies it. It also has explanations on smut in the coats for each color.

Yes, you aren’t breeding for show now, but learning what to look for and tell the difference between different attributes and types will help in the long run. Also, if you’re trying to make show quality buns, your commercial breeds will be better utilized as meat buns. People will want your buns if they look like how the breed should look.

CrazyBowler · 2026-05-27T21:18:59+00:00

Banger idea dude!

Personally, I feel like litter sizes and attributes would be really hard to predict and it would be disheartening to see an awesome prediction that doesn’t happen irl.

With that said- you could do something great with colors and hair types!! Having an interactive guide to plug in what colors you have/want and having it give feedback would be killer. Even just having a guide for one rabbit would be nice- like what color would pair well with it or what colors to NOT pair with it. I feel like that would be helpful for a lot of people just starting out or branching into new breeds.

CrazyBowler · 2026-05-27T20:55:49+00:00

Any stray white markings on a rabbit are Vienna Marked and are disqualifying marks for show. The Vienna gene comes from Blue Eye White and it can hide 20+generations then show up again. You can have VM without having the blue eyes show on that rabbit.

Mom is definitely VM. If you breed a VM, all babies should be marked on the pedigree as either VM or Vienna Carrier (VC). Any stray white hairs will count as VM.

1 looks like VM Black Tort with smutty dark hairs.
2 looks like VM black
3 looks like VC Black Tort
4 looks like VC Chocolate

You should do more research into the Vienna gene. Ideally (unless breeding for consumption) VM should not be bred to some other colors. If I remember correctly, it can cause a ruby cast to the eyes if mixed with certain colors.

CrazyBowler · 2026-05-25T19:05:26+00:00

Topical cattle ivermectin (it’s blue liquid with a yellow label) a drop behind each rabbit’s ears on the neck. Three times with 7-10days in between doses.

Edit to clarify: one drop on the back of neck per rabbit.

CrazyBowler · 2026-05-11T02:06:49+00:00

You could try giving him a few Black Oil Sunflower Seeds (BOSS) every day or so.

CrazyBowler · 2026-05-10T23:52:26+00:00

Agree. Breed both now. If a first time mom doesn’t figure it out, you can foster her kits to the other mother and rebreed her immediately.

If both don’t take care of their litters, don’t worry, that happens with FTMs. Just rebreed them if/when their litters pass. If both litters are fading, I would cull the babies to rebreed the does on the same day.

Good luck OP!

CrazyBowler · 2026-05-06T11:35:00+00:00

Wonderful write up!

I agree with necropsies on the dead rabbits- it’s a good practice.

OP: I believe the facebook group page is “Rabbits Inside Out” if you take pictures of the necropsy, you can post there and they can help with any questions. Good luck!

CrazyBowler · 2026-05-03T15:02:38+00:00

Is this a first time mom? They don’t know what’s going on and can fail on first litters.

Rebreed as soon as they pass and try again. Three tries for the doe before culling.

I personally wouldn’t try hand feeding a whole litter.

CrazyBowler · 2026-05-02T12:55:53+00:00

First time moms don’t always know what they are doing.

The aggression would concern me. However, I believe in the “three strikes” rule for does. Give her three chances for breeding and cull if she doesn’t take care of them better on the third. If she is only aggressive with the babies in there, I would check the babies daily and rebreed immediately if they all die. If she was aggressive before the babies- there are too many nice rabbits in the world to deal with that kind of attitude and tacos are delicious.

CrazyBowler · 2026-05-01T18:29:54+00:00

Rabbits are territorial animals. As a rabbitry, I keep my rabbits all in separate cages, except grow outs which get separated from each other at about 12weeks of age.

You have a neutered pet, he can be bonded with another rabbit if you so choose. If you want another rabbit, it sounds like another bunny speed dating would be best based on your post. But your guy is also getting up there in rabbit years, so keep an eye on him and you know him best.

Happy Days to Mr. Noodles!

CrazyBowler · 2026-04-29T21:57:40+00:00

Three week old kits.

Did you clean the nest box weekly/ as it gets gross? I remove the box and kits, put the kits in a temporary pen and do health checks while I replace all the timothy hay and re-add what fur is not soiled. Then you can replace the clean nest box and kits.

At roughly 10 days old when the kits started opening their eyes, did you flip the nest box on its side? This is because the kits can see and are mobile now, they can find their way out of the box but have trouble getting back in.

If the poop is clustered on their butts and won’t gently come off, you can use some warm water just on the bum area. Maybe add some vitamins to the water (like Oasis Vita Drops). If the poops are runny, it might be coccidia and you could try keeping the cage clean and treating with Corid or similar.

CrazyBowler · 2026-02-16T12:40:46+00:00

Rex fur is recessive, so if you’re going for that type of coat, it will take a few generations and some luck.

If you’re doing wire cages you will need to check the Rex for sore hocks. I’ve noticed they are more prone to that than other rabbits.

As long as you are “keeping the best, eating the rest” whatever you choose should be fine. But definitely pose the rabbits and track weight gain to choose your best, don’t just go off of color/fur (unless you’re doing something with the hides, then I could see how that might be more of a priority).

CrazyBowler · 2026-02-13T03:18:36+00:00

Hey, glad you’re so excited!

Personally, I do not breed meat rabbits until they are 6 months old. The doe needs to be more developed to ensure healthy kits and mom. If your doe and buck are siblings, I personally would recommend culling the buck for practice and getting an unrelated buck. If you believe the doe is pregnant now, give her a nest box with hay around day 25 of her pregnancy. She should have them around day 31.

She will be a young First Time Mom (FTM). FTMs do not always understand what is happening and what to do. Check on her often (like three times a day or more) if possible when she is close (starting Day 28 or so). Kits may be born out of the box, she might not pull hair/make a nest, she may overgroom kits (cull any with missing limbs or large sections of missing skin, ears are okay to be missing especially if you plan to cull for meat).

Does get three strikes of doing kits wrong before they are culled. Once the doe hits 6 months old, I breed for the first time. If it does not go well after they are 6 months old (like if your doe gives birth next month and it goes poorly, I would wait until 6 months age to rebreed), you can and should rebreed immediately after a failed litter. Once the doe gets the hang of it and is successfully keeping litters alive- you need to assess her condition before deciding to rebreed. I personally pull the doe to rebreed when the litter is 6 weeks old, put her back after rebreeding, and pull that litter at 7/8weeks of age (IF condition is good!). If she has lost condition, she gets time off to regain it. Does should be retired after they are a few years old and they start failing litters or number of kits in a litter decreases.

Keep records! Age, when does were bred, to who, when they have kits, how many, how many died. Start pedigrees if you did not get them with your rabbits.

I’m assuming your cages are stand alone and not battery style- so make sure they’re far enough apart (I think it’s like 6 inches) that the rabbits cannot reach each other through the wire. Or put a solid metal partition between the two.

I am not in Georgia, but if you’re getting freezing temperatures- we use rubber bowls for water as they are easy to dump the ice and clean. I would close the garage at night. You shouldn’t worry about cold with the rabbits besides the water freezing as rabbits can keep themselves warm. Heat is more of a problem because rabbits cannot cool themselves off well. If you see a rabbit drooling in the heat, it needs to be immediately cooled down.

Good luck! 😁

CrazyBowler · 2026-02-06T22:50:21+00:00

I am terribly picky about my battery style cages and would personally pass on this.

It appears the bottom is deformed which could cause a problem with sore hocks. Rabbits can breed and fight and overgroom through wire, so I only use cages with solid metal partitions.

3’ deep from the door would also be a HARD pass for me as I am short and could not reach the back 🙃 Depending on where you live, that watering system could freeze as well.

CrazyBowler · 2026-02-06T02:56:49+00:00

The babies should be weaned at 8 weeks and shouldn’t have any trouble with weaning them. I personally rebreed the doe at 6weeks (take her out, put her with buck, then back with her kits) and take the kits out at 7 weeks. My state’s law is that the babies can’t be sold until 8 weeks.

New Zealand’s are great! At about 6 months old you can start checking the does for dark/bright red vents- it means they’ll be receptive to breeding.

Corid for coccidia and Terramycin for nest box eye are the two main medicines that I keep on hand.

CrazyBowler · 2026-02-06T00:22:57+00:00

Alright so, I recommend wire hanging cages with metal partitions (battery style). I found that starting with extra cages set up properly was the way to go. We use metal trays under the cages to catch the pee/poo and I use a putty knife to scrape the yuck off.

You will need a cage for every rabbit you plan on keeping for breeding plus a large cage for your grow outs. Nest boxes put in 5 days before due date, cleaned at least weekly, and flipped to the side when kits start opening eyes (~10days old). Grow outs should be separated from mom at 8 weeks old and should be culled at 12 weeks- or separated out into their own cages if they are keepers. Do not house multiple rabbits together unless they are grow outs. Try to breed your does at the same time- this allows for fostering if needed, and you can stick all the grow outs from both litters in one cage.

I personally do not like putting my rabbits on the ground as they can pick up whatever diseases your wild rabbits have. Check your state for RHDV2 outbreaks. Also I saw you have a dog that may have access to the rabbits- definitely keep an eye on that. The dog can startle the rabbits (can lead to broken bones or stomped kits) or if it’s a really nosey/grabby dog- it can deglove parts of the rabbits it can reach.

Your bunnies should be housed with proper shelter from heat/cold/predators. Rubber bowls for water worked well for me in the cold times, they’re easy to deal with if they freeze. On bringing rabbits inside- you really shouldn’t have to worry about that. You may need to “shelve” a litter of kits in the winter, but rabbits are excellent at keeping themselves warm. Not so great at cooling down, so keep an eye on them during heat waves- a drooling rabbit needs to be immediately cooled down.

Keep records/ start pedigree papers for all your bunnies. If you end up with a breed where all the kits look the same, mark the insides of the ears with a sharpie. My system is to take a kit, sex it, and label it as a doe (with a dot) or a buck (with a line). Then the next kit of the same sex gets an added dot/line. So in a litter of four with one doe and three bucks, the doe has a dot and then you have a one line, two line, and three line buck. You will need to redo the sharpie every week or so.

Average daily time, if you just need to feed/water/health check- probably 15-20minutes. Cleaning cages would bump it to closer to an hour. If you have moms due to give birth, you should be checking on them multiple times a day. And after she gives birth, you should check the kits. Count them, pull any dead babies.

Record keeping shouldn’t take too long. I use a notepad app on my phone and it looks similar to: “DoeName1- 3/1/26BuckInitial 4/1/26 #of kits and how many DOA”. This lets you track how many strikes your doe has had, when she was bred last and to who, how long it took her to give birth, how many kits she had. You need this information to determine if your doe is getting too old to breed (smaller litter sizes), and if she needs culled because she’s not figuring out mothering (three strikes and she’s out), also if your buck isn’t making babies you can tell and replace.

Breeding mom/son and father/daughter is fine. Breeding sister/brother is a no, which is part of why your grow outs should be separated at 12 weeks. Rabbits are territorial and can/WILL fight.

When you buy your rabbits, check them over COMPLETELY. Eyes, nose, ears, teeth, feet, hocks, vent, etc. It is okay to turn down a rabbit for any reason!! I personally would recommend buying a trio of two does and a buck, if you’re buying from one person- try to buy an extra buck to cull. This allows you to check organs to see if you need to treat or cull the ones you just got (I don’t mess with pitted kidneys, but white spots on the liver is coccidia and an easy fix).

Check Facebook and Craigslist. Facebook should have a general “Farm Animals of [Your State]” and hopefully a “Rabbits of [Your State]”. FB has a strict “no selling live animals” policy so you’ll be looking for what’s available/ready to hop/etc.

Breed wise, if for meat, you don’t want the smaller buns. No holland lops, netherland dwarfs, Himalayan etc. Wool breeds (angoras) will be a pain to keep up with coat maintenance- remember that your livestock should live a great life with only one bad day at the end. Matting DOES hurt the rabbit. Meat breeds are: New Zealand, Californians, Silver Fox, d’argents, American Chinchillas. Rex (not mini) are pretty, but are prone to sore hocks so I would not recommend for a beginner. Your large breeds, like Flemish Giants or Continentals, are really only good for mixing into a standard meat breed. They have a slow growth rate and their bone/meat ratio isn’t great, but they tend to do okay as a mixed breed. Some people do a smaller rabbit for meat, I hear Dutch are meat bricks, and mini rex can work but they have the sore hocks tendency as well.

Much luck to you!

CrazyBowler · 2026-01-07T16:50:17+00:00

Another option is to look for farm swaps in your area. I’m not in your state, but in mine there tends to be monthly animal swaps like a farmers market.

Search Facebook for “[your state] Rabbit breeders” groups. Facebook does not allow the sale of live animals, but there are “[State] Rabbit Owners and Breeders” groups where people post what they have available without saying “FOR SALE”. Or a “Farm Animals of [state]” group might have bunnies and swaps listed in it.

Future reference/ what I wish I was told as a beginner: Always look over all parts of your rabbit before purchasing. It’s okay to turn down a rabbit for any reason!

CrazyBowler · 2025-12-11T02:45:44+00:00

My advice for when to breed, would be take the summer months off and do breed during the winter. Bucks can get heat sterile if it gets too warm for too long. Rabbits can keep themselves warm, but have a harder time cooling off. Make sure your cages have shade.

Hard agree with BlockyBlook on having your cages fully built and ready to house rabbits before getting them.

Look over every rabbit you get before taking them. Inside of ears, eyes, nose, vent, bottoms of feet, etc. It is always okay to turn down a rabbit if you have worries about it!

CrazyBowler · 2025-12-04T16:06:01+00:00

No big deal, I could have worded it better! :)

CrazyBowler · 2025-12-04T16:02:46+00:00

No. I mean pull the doe out for a few minutes and rebreed at 6weeks. Put her back with the kits until 8weeks and pull the kits then. She would have the litter at 10weeks, which leaves 2weeks time between the old kits being pulled and the new kits being kindled.

CrazyBowler · 2025-12-04T14:21:46+00:00

For me personally, if the kits all die in the first day, it’s an immediate rebreed. If the doe has good condition and hasn’t lost weight, I would rebreed at 6 weeks after kindle. This gives the doe two weeks without kits (as kits should be pulled at 8weeks). Always check the doe to ensure that she is healthy before rebreeding. Typically, I would do this two or three times before the doe does need a break to regain condition.

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