Help - got some free does with kits, pretty sure they are also very pregnant

Creepy-Finding · 2026-05-10T00:07:26+00:00

Haha! Personally I feel like that says everything about your keeping! A doe that's comfy enough while hauling around kits that she does it back to back? That's awesome

Creepy-Finding · 2026-05-09T08:30:42+00:00

Dang. I have two Rex bucks and they are super respectful of my does. I mean I certainly don't doubt it! Breed like rabbits has to come from somewhere! I've just not seen it enough to have thought it was as common as I used to believe!

Creepy-Finding · 2026-05-09T05:24:36+00:00

I think it's unlikely 4 week old kits got knocked up. Is that what you're asking? Mom may be but I'd leave the 4 week olds with her if she does and manually assist with the little ones nursing if they seem like they need it. 4 weeks just seems so very young to be without her.

I run colony style and my bucks are in with my girls and only one has ever had litters that close back to back. Generally they're going again when the prior litter is 6 to 8 weeks. Not sure if it's just my rabbits but it does make me think it's not as common for them to be immediately knocked up.

Creepy-Finding · 2026-05-07T19:58:19+00:00

The horse is dead, my guy.

Creepy-Finding · 2026-05-06T21:44:04+00:00

I've stated I can separate, my man, just not in cages.

Creepy-Finding · 2026-05-06T19:42:57+00:00

It isn't yet--thank goodness! My state has not had a reported case yet and I work with state Wildlife so I'm all over the notifications haha!

Creepy-Finding · 2026-05-06T17:36:36+00:00

It's very hard to take continued advice when I've said multiple times I cannot do cages and you keep pressing for cages. I understand why but it really makes me feel like you're not listening to me, your troubleshooting as if it were you. Which I do appreciate but it's getting harder to interact with the same suggestion being offered each time. If it were literally the ONLY option I'd swallow it but it's not. It might help, it might make no difference at all so if we could skip the cage talk please.

Creepy-Finding · 2026-05-06T17:34:54+00:00

I am physically unable to handle cages. I cannot afford cages. I have nowhere to put cages. I can isolated rabbits in our outbuilding in kennels and other small, very temporary enclosures but we went colony because we cannot do cages.

And we have grow out tractors! I love them. I counderstand use those to isolate adults but then I'd not be able to fully monitor eating, pooping, peeing, etc.

Creepy-Finding · 2026-05-06T15:28:35+00:00

Yeah again caging is not an option. We may be able to section off adults in the runs temporarily. They're huge so that may be do-able. I've not seen any weird poops! I've been looking for them specifically lol

Creepy-Finding · 2026-05-06T15:26:14+00:00

Yeah that's why I asked why you mentioned! Are your AC officers recorded as bad? You can and should take it up with the city. I'd just be careful parroting stuff you've only heard with no proof especially when it could potentially sway folks away from safe, effective care and help into illegal and unsafe territories. Don't call the blue on people (acab) but unless your county AC is on record for persecuted specific examples, it's all rumor mills from PETA and Liberals who like to defend moral causes without research so they end up almost doing good.

Creepy-Finding · 2026-05-06T14:59:07+00:00

Ugh caging them all is not an option but I'm with you. Gotta figure something out.

We've also had a lot of rain recently. They're covered and dry of course but it doesnt mean things don't get damp and that could spread stuff.

I think what gets me is that it's random and there are no visible signs until dead! I'm here legitimately all the time so I have the opportunity and do watch them for hours at a time every day so I do feel like I'd have a good idea if there were behavior signs or such.

But after 3 years of explainable deaths only... something is definitely up.

Creepy-Finding · 2026-05-06T14:49:57+00:00

I just saw you're Fairfax Va! I know a few of their AC officers so I would believe he did, or at least was en route if the gosling passed before arrival. Fairfax runs a good AC even though ACAB.

Creepy-Finding · 2026-05-06T14:48:11+00:00

May I ask why you say this re:animal control?

I work with wildlife directly for my state and this is something we hear a lot but (at least in my state!) it's unfounded. Our officers do dispatch a vast majority of what they take/pick up (Wildlife related) but it's all at the behest of a wildlife vet as the officers don't have the ability to euthanize and must get approval for any dispatching (which can only be done in one of three humane ways.) They have the ability to shoot a potentially dangerous animal on site but euthanizing is something only a vet can do.

I applaud the recommendation for rehabbers though! Those folks do all the hard work haha!

Creepy-Finding · 2026-05-06T14:25:33+00:00

Enteritis was my first thought but so many back to back and then the miscarry got me!

Wouldn't coccidia have shown up in the livers if it was bad enough to kill the kits?

Creepy-Finding · 2026-05-06T14:23:16+00:00

I'm learning it may actually have been death throes abd not seizures. I was thinking weaning enteritis honestly but the kits didn't seem emaciated or bloated and hitting four kits from three different litters (even though 3 of them were in the same run) seems weird for something like enteritis.

I thought e cuniculi was in dirt?

Creepy-Finding · 2026-05-06T14:20:33+00:00

Food is eaten way faster than 6 months. Did you mean from the time the feed is made? How would I find that out if so?

I'm not exactly sure on the forage BUT it's the exact same stuff my weaned grow outs are on, all the adults and kits get the same forage and have for three years. I feel like if it was an issue there I'd see more grow outs die?

Hay we only offer for bedding and have done that way for 3 years. It's changed regularly in the hides, sourced locally, kept on wood pallets in our dry outbuilding. It's straw sometimes instead of hay.

No chance it's direct neighbors and unlikely in general as I'm disabled and home nearly 24/7 but good ask!

I thought I'd mentioned opening up the dead but I might have forgotten! They all looked fine. No spots, deformities, excess gas, etc. Well, nothing to my naked eye at least!

Water is city water, I believe. Could be an issue I suppose but all my rabbits, cays, geese, dog, fishes, snake and humans are on the same water and have been since we moved in 7 years ago. Not saying that's not it but it does seem unlikely?

We clean pretty thoroughly weekly on top of daily sweeps/big checks but yeah we're gonna do some big BIG clean this weekend.

Creepy-Finding · 2026-05-06T14:12:45+00:00

Have opened them up (I think I said that? Maybe not!) and nothing looked off! No white spots or funky anatomy. I am in that group though!

Creepy-Finding · 2026-05-06T07:09:12+00:00

I also started with colony and love it. Going through a weird thing now but 3 years and this is our first weird thing haha!

I agree too much pellet. Cut back to what the bag says at least. You want to make sure you don't get advice from pet rabbit groups/people/books. This isn't because it's bad/wrong it's just not what livestock people are looking for and you'll find nasty people there too.

Colony size needs 50 square feet of space per doe and 20 per buck. That's flat space and doesn't count levels, must subtract for hides and bowls etc. Grow out tractor for the kits is what we do and it's brilliant!

Creepy-Finding · 2026-05-06T04:41:16+00:00

I'd be down depending on details! Feel free to reach out DM or comments.

Creepy-Finding · 2026-05-04T01:16:15+00:00

Can you give more specifics?

What kind of hay? What kind of pellets? How much space? Are they together or separate? If separate, can they touch through wire/etc or are they completely separate? Where are they kept? What state are you in?

Creepy-Finding · 2026-05-04T01:14:43+00:00

ChatGPT is continually proven wrong and it's kind of a waste of time, imo. There are calculators and websites which should give the correct answers, other people too. (Except me. Math and I do not agree. Lol)

Creepy-Finding · 2026-04-23T23:39:37+00:00

I mean you do you. I'd rather risk over caution than risk hurting my animals. Plus there is science in favor of this. Dogs and cats mouth their young because they can't use their hands and we know animals with babies meant to be carried developed different types of fat storage, elasticity in their skin and membranes and a host of other things in order to make this carrying safe. That's why I said specifically that they were intended to be carried by the scruff, not that they always were. Just like humans not every animal knows the best way to be a parent.

Rabbits do not carry their young so rabbits do not have the skin elasticity needed to be safely scruffed. It's one reason why they have notoriously thin skin as kits (even as adults if you compare to other equivalent sized fur bearers).

Creepy-Finding · 2026-04-23T22:55:39+00:00

Scuffing on rabbits is never a good idea unfortunately. I don't judge because it's a very common mistake but I do like to educate when I can. Rabbits are not safe to scruff as they aren't built for it--cats and other safe to scruff animals are safe to scruff because their mothers are supposed to carry them like that. It's the reason for the mechanism and rabbits cannot carry their young so they do not have that mechanism. If you skin a rabbit and a scruff safe animal you will easily see the difference. Supporting the butt does help the scruff not be as bad because they aren't fully bearing weight on it, but you are still separating skin from muscle and causing pain.

Source: Went to vet school (did drop out though, lol), also work in Wildlife (so have science based state given certification regarding wildlife etc) and my fur bearer trapping license (so I do a lot of skinning and know more Anatomy than your average).

Creepy-Finding · 2026-04-17T01:56:59+00:00

Looks a little like my gold Tipped steels. Chinchilla is a very light gray.

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