Thank you for all your videos, they have been a huge help to us! We are going to start our rabbitry early next spring. Do you have a blog? Thanks again from Eastern Washington (Cheney to be exact) ;o)
My rabbit never eats her babies. She does get tired of them when they're six weeks old, but she fostered a baby cottontail (which I still keep as a pet) and it still lives with her even though the cottontail is a year old. I named her Avalon and my Flordia white is Kitty, I decided to keep them together forever. (:
I found this article abut mother rabbits eating there young. I have raised rabbits for years and we had our hutches against our barn which kept them sheltered and protected. Also we made sure there was two boxes inside the cage. One for the momma or doe to have her babies in and one for her to get a rest in. We found that if she is stressed from not having her own "hide" box then she is more prone to be aggressive. And eating there young can be several things, two you mentioned. Babies being handled Mother stressed Food/mineral deficiency Dehydration Sick babies Smells of predators/or odd smells Too much traffic in her area Leaving the buck in with her/ or too close to her Moving her hutch or the nests The answers are not as important as the reasons. So give them a nice hutch with two boxes, and plenty of pelleted feed and hay/grass/alfalfa mix loose and fresh lettuce apples carrots cucumbers and bananas, pears, pretty much all fruits and veggies. All rabbits are diff and have there favorites so try a mix. =) Also plenty of water like two water bottles or even 3 or more. She will use it and it will help block vision so she feels safer. We tack a tarp over the front. Rabbits generally live in a hole, So mimicking that is great.
@redwolfmoonhowl Thanks for the information. I really like to stagger my litters so transferring them might not be an option for me but I will keep that in mind. I will try cleaning the nest box. I have heard some say you shouldnt mess with the nest or bunnies for awhile and other says you can right away.
Thx for the update! I will start my meat rabbit raising in 2 weeks. I will get NZW or Californians 2 does and 1 buck. Will see how it goes. Keep em updates doing :)
That is a mighty wheelbarrow full of fertilizer. I almost have my cages built and am looking for rabbits to put in them. How many rabbits and how much time would you say it took to fill that wheelbarrow with spherical goodness?
I like how Fern is just laying there like, "Go ahead, call the cops." lol. Is it possible to run rabbit meat through a grinder with some spices and make rabbit meatballs or rabbit burgers?
My holland lop after her 3d litter started to kill and eat her kits, too. Quite a few rabbits do that when they decide they have had enough. They might also do that if they don't think they can take care of them or if they don't have enough nutriance and can be given special pellets.
When a mother rabbit eats her young, it is for one of two reasons, for the most part: she has a dietary deficiency, or she feels her young is threatened. To avoid this problem, we alter the Does feed when she is pregnant - we give timothy hay, double her feed, and add vitamin supplements. Also, if the doe is rather skittish, we put her in a "solitary" cage, we space her at least one empty cage away from other rabbits. This reduces stress, enhances her nutrition, reducing cannibalism.
You should watch more of my videos before lecturing on how I treat them. Your heart is in the right place but if you knew more about it you would see I already do all those things. And as far as the "stresssed" rabbit, all of my other rabbits do just fine it is just this one. Which is actually fairly common at rabbit farms. The doe's that do it are usually culled right away though.
from what I have read in the last few weeks a mother will eat her babies if there are too many for her to care for. She does this to ensure the others survival
@BlazingOwnager Is there a rule against eating smart animals (a rabbits intelligence is debatable)? Or ones with cute fuzzy faces? Is its life more valuable than that of a chicken or cow? I will make sure to look both way when crossing the street. Thanks for watching.
@McLarenMercedes I think they taste better than wild rabbit. Lots of people dont care for wild rabbit because it is very lean and sometimes has a gamey taste. Domestic rabbits have a mild flavor and because they are larger at a younger age they stay juicy and tender.
How do these meat rabbits taste compared to wild rabbits? Wild rabbits are delicious but since these rabbits don't run around as much are they less tasty? Seriously considering breeding them myself for consumption.
@ilovewatchingrawsd I feed them once a day so they had not eaten since the day before and I was not planning on butchering them until later in the day. Dont want them to be hungry and a little food wasted is not gonna hurt anyone.
@1dariansdad I didnt weigh any of them. After butcher lots of rabbits now I really cant see much difference between all my breeds and breed mixes. I butcher them all at different times and dont really get a sense that one was better than the other. In fact even within the same litters some are larger than others and I just dont think it matters that much.
How many times a year do you breed your bunnies? I understand you're retired the one that is 2 years old and I wanted to know how many litters you got out of her. In the future I plan on keeping meat rabbits and I understand that 4 a year is max with a month in between each litter.
Hi I raise rabbits as well with rabbits eating the babies you can fix it by feeding the mama raw bacon they will eat it and leave the babies alone. what happens is the rabbit could have a protein deficiency or she could be stressed or feel threatened by predators. A few simple ways to help is remove loud noises and try to make a schedule for going in to help with the stress, stay out in dawn and dusk that is when the they feed their young. Hope this helps in the future.
I have a doe that for some reason wont get pregnant, so I tried something like what you did. I have a lionhead male and bread her with him then my New Zealand then the lionhead again. I'm not sure what to expect but this is her last chance to produce. I can't afford to feed anything that wont feed me back!
Not sure if you still raise Meat Rabbits or check your channel. Located in SW Washington & I am looking for nice large New Zealand / Californian crosses. Need breeding pair. If you have any & close to us, PLEASE let me know. Thanks!
Sorry I cant help you find some. I dont keep rabbits anymore. Good luck I hope you can find some. Last time I was at the Clark County fair there were lots of rabbits there so I know their are breeders around.
I havnt bred rabbits yet but I do know the if you give her some meat shortly after she gives birth she will eat that usually instead. She was eating them cuz her protein was low
I read a study done in Australia, Flemish Giants, New Zealand's and Californian. New Zealand's and Flemish performed very well across the board, Californians did poorly in comparison. I have NZ, Flem., Giant Chinchillas, and English Spots. I am crossing all of them with the Flemish. Flemish crosses hitting almost 6 lbs at 3 months, I have no Californians in my herd, I have very low mortality rate and a high weaning rate. I only lost 4 kits out of 48. Avg. 8 to a litter.
Wire flooring is not a good idea. Why not cover the floor and provide a good layer of bedding This means regular cleaning is necessary but the rabbits comfort comes first
@georgepetlover All rabbits are made of meat. : ) Just playing, there are many breeds that are bred for meat production. The most common are New Zealand and Californian.
One of the reasons for this cannibalism, may be because she is lacking minerals /nutrients/. Put a mineral stone inside the cage and see if this will happen again. You can get a mineral stone from a pet shop /zoo shop/.
@BlazingOwnager That line of reasoning is ridiculous, rabbits are not humans. Domestication of animals is the very core of human enlightenment. Farming livestock allowed humans to evolve from hunter gatherers and settle and develop knowledge. Speaking softly to the animal showing respect and keeping it calm for a swift death is not cold, it is right. Infanticide happens in the wild and is common in rabbits. Most just cull the doe. I chose to give her a chance No clue what you mean by rash?
The reason that's common is sadly because rabbits are usually kept in conditions that doesn't allow natural behaviour. I've seen enough to know what's a standard over the seas and you're keeping your rabbits as well as anyone. However I don't find this way of keeping animals very good - they need more space and possibilities to natural behaviour. But, as I said, you keep them well concidering what's the norm. Cages looks bigger than most.
People identify with rabbits more than chickens because people wear rabbit furs, not chicken feathers. Children are also more likely to be introduced to a rabbit than a chicken because rabbits are quiet and look harmless when terrified, whereas a chicken will stab you in the face. Think about the very early childhood responses that come up in defense of rabbits. These are regressions to childhood memories that were never grown out into an adult understanding of why humans take care of animals.
Don't you feel a bit guilty killing the does after they're too old to breed, because they've served you well and stuff! Couldn't you just sell them as pets? Thanks! And also, do you kill the bucks when they've become too old to breed?
A life is a life no matter how "cute and fuzzy" it is. I always think its a bit strange people have no problem killing a chicken, pig or cow but have some problem with killing a rabbit based entirely on how the animal looks. I made a video on how I slaughter rabbits. I use a pellet rifle to shoot them in the head.
@BlazingOwnager That exact line of logic could be taken to the extreme of cannibalism, since humans are effectively smarter animals with a more empathic appearance and out own inflated sense of self-worth. Intelligence and appearances (bunnies can easily be trained and are on the same level as dogs and cats) should in fact be taken into account. I could make the same argument for some types of pigs.
Ya sometimes the mothers are just not good mothers. But if made a closed nesting box with only a door. So that u cant see like u have now it might help. But doesnt matter since shes probably not around anymore. Its happened to me and my problem was a cat that would come every night and stare in the cage so the mother would eat the babies to "protecte"them. Lol
+Christina Thompson the average death age of a house rabbit today is 10 ys & there was a rabbit that made 17...the age keeps going up because were getting smarter abt how to care for them
@MrBagginsEsq I remember seeing a special on deer killing birds and eating their brains for protein.. no one suspected the deer but I guess the deer were craving more portein so they were eating the bird brains for that
GOOD JOB WITH YOUR VIDEOS. Pay no attention to those stupid people that think they know what they're talking about. Rabbits have been eating their young forever, as do pig,Polar Bears, wolfs,Fish,hyenas,Hamsters, and the list goes on. It has nothing to do with diet or space. Good luck.
Ha... they eat their babies as a emergency food source or as a sacrifice to ward off predators (eating babies means less likely that the mother will be less defenseless with young = more chance to breed.) Also their fathers sometimes eat their babies to have sex again... and mothers will eat the genitals of fathers to stop it. For looking so "cute and defenseless" these guys have a really dark side of reproduction (for us humans anyways).
![กี่หมื่นฟ้า | Your Sky Series EP.1 [1/4]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/vLGjxFL6U_I/mqdefault.jpg)
Thank you for all your videos, they have been a huge help to us! We are going to start our rabbitry early next spring. Do you have a blog?
Thanks again from Eastern Washington (Cheney to be exact) ;o)
My rabbit never eats her babies. She does get tired of them when they're six weeks old, but she fostered a baby cottontail (which I still keep as a pet) and it still lives with her even though the cottontail is a year old. I named her Avalon and my Flordia white is Kitty, I decided to keep them together forever. (:
Great video. Where could I get those trays you use under the cages to catch the manure? Thanks for sharing.
I found this article abut mother rabbits eating there young.
I have raised rabbits for years and we had our hutches against our barn which kept them sheltered and protected. Also we made sure there was two boxes inside the cage. One for the momma or doe to have her babies in and one for her to get a rest in. We found that if she is stressed from not having her own "hide" box then she is more prone to be aggressive.
And eating there young can be several things, two you mentioned.
Babies being handled
Mother stressed
Food/mineral deficiency
Dehydration
Sick babies
Smells of predators/or odd smells
Too much traffic in her area
Leaving the buck in with her/ or too close to her
Moving her hutch or the nests
The answers are not as important as the reasons. So give them a nice hutch with two boxes, and plenty of pelleted feed and hay/grass/alfalfa mix loose and fresh lettuce apples carrots cucumbers and bananas, pears, pretty much all fruits and veggies. All rabbits are diff and have there favorites so try a mix. =)
Also plenty of water like two water bottles or even 3 or more. She will use it and it will help block vision so she feels safer. We tack a tarp over the front. Rabbits generally live in a hole, So mimicking that is great.
@redwolfmoonhowl Thanks for the information. I really like to stagger my litters so transferring them might not be an option for me but I will keep that in mind. I will try cleaning the nest box. I have heard some say you shouldnt mess with the nest or bunnies for awhile and other says you can right away.
Thx for the update! I will start my meat rabbit raising in 2 weeks. I will get NZW or Californians 2 does and 1 buck. Will see how it goes. Keep em updates doing :)
O well you did a great job making them! :)
@raintogreen No blog sorry but thanks for watching. Cant wait to see your rabbit project. Good luck.
That is a mighty wheelbarrow full of fertilizer. I almost have my cages built and am looking for rabbits to put in them. How many rabbits and how much time would you say it took to fill that wheelbarrow with spherical goodness?
I like how Fern is just laying there like, "Go ahead, call the cops." lol.
Is it possible to run rabbit meat through a grinder with some spices and make rabbit meatballs or rabbit burgers?
Thank you for an excellent video on the humane and right way to butcher meat rabbits
My holland lop after her 3d litter started to kill and eat her kits, too. Quite a few rabbits do that when they decide they have had enough. They might also do that if they don't think they can take care of them or if they don't have enough nutriance and can be given special pellets.
When a mother rabbit eats her young, it is for one of two reasons, for the most part: she has a dietary deficiency, or she feels her young is threatened. To avoid this problem, we alter the Does feed when she is pregnant - we give timothy hay, double her feed, and add vitamin supplements. Also, if the doe is rather skittish, we put her in a "solitary" cage, we space her at least one empty cage away from other rabbits. This reduces stress, enhances her nutrition, reducing cannibalism.
@spartanprepper She killed and ate them when they were much smaller. I think these ones are safe now. She is nursing them and they are growing fast.
You should watch more of my videos before lecturing on how I treat them. Your heart is in the right place but if you knew more about it you would see I already do all those things. And as far as the "stresssed" rabbit, all of my other rabbits do just fine it is just this one. Which is actually fairly common at rabbit farms. The doe's that do it are usually culled right away though.
from what I have read in the last few weeks a mother will eat her babies if there are too many for her to care for. She does this to ensure the others survival
@BlazingOwnager Is there a rule against eating smart animals (a rabbits intelligence is debatable)? Or ones with cute fuzzy faces? Is its life more valuable than that of a chicken or cow? I will make sure to look both way when crossing the street. Thanks for watching.
@McLarenMercedes I think they taste better than wild rabbit. Lots of people dont care for wild rabbit because it is very lean and sometimes has a gamey taste. Domestic rabbits have a mild flavor and because they are larger at a younger age they stay juicy and tender.
great video, im getting meat rabbits soon so this was helpful to watch
How do these meat rabbits taste compared to wild rabbits? Wild rabbits are delicious but since these rabbits don't run around as much are they less tasty?
Seriously considering breeding them myself for consumption.
The calf mana I buy is in pellets just like rabbit feed.
Hey when r u going to put out some more videos
@ilovewatchingrawsd I feed them once a day so they had not eaten since the day before and I was not planning on butchering them until later in the day. Dont want them to be hungry and a little food wasted is not gonna hurt anyone.
@KainanRa
Question: at 4:15 you said that there are getting butcherd today. But why do you feed them before you butcher them?
@1dariansdad I didnt weigh any of them. After butcher lots of rabbits now I really cant see much difference between all my breeds and breed mixes. I butcher them all at different times and dont really get a sense that one was better than the other. In fact even within the same litters some are larger than others and I just dont think it matters that much.
How many times a year do you breed your bunnies? I understand you're retired the one that is 2 years old and I wanted to know how many litters you got out of her. In the future I plan on keeping meat rabbits and I understand that 4 a year is max with a month in between each litter.
Hi I raise rabbits as well with rabbits eating the babies you can fix it by feeding the mama raw bacon they will eat it and leave the babies alone. what happens is the rabbit could have a protein deficiency or she could be stressed or feel threatened by predators. A few simple ways to help is remove loud noises and try to make a schedule for going in to help with the stress, stay out in dawn and dusk that is when the they feed their young. Hope this helps in the future.
@georgepetlover Yes timothy hay, commercial rabbit pellets and fruit and vegetable scraps.
when i was breading for show, i fed them liver for the iron. seemed to help
can you make a video of the out side of your rabbit house, please
i breed rabbits my self and i need to make more houses.
I have a doe that for some reason wont get pregnant, so I tried something like what you did. I have a lionhead male and bread her with him then my New Zealand then the lionhead again. I'm not sure what to expect but this is her last chance to produce. I can't afford to feed anything that wont feed me back!
Not sure if you still raise Meat Rabbits or check your channel. Located in SW Washington & I am looking for nice large New Zealand / Californian crosses. Need breeding pair. If you have any & close to us, PLEASE let me know. Thanks!
Sorry I cant help you find some. I dont keep rabbits anymore. Good luck I hope you can find some. Last time I was at the Clark County fair there were lots of rabbits there so I know their are breeders around.
What age can you breed the does? Great video!
I havnt bred rabbits yet but I do know the if you give her some meat shortly after she gives birth she will eat that usually instead. She was eating them cuz her protein was low
@limogeas Thank you glad they helped
What age do they start breeding and can you inbreed with rabbits? At what age they they be used as a meat rabbit?
Do you keep any rabbits as pets or are they all destined for the dinner plate? I've only kept them as pets lol.
I read a study done in Australia, Flemish Giants, New Zealand's and Californian.
New Zealand's and Flemish performed very well across the board, Californians did poorly in comparison.
I have NZ, Flem., Giant Chinchillas, and English Spots.
I am crossing all of them with the Flemish.
Flemish crosses hitting almost 6 lbs at 3 months, I have no Californians in my herd, I have very low mortality rate and a high weaning rate. I only lost 4 kits out of 48. Avg. 8 to a litter.
do you use any wild game marinade for rabbit meat?
can you breed mother son or father dau ?for the first they said me that is all right but i need opinions !
Wire flooring is not a good idea. Why not cover the floor and provide a good layer of bedding
This means regular cleaning is necessary but the rabbits comfort comes first
O.o she was eating her own litteR?
use something to cover up the bottom of those cages! Your bunnies look well taken care for but wire flooring hurts sensitive bunny feet :(
@georgepetlover All rabbits are made of meat. : ) Just playing, there are many breeds that are bred for meat production. The most common are New Zealand and Californian.
@whyhedodat No not even close. Just getting started.
... what age do I start breading my doe n my buck, n what age do u kill the baby rabbits for meat... thanks again
Were did you get all those rabbit cages. Did you make them or buy them?
@annie4horses My daughter has her own rabbit but the rest are just livestock.
@MrBagginsEsq Not really sure but it not that uncommon I hear. Most large scale breeders simply cull the bad doe and replace her.
One of the reasons for this cannibalism, may be because she is lacking minerals /nutrients/. Put a mineral stone inside the cage and see if this will happen again.
You can get a mineral stone from a pet shop /zoo shop/.
@caholaway 8 months for the larger rabbit breeds.
where are you located im in indiana
Cool! If u ever need another home for one I would love on (reply)
@Andrea209720 Haha rabbits with logic. Thats a good one. Ill be sure to name the next one Spock. Thanks for watching.
you may want to put more items in the cage.. like enrichment. so they dont eat the babies.. even a small hayball you can make yourself might help
Why was she eating her offspring?
@KainanRa Oh Cool. What state are you in?
why do they do that?
@amielkawaii05 They were still nursing. Removing them would have meant I had to kill them.
How much for babie bunny
Awwwwww They are so cute
@MrBagginsEsq calcium not protein I meant sorry
@BlazingOwnager That line of reasoning is ridiculous, rabbits are not humans. Domestication of animals is the very core of human enlightenment. Farming livestock allowed humans to evolve from hunter gatherers and settle and develop knowledge. Speaking softly to the animal showing respect and keeping it calm for a swift death is not cold, it is right. Infanticide happens in the wild and is common in rabbits. Most just cull the doe. I chose to give her a chance No clue what you mean by rash?
@KainanRa no, its because if you touch one of the babies the mom smells your sent and kills them and eats them to get rid of the scent
Why was she eating her offspring? I thought they where vegetarians?
The reason that's common is sadly because rabbits are usually kept in conditions that doesn't allow natural behaviour. I've seen enough to know what's a standard over the seas and you're keeping your rabbits as well as anyone. However I don't find this way of keeping animals very good - they need more space and possibilities to natural behaviour.
But, as I said, you keep them well concidering what's the norm. Cages looks bigger than most.
I doubt that many people want to buy an adult, several year old rabbit ;)
That is it for Fern!! That is funny shit!!
Imagine if you got killed when you were 13 weeks old
@NCHollop She eventually turned out to be a pretty good breeding doe. I a sucker for second chances.
People identify with rabbits more than chickens because people wear rabbit furs, not chicken feathers. Children are also more likely to be introduced to a rabbit than a chicken because rabbits are quiet and look harmless when terrified, whereas a chicken will stab you in the face.
Think about the very early childhood responses that come up in defense of rabbits. These are regressions to childhood memories that were never grown out into an adult understanding of why humans take care of animals.
@38NIGHTMARES yep
why would you kill them after they make babies
@Andrea209720 is that just a guess? Cause thats a pathetic answer. Is that what u would do?
Really appreciate this video and the one on how to slaughter, skin, gut, and butcher the rabbit.
@rockstarkid34 Look for my video called: How to slaughter, skin, gut and butcher a meat rabbit.
Don't you feel a bit guilty killing the does after they're too old to breed, because they've served you well and stuff! Couldn't you just sell them as pets? Thanks! And also, do you kill the bucks when they've become too old to breed?
A life is a life no matter how "cute and fuzzy" it is. I always think its a bit strange people have no problem killing a chicken, pig or cow but have some problem with killing a rabbit based entirely on how the animal looks.
I made a video on how I slaughter rabbits. I use a pellet rifle to shoot them in the head.
Oh noes a bunny lover who feels bad for a bunny who butchered it's own. What will I ever do.
I think they eat the rabbits because of scent.
try giving her a few fruit loops for a treat once a day and she will gain weight... just like us shugar will put on some weight lol
@BlazingOwnager That exact line of logic could be taken to the extreme of cannibalism, since humans are effectively smarter animals with a more empathic appearance and out own inflated sense of self-worth.
Intelligence and appearances (bunnies can easily be trained and are on the same level as dogs and cats) should in fact be taken into account. I could make the same argument for some types of pigs.
you. can still breed big momma she is not to old
Thats pretty odd for a mother rabbit to eat her own young.
you have to give them two days hay and bread,and morning slaughter
Ya sometimes the mothers are just not good mothers. But if made a closed nesting box with only a door. So that u cant see like u have now it might help. But doesnt matter since shes probably not around anymore. Its happened to me and my problem was a cat that would come every night and stare in the cage so the mother would eat the babies to "protecte"them. Lol
and 2 years isent old for a rabbit there considered a sener when they turn 5
+Christina Thompson the average death age of a house rabbit today is 10 ys & there was a rabbit that made 17...the age keeps going up because were getting smarter abt how to care for them
Well feeding them fatten them up, which gives them more meat
@marvelousmadbabyface I made them.
@MrBagginsEsq I remember seeing a special on deer killing birds and eating their brains for protein.. no one suspected the deer but I guess the deer were craving more portein so they were eating the bird brains for that
Humans do NOT need meat of any kind. I have 8 rabbits, all pets. And spayed and neutered, too.
😢my rabbit snowy died
it was 6 years old
Make a bigger cage it looks like a rabbit prison
@Bannapeal1947 LOL. calm down there....
GOOD JOB WITH YOUR VIDEOS. Pay no attention to those stupid people that think they know what they're talking about. Rabbits have been eating their young forever, as do pig,Polar Bears, wolfs,Fish,hyenas,Hamsters, and the list goes on. It has nothing to do with diet or space. Good luck.
please give them a concreet floor.
Thats the end of the problems
It's protean loss
Ha... they eat their babies as a emergency food source or as a sacrifice to ward off predators (eating babies means less likely that the mother will be less defenseless with young = more chance to breed.) Also their fathers sometimes eat their babies to have sex again... and mothers will eat the genitals of fathers to stop it.
For looking so "cute and defenseless" these guys have a really dark side of reproduction (for us humans anyways).
Probably best to eat that rabbit. Some just arent good mothers. Doesnt mean she's not tasty.
should make soup