I just wanted to thank you so much for this video, Chris. Without your input, I would have lost one kit out of a litter of ten this morning. It was not outside the box, but just inside one front corner where there was no protective fur. It was so cold and apparently lifeless, but no blood in the nails. I used the plastic baggie / warm water method you describe, and also held it against my tummy while I finished feeding the rest of the bunnies. After what seemed like about 10 minutes, it started moving! It seemed like a miracle to me, so thanks again! I so appreciate the information you provide. God bless!
My two first time Mommas had their kits on the 1st and 2nd. I was checking on them so often I caught them both giving birth... just left them alone to do their thing. ;) First momma had nine, second had THIRTEEN. I fostered two off, so they each are taking care of eleven now. All were born in the nesting box and promptly covered in fur. So far everybody has fat tummies.
Thanks for replying. working on a quail cage setup right now. My dad had rabbits for 50 some years, I'm keeping it going and your insights have helped a lot. Cheers!
Great litter, Chris and thank you for sharing the do and don'ts. She seems to be a bit calmer than with the last liter. Hopefully she will do a great job raising them up for you. Again thanks for all you do to help other out. Blessings to you and your wife.
She isn't much calmer at all really. But as long as I have long thick sleeves on it isn't a big problem. She has nipped at me a few times but can't get through the coat.
I always bred 2 does at the same time. If something happens to one of the moms, there's another available to adopt the babies. I had some does who would only have 4 babies...that's it. I matched her up with another doe who tended to have big litters. Because the does gave birth on the same day, i could move some of the bigger litter in with the small litter doe. Got better growth rates that way. You have to touch each baby so they all smell alike, and then rub your hands well on each of the doe's faces and especially their noses. That way everything smells the same. Some people use a dab of vanilla on the doe's nose but I found that wasn't necessary if you gave everyone a good rub on the face and body. Also, I made a point of petting each rabbit every day so I could tell if anybody was loosing weight, gaining or maintaining weight so that I could address any potential pŕoblems before they became big problems.
I learned that those little stinkers can jump! Even brand new little ones. Right now I'm down to one doe. Possums killed my buck, but I will be taking care of those. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Chris we have a Black Otter Netherland Dwarf who just had her 1st litter last night! Super excited but just wanted to give thanks for posting your video's they've helped us out!
Out of 6 it seems about 3 get fed per feeding.. a few will have very plump tummy but 3 not so much .. so hopefully it evens out and they all survive. It’s my (and hers) first litter, quite a learning experience. I’m checking them once per day. They are 5 days old.
That does happen from time to time. If the doe doesn't give birth on the day I expect I always wait at least a week and a half before counting her out.
Getting my start. Building an insulated shed to heat in winter as Canadian Prairie winters of minus 30s.... Then when move have a nice shed for the buyer will clean out equipment! Love bunnies and tasty.
Awwwwwwww, too sweet. Just had baby puppies from first time mother, at my home but not there until tomorrow to help out and 5 died but at least she has 4 left alive and doing well. Hope your rabbits do well.
Our newest (and youngest) doe just had her first litter on the 6th. She only had 6 on her first batch. All of them survived and are doing great. It's kinda funny how she behaves when I'm working inside her cage. She actually grabs the cuff of my coat or shirt and drags/pulls/guides me to her nest every day. Kinda like "hey, come see this new thing I did." But it never feels like aggression or posturing. More like she thinks I'm one of her kids. lol
lol. That must be nice. The doe I have right now tries to attack anything that gets into her cage when she has babies. Makes it challenging to work with them for sure.
Thanks for the video! Our one doe that we hope is bred, day 28 will be 13'th - she has started pulling fur and making a nest - hubby built the hutches and built on nest boxes for the two doe's cages on the outside of the cage. That way, they have a place to burrow during these cold and windy nights...have been told even tho I watched 3 falloffs, she may not be bred...so finger's crossed and hoping hard. I had commented on another video about the other doe with ear mites, aggression and fear...unfortunately, we lost her...appears in the crazy freak out struggle, my husband may have broken her rear leg...just was sick about it...but we put her down quick and humane and buried her. We do plan on eating off spring, but I can't eat my breeders...so, we are one down. I have been searching around our area and looking up rabbit breeders close to us in N.E. Texas...but these breeders are show breeders and a breeding doe would be pedigreed and 250.00! That is just too much cost for us on our small homestead here. Could you give me an idea of approx. cost of a breeding doe (not a 6-8 week baby)? I know different areas are all gonna be different...but hoping to have an idea of about what an adult rabbit would cost. I can find N.Z babies for 15-20.00 all day. Spring is almost here and we want to get as many litters as possible before the Texas summer hits us. Thanks in advance!
This might not be very helpful, but I just moved to Texas, north of Austin. My two does just had really big litters. They would be mutts without papers, but if you are still looking for a doe by May let me know. I'll save the best looking girl, or you can come down and pick one out before butcher. The father is 1/2 Satin, 1/4 Cali, and 1/4 Flemish. The mothers are sisters and both are 1/2 Rex 1/2 Cali. Litter size for first time mommas was nine and thirteen. Edit: I worked really hard to find healthy stock. At this point I don't care if they are part goat- they do not have pasturella. Not a sniffle on the 14 hr drive down.
I am so sorry to hear about your problems with the aggressive doe but you are probably better off now. Full grown adult rabbits can be hard to find at times but when I do I usually find them for around $20. Just keep looking. If you don't come up with one by spring then you might just have to pick up a young one and grow it out until next breeding season. I wish I had good sources to point you to but I find most of mine on Craigslist.
@@Slightlyrednecked , thanks..I thought 20 something for non pedigree..breeders here do for 4H and show . I belong to 3 meat rabbit groups and hope will find something. If not, like you said..may have to buy s grow out..
On our first litter ever and the mamma was a first too, she had 12 but every day one or two died every day but she just had a litter and there all good!
So sorry to hear about the poor results on the first litter. New moms can sometimes have a hard time keeping up with the first litter. Glad to hear that the second one is doing better though.
Sorry for the slow response. If she hasn't pulled any fur yet, you might be able to pull some yourself from her dewlap. May be a little late to do that now but right after the babies are born it should pull out pretty easily. But as long as you have plenty of bedding for them to nestle into they should be fine.
@@Slightlyrednecked ok. We actually had 7 kits but lost two and so far they are fine. If she doesn’t pull any with the next litter I will definitely do that
Hi so my rabbit just had baby’s recently there about five days old they are not her first litter but I don’t know if when you touch the baby rabbits if you have to rub your hands in there sawdust
What do you feed the babies once they aren't nursing? Is there anything different you feed the mom other than pellets? I have a momma rabbit I rescued that was left behind by my neighbors after they moved out. Didn't realize that she was pregnant rate away. I had been trying to catch her for a while. One of the times she had sticks in her month. So I guess she was building a nest. Her under fur looks liked she already pulled it off. So I got cotton balls for above the hay in a dish tub for her. Any tips never did this before.
There’s a lot of controversy with holding/ touching the newborn babies. I’m confused on what I should do, can someone help? Do some mothers not mind it and some do? It’s hard to know what I should do
Ok. Next question. Lol. So I have a 16 week old NZ Cali cross doe and I took her to a lady to breed her with her very experienced buck. My doe will not lift up to receive the buck. So I left her there so the lady could try over the next couple days. Any suggestions on what I should do to get this moving?
That is a common problem. usually just trying multiple times will fix it (morning, evening, morning the next day, evening the next day). So leaving her there should get the job done. You can also try adding additional light to get the hours of light per day up to 14 and that might help a little.
Our doe had give birth for a couple of weeks now.after a week she had swollen nipples and begun not feeding her kits and not eating her food for about 3days.what will we do?
I don't know if you can help or not but I left for a few hours the other day came back and won of the rabbits had babies how can you tell which babies go to the right Mom?
My rabbit had her first litter a few months ago and ate them all. I was devastated and my husband wanted to eat her but we gave her another chance and last night she had a litter of nine! All are fat, warm, and and well taken care of! Do you think this may be too many babies for her since she's a new mom? Or can she handle it?
Congratulations on the new litter. She should be able to handle 9 babies. It isn't uncommon to lose one or two from a litter that large though so don't be surprised if that happens. I am glad to hear that she is doing better with this litter.
I have Lop mixes 1 of my females had 8 babies and 0 survived and I dont know why they were wiggling and then they weren't and I warmed them up lots of different ways what do you think happened?
Unfortunately it could be any number of things that could have happened. I really have no way of knowing for sure. It could just be that your rabbit is a poor mother. If it is her first attempt at raising babies that may be all it is. if it continues to occur with multiple litters I would look at replacing her with a new doe and not breeding her any more. I am sorry I can't help more.
I just have newborn kits , 3 days old had 6 kits she made a brilliant nest for her newborn , my question is they are family pets and children are soo excited for all the newborn , it’s not for money , or u call meat eating , I do like your channel because it gives me alot of knowledge, but I want them as pets , is your channel about feeding the rabbits and newborn to sell as meat , cos that just not sit with me at all
Slightly Rednecked oh ok.. the reason is I have inexperienced bucks and they can’t seem to get the job done. It’s very frustrating really. I’ve been trying since December.
I just wanted to thank you so much for this video, Chris. Without your input, I would have lost one kit out of a litter of ten this morning. It was not outside the box, but just inside one front corner where there was no protective fur. It was so cold and apparently lifeless, but no blood in the nails. I used the plastic baggie / warm water method you describe, and also held it against my tummy while I finished feeding the rest of the bunnies. After what seemed like about 10 minutes, it started moving! It seemed like a miracle to me, so thanks again! I so appreciate the information you provide. God bless!
My two first time Mommas had their kits on the 1st and 2nd. I was checking on them so often I caught them both giving birth... just left them alone to do their thing. ;) First momma had nine, second had THIRTEEN. I fostered two off, so they each are taking care of eleven now. All were born in the nesting box and promptly covered in fur. So far everybody has fat tummies.
Nice. Those are nice big litters. So glad to hear that everything is going well.
Thanks for replying. working on a quail cage setup right now. My dad had rabbits for 50 some years, I'm keeping it going and your insights have helped a lot. Cheers!
Awesome. So glad to hear that my videos have been helpful for you.
Great litter, Chris and thank you for sharing the do and don'ts. She seems to be a bit calmer than with the last liter. Hopefully she will do a great job raising them up for you. Again thanks for all you do to help other out.
Blessings to you and your wife.
She isn't much calmer at all really. But as long as I have long thick sleeves on it isn't a big problem. She has nipped at me a few times but can't get through the coat.
Im happy to see that at least 8 made it
I was too. Not terrible results really.
I always bred 2 does at the same time. If something happens to one of the moms, there's another available to adopt the babies. I had some does who would only have 4 babies...that's it. I matched her up with another doe who tended to have big litters. Because the does gave birth on the same day, i could move some of the bigger litter in with the small litter doe. Got better growth rates that way. You have to touch each baby so they all smell alike, and then rub your hands well on each of the doe's faces and especially their noses. That way everything smells the same. Some people use a dab of vanilla on the doe's nose but I found that wasn't necessary if you gave everyone a good rub on the face and body.
Also, I made a point of petting each rabbit every day so I could tell if anybody was loosing weight, gaining or maintaining weight so that I could address any potential pŕoblems before they became big problems.
Great litter. We had a litter early this morning. Quick count before work was 7. It's always exciting to get new bunnies.
Awesome. Congratulations on your new litter. It is always exciting indeed.
I learned that those little stinkers can jump! Even brand new little ones. Right now I'm down to one doe. Possums killed my buck, but I will be taking care of those. Thanks for sharing.
They sure can. Little popcorn babies. :)
So sorry to hear about your loss. Sounds like you need to clean out some opossums for sure.
I'm planning on getting my first breeding pair in the next week or so. Your videos are a valuable resource. Stay safe.
@Elder One Thanks for the feedback. Things have worked out nicely so far:
th-cam.com/play/PLrsxFrDZ9Dy1bh6MZF7K37PYgEjx7vFlr.html
Hi Chris we have a Black Otter Netherland Dwarf who just had her 1st litter last night! Super excited but just wanted to give thanks for posting your video's they've helped us out!
Out of 6 it seems about 3 get fed per feeding.. a few will have very plump tummy but 3 not so much .. so hopefully it evens out and they all survive. It’s my (and hers) first litter, quite a learning experience. I’m checking them once per day. They are 5 days old.
Just checked. One had 8, but lost one . The other had seven all good. Seven each. I'm happy with that! Your videos are great, keep up the good work!
Not bad at all. I would be happy with those results too. And thanks for watching my videos. I am glad that you like them.
Thanks for the vid. I am getting ready to add some quail to our homestead.
Thank you for watching. And good luck with your new quail. I am sure they will do great for you.
Thanks Chris, my does due date is first day of spring, but there was one time when she was a week late.
That does happen from time to time. If the doe doesn't give birth on the day I expect I always wait at least a week and a half before counting her out.
Getting my start. Building an insulated shed to heat in winter as Canadian Prairie winters of minus 30s.... Then when move have a nice shed for the buyer will clean out equipment! Love bunnies and tasty.
It would be nice to have an insulated shed. More for my comfort than the rabbits but i am sure they will enjoy it too.
Good Job! Just had two litters last night, will be checking their status shortly. Preliminary results look good.
Awesome. Congratulations on your new babies.
Awwwwwwww, too sweet. Just had baby puppies from first time mother, at my home but not there until tomorrow to help out and 5 died but at least she has 4 left alive and doing well. Hope your rabbits do well.
Thanks for watching. Congrats on the new puppies and I hope the rest of them do well.
Our newest (and youngest) doe just had her first litter on the 6th. She only had 6 on her first batch. All of them survived and are doing great. It's kinda funny how she behaves when I'm working inside her cage. She actually grabs the cuff of my coat or shirt and drags/pulls/guides me to her nest every day. Kinda like "hey, come see this new thing I did." But it never feels like aggression or posturing. More like she thinks I'm one of her kids. lol
lol. That must be nice. The doe I have right now tries to attack anything that gets into her cage when she has babies. Makes it challenging to work with them for sure.
2 down isnt to bad. Mother nature is so much smarter than we are. Nice litter size.
Not bad at all. I am not at all disappointed with the results.
Hello Chris my rabbit had 8 baby's yesterday she is a first time Mum And she's feeding them just fine so she will be a keeper
Awesome. Congratulations on your new rabbits.
Congrats on the new babies. My doe had some last Sunday. How’s your wife doing?
Thanks. And congrats on your new babies too.
My wife is doing well and has recovered nicely. Thanks for asking.
My breeding season up here in Michigan starts 4 weeks from today. First kindling should be around May 1st.
Nice. Good luck with your breeding season. I usually stop breeding around May. It just gets too hot after that.
Another great one Chris 🥰
Thank you.
Congrats on the new big litter! :)
Thank you so much.
Thanks for the video! Our one doe that we hope is bred, day 28 will be 13'th - she has started pulling fur and making a nest - hubby built the hutches and built on nest boxes for the two doe's cages on the outside of the cage. That way, they have a place to burrow during these cold and windy nights...have been told even tho I watched 3 falloffs, she may not be bred...so finger's crossed and hoping hard. I had commented on another video about the other doe with ear mites, aggression and fear...unfortunately, we lost her...appears in the crazy freak out struggle, my husband may have broken her rear leg...just was sick about it...but we put her down quick and humane and buried her. We do plan on eating off spring, but I can't eat my breeders...so, we are one down. I have been searching around our area and looking up rabbit breeders close to us in N.E. Texas...but these breeders are show breeders and a breeding doe would be pedigreed and 250.00! That is just too much cost for us on our small homestead here. Could you give me an idea of approx. cost of a breeding doe (not a 6-8 week baby)? I know different areas are all gonna be different...but hoping to have an idea of about what an adult rabbit would cost. I can find N.Z babies for 15-20.00 all day. Spring is almost here and we want to get as many litters as possible before the Texas summer hits us. Thanks in advance!
This might not be very helpful, but I just moved to Texas, north of Austin. My two does just had really big litters. They would be mutts without papers, but if you are still looking for a doe by May let me know. I'll save the best looking girl, or you can come down and pick one out before butcher. The father is 1/2 Satin, 1/4 Cali, and 1/4 Flemish. The mothers are sisters and both are 1/2 Rex 1/2 Cali. Litter size for first time mommas was nine and thirteen.
Edit: I worked really hard to find healthy stock. At this point I don't care if they are part goat- they do not have pasturella. Not a sniffle on the 14 hr drive down.
I am so sorry to hear about your problems with the aggressive doe but you are probably better off now. Full grown adult rabbits can be hard to find at times but when I do I usually find them for around $20. Just keep looking. If you don't come up with one by spring then you might just have to pick up a young one and grow it out until next breeding season. I wish I had good sources to point you to but I find most of mine on Craigslist.
Hi, our local co-op offers monthly swaps and although it's called a chicken swap, folks bring just about everything. Even snakes and guinea pigs.
@@Slightlyrednecked , thanks..I thought 20 something for non pedigree..breeders here do for 4H and show . I belong to 3 meat rabbit groups and hope will find something. If not, like you said..may have to buy s grow out..
On our first litter ever and the mamma was a first too, she had 12 but every day one or two died every day but she just had a litter and there all good!
So sorry to hear about the poor results on the first litter. New moms can sometimes have a hard time keeping up with the first litter. Glad to hear that the second one is doing better though.
I just had a doe give birth to 6 babies ( babies are 3 days old ) and she didn’t pulled any fur just in the nesting box with the hay
Sorry for the slow response. If she hasn't pulled any fur yet, you might be able to pull some yourself from her dewlap. May be a little late to do that now but right after the babies are born it should pull out pretty easily. But as long as you have plenty of bedding for them to nestle into they should be fine.
@@Slightlyrednecked ok. We actually had 7 kits but lost two and so far they are fine. If she doesn’t pull any with the next litter I will definitely do that
Hi so my rabbit just had baby’s recently there about five days old they are not her first litter but I don’t know if when you touch the baby rabbits if you have to rub your hands in there sawdust
Loved the video!!
Thank you so much for watching. I am glad you liked it.
What do you feed the babies once they aren't nursing? Is there anything different you feed the mom other than pellets? I have a momma rabbit I rescued that was left behind by my neighbors after they moved out. Didn't realize that she was pregnant rate away. I had been trying to catch her for a while. One of the times she had sticks in her month. So I guess she was building a nest. Her under fur looks liked she already pulled it off. So I got cotton balls for above the hay in a dish tub for her. Any tips never did this before.
Just feed her hay and pellets and she’ll be fine feeding her baby’s
There’s a lot of controversy with holding/ touching the newborn babies. I’m confused on what I should do, can someone help? Do some mothers not mind it and some do? It’s hard to know what I should do
I love the videos Thank you
Thanks for watching. I am glad that you like them.
Ok. Next question. Lol. So I have a 16 week old NZ Cali cross doe and I took her to a lady to breed her with her very experienced buck. My doe will not lift up to receive the buck. So I left her there so the lady could try over the next couple days. Any suggestions on what I should do to get this moving?
That is a common problem. usually just trying multiple times will fix it (morning, evening, morning the next day, evening the next day). So leaving her there should get the job done. You can also try adding additional light to get the hours of light per day up to 14 and that might help a little.
Our doe had give birth for a couple of weeks now.after a week she had swollen nipples and begun not feeding her kits and not eating her food for about 3days.what will we do?
I don't know if you can help or not but I left for a few hours the other day came back and won of the rabbits had babies how can you tell which babies go to the right Mom?
awesome.
Thanks. I am glad you liked it.
My rabbit had her first litter a few months ago and ate them all. I was devastated and my husband wanted to eat her but we gave her another chance and last night she had a litter of nine! All are fat, warm, and and well taken care of!
Do you think this may be too many babies for her since she's a new mom? Or can she handle it?
Congratulations on the new litter. She should be able to handle 9 babies. It isn't uncommon to lose one or two from a litter that large though so don't be surprised if that happens. I am glad to hear that she is doing better with this litter.
Should have used the term kindle instead of litter. I stand corrected! Kindling sounds more like fire starter.
lol. I didn't even catch that.
Hi Chris my chinchilla rabbit miss giant had babies, I video babies being born it's on you tube counted 11 first litter almost all harlequin
nice. congratulations on your new babies.
I got a question is it normal for newborn babies to shake when there asleep? They are 3 days old
I have Lop mixes 1 of my females had 8 babies and 0 survived and I dont know why they were wiggling and then they weren't and I warmed them up lots of different ways what do you think happened?
Unfortunately it could be any number of things that could have happened. I really have no way of knowing for sure. It could just be that your rabbit is a poor mother. If it is her first attempt at raising babies that may be all it is. if it continues to occur with multiple litters I would look at replacing her with a new doe and not breeding her any more. I am sorry I can't help more.
Cool deal man
Thanks for watching. I am glad you liked it.
I just have newborn kits , 3 days old had 6 kits she made a brilliant nest for her newborn , my question is they are family pets and children are soo excited for all the newborn , it’s not for money , or u call meat eating , I do like your channel because it gives me alot of knowledge, but I want them as pets , is your channel about feeding the rabbits and newborn to sell as meat , cos that just not sit with me at all
Are Rex rabbits a good bread. I just adopted two
Standard rex (not mini rex) are a good meat option. They might not be considered the best meat breed but they will work just fine.
Thank you
can you please send me two of them?
Well, they were way too young to separate from the mother in this video. :)
I'm too far away, I don't think that you can send them here. I'm from Tanzania, east Africa. I'm big fan of yours. good work mzee.
I'm also a big fun but I'm far away I'm from KENYA east Africa
Do you have an email we can contact you on?
I do but I am not very good about responding to email. You can try. It is chris@slightlyrednecked.com
Slightly Rednecked oh ok.. the reason is I have inexperienced bucks and they can’t seem to get the job done. It’s very frustrating really. I’ve been trying since December.
Animal abuser
It's not abuse.