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could anyone help me please?

claire_wales

Young Bun
i have 3 rabbits and i am not sure what breed they are, i think 2 of them 'maybe' english but not 100% sure and god knows what the other one is ..lol, i have 2 males and a female-not housed together,but my female is pregnant and has built her nest so hopefully will have her kits tonight!

please could someone look at these pics and give me some idea as to what they are i rescued 2 of them from someone who wasnt looking after them(the black buck and tortoiseshell doe)

thank you in advance for any comments,

hi to you all btw,
claire. x

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:wave: hi! sorry, i'm no good at things like this! i'm sure someone will know come the morning!
 
hi becca,hi lauralou, thanks for your replies.

my tortoiseshell one has built a nest,i have been noticing small clumps of fur here and there now for the last few days but yesterday i could see a patch of the hutch floor so i put in some more straw and hay incase she was using it for a nest.today i went to give her a carrot and i want to clean the hutch out but not sure about her having young there so i had the carrot she has been eatting and just moved a bit of the straw and there is a huge nest of fur so i think she will have them tongiht! thats it now im not touching that hutch for the next few days at least except for feeding her!

the only thing im worried about is i have another hutch ontop of hers with her mate and 2 guinea pigss in there and although i have them in a shed i have 2 kittens in there that i found abandoned in my back garden,they have been in there since saturday will this make her kill the babies,she doesnt seem frightened by them she sticks her head out and looks at them when i open the hutch but dont run from them.
 
i'm not an expert but from what i read, she's only likely to kill her babies is of they smell different (hence the 'rub you hands in mums wee before checking the nest' thing).

the kittens aren't able to close enough to possibly stress her out are they? is she up high enough not to be disturbed?
 
I think they all all pretty good mixes :D The last one might have some english in his/her ancestry somewhere but the body shape is totally wrong and the splodges aren't specifically english.

Black bunnies occur in lots of breeds and you can't tell the body shape very well from that picture.

Could be a bit of lop in them somewhere to for the sticky out ears.

Nothing easy to identify though so I think you'll just have to have 'pretty' as the breed ;)

Tamsin
 
I am pretty sure the tri color ones are Rhilanders they are an amazing breed and their ears and body are exactly like that don't know bout the other one though they prob got a bit of other breed in them though
 
I am pretty sure the tri color ones are Rhilanders they are an amazing breed and their ears and body are exactly like that don't know bout the other one though they prob got a bit of other breed in them though

is it the top one your talking about?
becuase it cant be, theres too much colour for it to be a rhinelander.

whatever they are, they are very cute :)

do you have homes lined up for the babies to go to? :?
 
is it the top one your talking about?
becuase it cant be, theres too much colour for it to be a rhinelander.

whatever they are, they are very cute :)

do you have homes lined up for the babies to go to? :?

yes I am talking about the top one not to be rude but I know that it has too many spots thats why I said they probably have mix in them but you are right they are cute:D
 
is it the top one your talking about?
becuase it cant be, theres too much colour for it to be a rhinelander.

whatever they are, they are very cute :)

do you have homes lined up for the babies to go to? :?


i dont have homes lined up yet but i know a few people who would be interested,i will advertise them though,just dont know what to ask for them.
the doe was in with the black rabbit for a while but my other rabbit got with her a few weeks back as well so i dont know who the dad will be,im guessing the black one as he was with her the longest but i would love it if its my white and silver buck thats the dad..

im bursting to have a little peep if she has had them as everytime i go up there she is laying in the front part of the hutch and the nest she built is in the sleeping area,i hope she hasnt abandoned them or killed them i think i will get some gloves on and handle her for a while as i read on here and handle some of the bedding from the hutch and maybe just lift up a bit of the hay just enough to peep in the nest,if she had them last night but have abandoned them then maybe i will be able to hand rear them other than just leaving them to die if im not too late.
 
dead babies usually get nudged out of the nest so should be easy to find. i'm sure i read the best way to check the nest is to distract mum with tasty treats. are you supplimenting (sp!) her diet as she's lactating?
 
Just because shes not in with them doesnt mean shes abandoned them. she will only feed them twice a day and will spend the rest of the day pretending she doesn't have any, especially if you are around. This is totally normal, they aren't like other types of animal.

I wouldn't reccommend removing them from the nest as the will most certainly die. The hand rear rate from new born is very very low because they don't get the gut bacteria from the mother and usually die from infections.
 
Firstly can I say that a breeding buck should not be kept in a small hutch with a pair of guinea pigs, unless you want to find a dead guinea pig one morning - they really need to be seperated urgently.

As for your nesting bunny, well I hope if it's not a phantom the babies all go to good, responsible long term homes where they won't be used for breeding - it's not a good idea to breed 'mongrel' rabbits as there are already over 30,000 of them in rescue shelters up and down the country, desperate for homes - my 5 girls came from one such rescue and as you can see, one of them is much like your rabbit in the top photo - all are sisters and the gold lop is their mum - funny thing rabbit genetics.

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p.s. do you know the parental histories of all your buns? this is so important when considering breeding, you can end up with a host of health problem sif not.

i agree with Elve too, the piggies must be away from rabbits, a buck in a small cage really isn't ideal, add 2 piggies in there and it's just not fair on any of them. do you have spaces set up for the babies too when they need seperating from the mum and into same sex groups?
 
well i have taken on board all your replies,i have removed the buck from the pigs cage into his own cage and i havent dared to have a look in the nest,ill just wait and see what happens.i dont know the genetics of the parents as the doe and black buck were already together when i had them brought to me and i had them running around the garden while i sorted out the hutches as they needed a good disinfecting out from not being cared for properley. im not bothered really about selling them as i have plenty of room to keep them and separate them and when the time comes i dont think i could bear to part with them unless my nieces wanted one id let them have one but they are only down the road from me so id still be the main carer for them! i wasnt going to breed them but it looks like the already had by the time i got them.
thanks for all your replies you have been of great help xx
 
i have been through the whole hutch today as i wanted to clean it out,there is nothing in there at all except for loads and loads of fur. i dont know if she has had kits and eatten them all or if she has had a phantom but theres definatley nothing there.
 
:wave: maybe it was a phantom, bunnies are funny little things. how is your female now? will you be spaying her in the future?
 
i am going to have her spayed,not sure when yet though, but she is in her own hutch and got her own run so no worries of her getting pregnant anyway but i will get her done shortly,most probs the same time as i have the bucks done.
 
my daughter went up to get the rabbits water bottles about 10 to 6 tonight and came screaming down the garden the rabbit has had babies!!!!

i ran straight up to see and there were 2 kits in the living area and there were a few (not sure how many cos i only peeped) in a nest in the sleeping area..they are getting themselves around the hutch i didnt think they would come out of the nest yet, they still have their eyes closed but they aint half a strong looking litter..i dont know if she has had them last night/today but i went right through the hutch either yesterday or the day before and there was nothing in there.

also while i was there feeding her and giving her her water etc she was panting like a dog and was rolling around onto her back and would then get back up and it looked as though she was squatting or somthing then she would roll around again..does this mean she is in need of a vet or is she just still in labour?, i have tried going to check on her but everytime i go up i think the litter looks more ...lol
she is fine as last time i checked (10 mins ago) she was eatting and drinking and doesnt seem to be panting so fast now.

btw i havent opened the sleeping area door to look, i can see from the living area as the dividing wood doesnt go right to top of hutch so i can see over it!!!
im sooooooooooooooooo chuffed and excited,i have a 9yr old and an 8 yr old and they aint half as hypo as i am over it lol
 
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she may still be in labour, hopefully she is okay, just keep popping back and checking quietly. i've read that some kits can get stuck in the birth canal and this will need vet intervention but hopefully that won't be the case here.

i'm sure there's a supplement lactating does need, but i can't remember where i read it.
 
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