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Help, I have 7 newborn kits....

kendo469

New Kit
Hi, I need some advice and I apologise if I have posted in the wrong forum. My wife bought two netherland dwarf rabbits at 6 weeks old and was told they were two girls. A vet further confirmed this at a later checkup. That was a couple of months ago. I now have two issues -

1. They are in fact boy and girl as I now have 7 little 2 week old kits. The dad was separated the day after the birth when we discovered the nest. I need advice on where to go from here as I don't have any experience with newborn rabbits.

2. Also, I have my doubts that they are Netherland Dwarf, as they are quite large and have long ears. If anyone wants any pictures of mum and dad to try and confirm the breed I will send you some.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Ken.
 
Ok, as the dad was still in with the mum after she gave birth, she may give birth again in about 4 weeks after teh first birth (so in 2 weeks maybe).
I would leave her and her babies be for the now, only check them carefully everyday to check for dead/ if they are eating (if they are nice an plump they are being fed, if shriveled and skinny they are not being fed- the fact they have got to 2 weeks though suggests mum knows what she is doing). Only check on them if mum dosent mind, its important not to upset the mum/ disturb her.

As for the pictures, you culd upload them into an image hosting site (like photobucket) and post the image code on here for everyone to see :)
 
Just to add that you will not see the mum feeding the babies she will normally do it at night time. I agree with the above post mum obviously seems to know what she is doing as the babies are now 2 weeks:D a few years ago I took on a rabbit who was pregnant and I pretty much just let mum get on with it but obviously checked to make sure they had full bellies. It is amazing to see how they progress:love: mum could well be pregnant again as dad was still in the hutch after she gave birth. You have come to the best place for advice there are alot of knowledgeable people on the forum. Good luck with everything:)
 
If you have had 7 kits and no peanut baby (small, deformed babies that do not survive), there's a chance yours are not two pure Netherland dwarves. Nethies are carriers of the dwarf gene; when you mate two purebred individuals some of the kits will inherit both alleles of the dwarf gene, making for babies that are unfit to live. As cruel as it is, it's one of the ways to see if the individuals you have are "real" dwarves (carriers of the dwarf gene) or "false" dwarves - often kept as breeders, especially does, because you can avoid peanut babies that way. So I'd say at least one of the two is a "false" dwarf.
 
Aftercare.

Didn't think they were Netherlands after looking at pictures of other peoples rabbits. We paid £40 each for them as well.....

Can anyone give me some tips on aftercare of the kits? Can they be handled? Do they have to be separated from mother if she is pregnant again and at what age....

So many questions.......

Ken.
 
Didn't think they were Netherlands after looking at pictures of other peoples rabbits. We paid £40 each for them as well.....

Can anyone give me some tips on aftercare of the kits? Can they be handled? Do they have to be separated from mother if she is pregnant again and at what age....

So many questions.......

Ken.

you need to leave them babies with mum until at least 8 weeks, at this point the babies can find homes, and you shouldnt handle baby rabbits really until at least 10-14 days as the mum can react badly, the best way to handle her babies is to rub her fur from nest on your hands first so you have the smell of the mum on your hands, that way when you leave them she wont be confused by lots of other smells :)
 
and i am shocked you would have had to pay £40 pound for a neatherland you would be looking at £20 each at most normally and maybe bit more if you was buying a show rung rabbit but no where near £40, they are not neatherlands they are just straight ear cross breeds :)
 
Non-show-type Nethies are very variable in their appearance, but those two don't look like Nethies. Very cute buns though. And £40 isn't that big a price for a rabbit - I paid Mango € 40 from a breeder (a lot of people here will rightfully disapprove of this, but the nearest suitable rescue male was hundreds of km away...) and most pet shops don't sell their bunnies for less.

If the buck has been separated from the doe immediately, hopefully she's not pregnant again, however you need to keep an eye on her.
Provided that all kits grow healthily, they should stay with their mom until at least 8 weeks old. Then you should split them, and possibly split males from females - at 3 months most small rabbit breeds can already mate.
From the age of 8 weeks you can find new homes for them.
I suggest that you neuter your male (you can do that right now) and spay your female, then re-bond them as it's the only way to have them live together without the risk of unplanned litters and fights (unneutered rabbits are very sensitive to sexual hormones and can fight).
If you keep any of the kits, males can be neutered as soon as their testicles descend (a rabbit-savvy vet will be able to tell you that, usually between 12 and 16 weeks), and females can be spayed at 6 months old.
 
Non-show-type Nethies are very variable in their appearance, but those two don't look like Nethies. Very cute buns though. And £40 isn't that big a price for a rabbit - I paid Mango € 40 from a breeder (a lot of people here will rightfully disapprove of this, but the nearest suitable rescue male was hundreds of km away...) and most pet shops don't sell their bunnies for less.

my sister used to help a rescue and knew local breeders and petshops as we would take any rabbits that needed a home so we got idea of prices and netherland would be around £25 for show stock and around £15-£25 in pet shop , again if you did go to a breeder and it was a pedigree but didnt meet show quality they would near enough give it to you cos they dont require it and will be taking up space , i see some bing advertised for £5 on website the other day but thats just from what iv seen though of course some people will over charge,
 
my sister used to help a rescue and knew local breeders and petshops as we would take any rabbits that needed a home so we got idea of prices and netherland would be around £25 for show stock and around £15-£25 in pet shop , again if you did go to a breeder and it was a pedigree but didnt meet show quality they would near enough give it to you cos they dont require it and will be taking up space , i see some bing advertised for £5 on website the other day but thats just from what iv seen though of course some people will over charge,

Then prices in Germany are much higher. But I think this is positive. Less people getting a cute bunny on a whim.
 
Hi,

The Kits are starting to come out of the nest now and explore the hutch. Will post some pics at the weekend when I am at home in the daylight!

Took dad to the vets today to get neutered. I believe he can still be fertile for up to two weeks after the op. Is this so?

Should I now get mum spayed? How long should I wait before taking her to the vet?

Can anyone on her recommend a good vet in the Manchester/Merseyside area? I was asking the staff in the vets questions about breed type, kits, etc and they didn't even have any leaflets or anything to give me.
 
Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your shock new additions, both mum & dad are gorgeous and the babies look very cute as well! :love:

Dad can still be fertile for up to four weeks after the op so keep him well away from Mum :)

It may be possible to take Mum to the vets for a checkup, personally I would say it's quite likely she's pregnant again but she may not be, how old are the kits now?

Have you thought about what you will do with them once they reach 8/9 weeks old? :love:
 
You can take Mum to the vet when the kits are 8 weeks old, they'll be fully weaned (hoping she's not pregnant again but you'll know soon enough).
Don't let the buck near her before 4 weeks from his neuter have passed because he could impregnate her again.
Spaying the female is commonly recommended because she will be much less hormonal and less likely to fight with the buck when you want to bond them, and you will avoid her diseases like uterus cancer (80%+ in does older than 3 years!) and piometra.
 
Hi,

The Kits are starting to come out of the nest now and explore the hutch. Will post some pics at the weekend when I am at home in the daylight!

Took dad to the vets today to get neutered. I believe he can still be fertile for up to two weeks after the op. Is this so?

Should I now get mum spayed? How long should I wait before taking her to the vet?

Can anyone on her recommend a good vet in the Manchester/Merseyside area? I was asking the staff in the vets questions about breed type, kits, etc and they didn't even have any leaflets or anything to give me.

Hi and welcome to the forum :wave:

Your rabbits are gorgeous but I have to agree that they are definitly not Nethies. I have 2 nethies and a bridge bunny that was the spitting image of the dad (a harlequin) and they both look like they will grow medium/large size, definitly not tiny nethies. Regardless though they are both stunning and I'm sure their babies will be too :love:

I can recommend an excellent vet in Wirral, Merseyside, the details are:

Rob McNulty, Hoylake Veterinary Surgery, 43 Birkenhead Road, Meols, Merseyside CH47 5AF - Telephone 0151 632 5676

We would never use any other vet after how they've looked after our furrys (dogs, rabbits, hamsters, gerbils) :D
 
More pictures....

Hi, I have attached a link with some updated pictures. They are now three and a half weeks old and are up and about around the hutch. Some of them are starting to take an interest in mum's food bowl. Mum is fine with them all and are all feeding well.

Dad is still in a separate hutch after his op last week and is grumpy.

Now I need to decide what to do with them all.


http://s1045.photobucket.com/albums/b459/kendo469/?start=all
 
The babies are gorgeous! :love::love::love::love:
You can get them vaccinated against myxomatosis when they're six weeks old. As others said, they will have to stay with mum until they are eight weeks old. Then you can take them to a vet to get them sexed, so you can separate boys and girls. You can put them on the rabbit rehome website and you can also pm SOAD, who is a moderator here, to put them in Rabbits in need. :wave:
 
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