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| First litter; Newbie has questions | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jun 8 2014, 03:30 AM (991 Views) | |
| Cookie | Jun 8 2014, 03:30 AM Post #1 |
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New to the Addiction
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I am expecting my first Mini lop litter next week and I have a few questions. When you are counting gestation days do you count the day of mating as the first day or is the next day considered the first? Our mini lop pregnant doe is an inside house rabbit and her enclosure resides in the living area of the house, we are a very busy house hold with loud kids etc but none of this seems to bother, scare or upset her and she spends most her time running around the house under all our feet but I am wondering if I should be moving her cage somewhere more quiet before she kindles or do you think since this is where she has always lived the noises and kids shouldn't really worry her once she has had the kits. Once she has had the kits is it ok to still let her roam free during the day with her cage open so she can get back to feeds or should I keep her locked in the cage for awhile. |
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| sidd-says-gimme | Jun 8 2014, 09:00 AM Post #2 |
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sidd says stay gold
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I count the next day as the first. I would worry that when labor starts, she will get stressed out by the noise. Especially if her cage is open... I would be nervous that she would go somewhere strange to have the babies. Just to be safe, I would put her somewhere more quiet and/or keep her in her cage until she has them. |
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| NeuBunny | Jun 8 2014, 09:21 AM Post #3 |
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Genetics Geek!
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I count the time of mating as 'day 0'. But your window is a couple days either way (28-32). Normal noise levels shouldn't bother her. Honestly - 3 times now I've had to move pregnant does from a nice quiet barn into a relatively noisy house due to weather. They delivered a little late (day 32) but did fine. lol - expect she will kindle in the middle of the night or when every one is out. I'd be more concerned about letting her out before she has the kits. Does (even ones that live in cages) are notorious for having kits in a different spot than the nice nest box you prepared. They have a strong instinct to hide babies. I'd stop letting her have unsupervised free range on day 26 - just in case. Unless you don't mind the possibility that she will hide them in a shoe or under a bed somewhere! Once the kits arrive, and she knows where they are, I would go ahead and let her run the house again. Rabbits won' pick up and move kits. In the wild, European rabbits (from which domestics are derived) hide babies and visit them twice a day to nurse (only going to the nest when no predators are watching). Rabbits don't stay in the nest with the babies and they only nurse a few times a day (rarely when you are watching - they try to convince you nothing is there). With the cage open, you will have to watch for 'escape artists'. Sometimes even newborn kits manage to get out of a nest box (usually clinging to a teat when mom jumps out). They can wiggle quite long distances. Lone babies out of the nest chill easily - even in a cage, I've lost some this way. At about 10 days, the babies will be getting out of the box. If you don't want them all over the house, you will either need to close the cage, or figure out a barrier that mom can get out but the babies can't. A larger playpen surrounding the cage might be a good alternative. Good luck! Edited by NeuBunny, Jun 8 2014, 09:22 AM.
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| Cookie | Jun 8 2014, 06:41 PM Post #4 |
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New to the Addiction
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Thank you both so much for all the advice. I was planning to keep her in the cage from about day 27, it is quite large so still plenty of room to move around and putting a divider in that she can get over and not the babies should be quite easy and I like the idea of using a dog pen around her cage so I can supervise her more closely and so I don't have baby bunnies running around everywhere I will come back and share pics once they arrive
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| NCK | Jun 8 2014, 08:02 PM Post #5 |
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Somebunny is a awfully chatty
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Sounds like you've got a plan there! Good luck with your first litter. Please do share any pictures of the kits! BTW, welcome to RA!
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| sidd-says-gimme | Jun 9 2014, 09:00 AM Post #6 |
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sidd says stay gold
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I wouldn't mind seeing pictures of the parents, either. ![]() Yes, welcome! I hope you enjoy it here and find the posts helpful. |
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| NCK | Jun 14 2014, 08:31 PM Post #7 |
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Somebunny is a awfully chatty
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Any news yet? I've got my fingers crossed super-duper tight for your doe! Sometimes I think they like to keep us waiting... |
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| Cookie | Jun 15 2014, 12:36 AM Post #8 |
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New to the Addiction
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Thanks for checking in but No news yet She nested on day 28 for ages, no fur pulling though and since then has completely ignored the nest, she's very quiet and not very active and I can see the babies moving so I'm not imagining the pregnancy just wish she would hurry up and get on with it
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| Cookie | Jun 15 2014, 08:11 PM Post #9 |
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New to the Addiction
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We have babies! Total of 4 but one is tiny, maybe a runt or peanut but I didn't think mini lops had peanuts. The picture of just two kits together is a size comparison of the second smallest and the runt, please tell me what you all think and it's chances of survival |
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| NCK | Jun 15 2014, 08:50 PM Post #10 |
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Somebunny is a awfully chatty
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Cute! Congratulations! The one definitely looks like a runt, but it shouldn't be a peanut since mini lops are not a dwarf breed. Peanuts have very tiny ears, and often underdeveloped hindquarters. It's impossible to know now whether or not it will survive, but I would think that its chances would be good since it's not a super big litter. |
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| Cookie | Jun 15 2014, 09:45 PM Post #11 |
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New to the Addiction
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Thanks and that was what I first thought that mini lops didn't carry the dwarf gene but when I posted it in another forum some one thought it was a peanut but I'm getting very confused as to the different types of lop breeds. I am from Australia and here we have the Dwarf Lop (carrier of the dwarf gene) and the Mini lop, our mini lop is our smallest lop breed and the dwarf is larger but in other countries there is the Holland lop which I always thought was our Mini lop just called something different but Hollands as far as I can tell are carriers of the dwarf gene which would then make more sense if the Holland was in fact our Dwarf Lop both carriers of the dwarf gene but then the Holland lop from research seems to be the smallest of lop breeds in those countries but here it is our Mini lop that is the smallest and our Dwarf being bigger. The real question is, is The Holland Lop Australia's Dwarf lop or mini lop? I am seriously getting a headache trying to figure this all out |
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| NCK | Jun 15 2014, 10:11 PM Post #12 |
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Somebunny is a awfully chatty
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Oh, okay, lots of different lops! In the U.S., Holland Lops are the smallest lop breed, and are a dwarf breed. So if your Mini Lop is the same as a Holland Lop, then you have the possibility of having peanuts IF both parents are true dwarfs (meaning they both carry the dwarf gene). Do you have pictures of the parents? About how much do they weigh? ETA: I took a look at your pictures again, and that little one still doesn't look like a peanut to me, just based on its ears. Here's a picture of a peanut next to its normal littermate, for reference.
Edited by NCK, Jun 15 2014, 10:17 PM.
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| Cookie | Jun 15 2014, 10:49 PM Post #13 |
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New to the Addiction
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That was what I thought the ears looked like a normal size to me, I don't have a pic of them right now but the Doe is approx 1.5kg ( 3.3pounds) and the Male was only slightly bigger which would put them in your Holland lop range?? I wouldn't have culled him anyway so I'll let nature run it's course and just hope he is a runt and not a peanut Thanks for the pic too, I'll get another one of him later with his bigger litter mate so you can see a true comparison |
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| NCK | Jun 16 2014, 01:42 PM Post #14 |
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Somebunny is a awfully chatty
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Yes, that size would be pretty average for a Holland. 4 lb. is the weight limit for showing. |
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| Cookie | Jun 16 2014, 10:23 PM Post #15 |
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New to the Addiction
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Well so far they are all doing well and have nice round belly's this morning, even the runt/peanut and a nice round belly and is still very active so I still hold on to a little bit of hope that he's just a runt |
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I will come back and share pics once they arrive

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1:39 PM Jul 11