tattoo day....

[Terry W]

went very well yesterday. Of course, the 'screamers' were ALL boys!!!! Such little wimps!!!! And then-- i could not find the lETTERS to my pliers-- just the numbers-- so, a quick change in the 'system' leaves me with numbered rabbits without the letter prefix I wanted. oh well, this will work out just fine....
odd male:female ratios, though, as i weighed and sexed these guys--
of course, the one litter, ( where one female died of unknown causes) only had one male in it. Litter number two-- two girls, 4 boys, and I beleive litter number three turned out 3 and 3. weights within each litter were pretty consistent- not much more than an ounce difference between lightest and heaviest.
I did notice though--- the litter that had the widest range-- Mom was still 'nursing' the kits--and those kits were several ounces lighter in weight than their day older counterparts... I threw all 12 babies in one cage between their Mom's cages, put in plenty of NEW hay (scored a good price on 43 bales at the benefit auction Friday), large J-feeder, and super sized water pans. i figure that way, htey all get totally off Moms, and the stress od separation is reduced by the close proximity of Moms. The older kits went into an ex-pen, that is set up in a new area surrounded by the dog kennel panels. in a few more days, I expect to be able to separate the kits by sex and final dispostion within the dog kennel area.
nothing like good weather and high energy levels to help things get done

[SquashNut]

I just butchered 21 fryers and noticed there were well over 2/3 bucks. These were from 3 different mothers. The sizes were all over the board. The breeder I bought the rabbits from must not have selected for even sizes in litters. It's possible the uneveness is from me out crossing. What do I know?
I am getting better with the tatto's but I do have one little doe we call smudgie. Cause we cann't read her tattoo.

[ajharris]

I received 6 NZB's yesterday. I need to get them tattooed along with my MR's. I think I will do that this coming up week.

[Pony]

I wonder if the male determines the gender of the kits, as the male determines the gender of human babies...

The majority in my litters have always been female. In fact, in the last two kindlings, there were only 3 or four males out of a total of 30-odd kits.

10% male.

Since my herd is small and all mutts, I don't bother tatooing. I will have to come up with an identification system eventually, but for now, I'm doing okay. If the old memory slips any further, though, I'm gonna have to learn how to use a spreadsheet!

[Terry W]

Originally Posted by Pony

I wonder if the male determines the gender of the kits, as the male determines the gender of human babies...

The majority in my litters have always been female. In fact, in the last two kindlings, there were only 3 or four males out of a total of 30-odd kits.

10% male.

Since my herd is small and all mutts, I don't bother tatooing. I will have to come up with an identification system eventually, but for now, I'm doing okay. If the old memory slips any further, though, I'm gonna have to learn how to use a spreadsheet!

yes-- mammal males determine the sex of the offspring. Now in birds, it is the females that determine sex, while in reptilian and amphibious species, a 'trans-gendering' process can occur- temperatures during incuabtion of eggs is one way reptiles such as gators handle the male:female issues... whiile 9n some frogs, if there is a shortage of males, a female may get a special visit from the SCF....