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11/12/11, 12:35 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 16,310
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Im in a heckuva shape.
Got around 75 does, all breeding age. 15 buck rabbits likewise. I havnt had a baby rabbit since June due to the heat. Wed I got 5 big healty babies, and today the mama died. Got around a doz due, But like most of the rest, They wont pull hair, and they wont drop. Its a shame. I hate to lose the babies.
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11/12/11, 03:30 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Bel Aire, KS
Posts: 3,547
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Wow. That's lots of rabbits. What breed?
__________________
Ted H
You may all go to Hell, and I will go to Texas.
-Davy Crockett
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11/12/11, 03:51 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Posts: 2,270
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Man. When I had that many rabbits, there were always rabbits due around the same time. Your bunnies need a talkin' to!
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11/12/11, 04:34 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 16,310
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There NZ. SF, I guess you dont know that bucks WILL gop sterile in hot weather. We had a couple months the temps were above 90. Near a month they were above or at 100. Bucks dont do so well in performancew at that heat
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11/12/11, 06:11 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: NJ
Posts: 644
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That's a lot of mouths to feed with no rewards for it. Do you have a friend with a non-sterile buck or 2 you could use till yours are back in the game?
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11/12/11, 10:08 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 16,310
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Nope, and if I di have, Their bucks would have been in the same heat as my 15. And mine were under heavy shade all summer
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11/12/11, 10:08 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 16,310
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I took the babies and put them in a feed pan with a cloth in it for warmth and a chick waterer. If their still alive tomorrow, Ill go into town and get some milk.
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11/12/11, 10:48 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Texas
Posts: 3,486
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What a mess..... I had luck saving babies by holding them in my palm & holding them under another doe who had older kits.....Did it twice a day, and inbetween nursing I had them in a nest with a hot water bottle..... Mine were almost 2 weeks old...
Sad to say without another doe who could foster them, the odds are kind of stacked against you 
At 3 days old, that chick waterer isn't going to do any good...might, cause harm if they bump it & get wet...
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11/12/11, 11:01 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 2,055
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Cow milk won't do them much good either if that's your plan. A milk replacer for herbivorous animals (goats, cattle, horses..) mixed to double the directions has worked the best for us. Lacking that goat milk with some additives like a little syrup for extra energy can work. There are few recipes on the internet. Never give baby animals besides calves cow milk unless you have nothing else. Even if you get good food if they haven't gotten enough from mom to get started the odds are against them. I just put down really young litters anymore because watching them die a slow death from a variety of causes is not worth the odd one that might survive.
Last edited by akane; 11/12/11 at 11:03 PM.
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11/13/11, 01:23 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Posts: 2,270
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Bill, I used to raise rabbits in California. It got well over 100 degrees. And I see all the people talking about heat sterility, but it never happened to me. Maybe you need to take a few bucks in the house during the summer to keep your herd going... Or give them ice bottles all summer to keep them cooled off.
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11/13/11, 01:47 PM
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Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Northern Saskatchewan
Posts: 1,477
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SilverFlame819
Bill, I used to raise rabbits in California. It got well over 100 degrees. And I see all the people talking about heat sterility, but it never happened to me. Maybe you need to take a few bucks in the house during the summer to keep your herd going... Or give them ice bottles all summer to keep them cooled off.
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Yup! That is a LOT of rabbits to be wasting time and money on. For the amount of money a non-sterile buck would give you...I would be keeping my bucks in my basement or somewhere that wasnt cooking hot. Or even build them their own air conditioned shed. This past summer 12-15 does with kits and about 4-5 bucks (all mini breeds) was costing me at least $150 a month in feed. At least. And they werent wasting anything.
And I have no idea how to save babies without a foster mom.
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11/13/11, 03:01 PM
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Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Idaho Panhandle
Posts: 997
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wow Jackie, what are you paying for your feed? what all are you feeding?
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11/13/11, 03:04 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Texas
Posts: 3,486
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My bucks went heat sterile despite ice bottles (2 liter bottles rotated out every 4 hours) fans & even shallow water pans (some of mine would lay in them or dip their feet in them) 2 of them never bounced back for some reason..... But then again we regularly hit temps of 110° & nights would only cool off to high 80°s/low 90°s....
This year I'm hoping to breed as much as possible while it's cool, & then retain a few of the last bucks born, so hopefully they'll be growing through the summer & will be useable in fall.....I may keep a boy indoors for use for a few summer litters, the cull the older ones for dog food.
My mom is building a really neat rabbit colony that will safely allow them to burrow down 5ft without escaping & were going to see if bucks fare better being able to borrow down in the heat....
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11/13/11, 03:41 PM
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Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Northern Saskatchewan
Posts: 1,477
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Quote:
Originally Posted by boundarybunnyco
wow Jackie, what are you paying for your feed? what all are you feeding?
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Just rabbit pellets. Its about $18 for a 50lb bag and they eat close to two bags a week when I have babies on the go.
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