Reproduction Problems in the
Doe
"Unbreedable Doe"
I have had does very picky about
the bucks they're with. Some prefere to only accept the older more experienced
bucks. I put a doe in with a young buck, and it was supposed to be his
first time, and she didn't want no part of him. So I moved her to an older
buck, and she accepted right away. If the doe still won't accept after
trying another buck, check for Vent Disease (you should always check before
you mate, shame on you :P)
Clear the fur from around her bottom
if she is long haired. And finally if she STILL won't respond, she may
need something more. This sounds icky but it's a neat trick I learned at
a show. Go like you're going to "sex" her to determine she is female. Have
you ever noticed how some "jump" when you do that? Keep doing it, till
she jumps and then try. I found if you arouse her some she should take.
If this still doesn't work, you should think about culling her or give
her another day or 2 and try again.
"Unpregnable Doe"
Does are able to care for young
at 5 months old for small breeds, and up to 10 months old in larger ones.
I would say a doe only has about 3-4 years of breeding if she is strictly
a brood doe. Other does who are bred once a year may produce litters up
until they die of old age. I have had 9 year old rabbits have large healthy
litters. Some does just aren't able to get pregnant. Below I talk about
a doe who was born without teats. Some does are just never able to have
babies. It is a genetic disease not to. I have a Fuzzy Lop now, who hasn't
produced a litter in a year, and when she did, it was only one baby. These
does should be culled or kept strictly for showing or for a pet. Also it
could not only be the does problem, check out your buck and make sure he
has no problems down there. Maybe he is too old? Check out the breeding
problems in the buck section on the site.
Mastitis
This is a caked breast. All or
one may have it. Signs are death of kits. Kits may die suddenly and rapidly.
The breast will be hard and painful, and the teat will be hot. This can
occur from an injury, or if a previous litter was weaned too early and
the mother couldn't rid herself of all that milk. It also happens if a
litter was killed very early before they could be weaned.
The best thing to do, would be
foster the kits to a different mother, or hand raise them. You will have
to give the mother a shot of penicillin to cure this, and you may have
to milk the teats for her if necessary. Also make sure the doe is in good
health before breeding her, and make sure she gets the right amount of
nutrients from her feed.
Young Doe Death Syndrome
This is does that suddenly die
1-2 weeks after kindling, it's usually young does that are on their first
litter. Does who die before they kindle have Ketosis. Ketosis happens when
the doe is over weight. It is associated with Enterotoxemia. The only prevention
is to restrict feed 24-48 hours before kindling to increase the total feed
intake after she kindles.
Over due does
Either the doe was never pregnant,
or you have a bigger problem. It could be the kits died inside the mother,
she will have to try to deliever them stillborn. They will more then likly
be dead if they are 2-5 days over due.
Fetal Giantism is another thing
she could have. The signs are a difficult birth, the doe seems to be straining
because of a large fetus. She may sit in the nest box and be 3-4 days over
due. There maybe blood on her vulva. This usually happens more in does
who have small litters (1-2 kits) or are over weight. The only treatment
for Fetal Giantism is a C-section, but breeders often can't afford this,
and let the animal try to deliever on her own. The best idea is to seek
professional help, because the doe could die in delievery. Don't breed
does that have tiny litters, and keep them at an ideal weight.
Cold Kits
If the kits aren't warm in the
nest box, you're gonna have to try to get more fur in there and make sure
they stay together for body warmth. If they still won't get warm, then
something is wrong with them and they're going to die anyway. They could
be laying in urine, causing them to be cold. This usually happens before
they get their fur. I have found if the kits aren't bright pink, then they
usually die. Also make sure they have the milk line on their stomach to
make sure they have been eating right.
Dandruff
This is more common in babies who
are about a week to 2 weeks old who have been nesting in their own feces
and urine. The best thing to do is to keep the nestbox clean and make sure
the mother isn't soiling it. I get this alot with my Fuzzy Lops, I try
to keep the boxes clean. Dirty nest boxes often lead to "Nest box eye"
when the babies get to the age when their eyes open, their eyes are sealed
shut and are filled with pus. Their eyes should be opened carefully and
cleaned with warm water, and the nest box should be cleaned out and the
hay gone. Babies should be out of the nest box, no later then 2 weeks of
age.
Cannabalism
Mothers often do this accidental
while trying to clean the babies off during delivery. Other mothers are
bad and eat the babies whole. Some mothers get scared, from predators and
eat the babies. This usually happens in young litters from kindling time
to 10 days. I have mainly seen it at kindling time. Babies who are still
alive and missing a leg or an arm will probably die and there is nothing
you can do for it.
It's more common in first litter
does or does with a history of it. Nervous does tend to do it more. Don't
breed does who have a history of it or tend to be over nervous. Give them
good kindling conditions and make sure to keep the rabbitry calm.
Aglacta (failure to milk)
Signs: Kits don't gain weight,
dehydrate, are listless. This can happen from birth to 3 weeks of age.
I had a doe one time who had no teats at all! Luckily I noticed this in
time and I was able to foster them to another litter. The treatment for
this is the use of oxytocin to stimulate milk production. If the doe has
no teats then you must foster them off.
Scattering & Orphaned kits
This happens when the doe doesn't
make a good enough nest and the kits wander all over the box. They could
get away from eachother and freeze easily so the best thing to do would
be foster them to another mom, or try to fix the nest up for her. Kits
can also be born on the cage floor and die, so make sure to put them in
with the rest if it's alive. Warm it up, if the kit is cold first. If this
doe doesn't care for the kits, she is not a proper mother and shouldn't
be bred at all anymore unless you have a mother to foster them off to.
Kits can survive up to 72 hours without milk. Mothers usually feed once
a day, if the babies aren't getting any food at all, they will need to
be fostered or hand raised. This can also happen if the doe dies after
having them.
Vent Disease/Rabbit Syphilis
The vulva or penis will have a
scabby inflamation. This may lead to "scabby nose" if untreated. This is
contracted by sexual contact and should be cured before bred to another
animal. Penicillin ointment to the genitals is a good treatment. Others
use a shot of penicillin till it is gone.