Rabbit breeding records

 

Rabbit breeding records

The does were mated in August and kindled in September 8 kits each, totaling 16.

The does will suckle the kits September and October. And another mating will happen in November.

 

Rabbit mating record

 

The date each doe is mated or will be mated is recorded on this table along with other data like the does number, the bucks number, date doe kindled and the size of the litter.

 

Keeping records even for the smallest unit of rabbits is very important. It helps me to keep track of mating, doe performance and future events that are yet occur but which have been scheduled in well kept records.

Rabbit kits

8:45am 05/09/17 languidly I unlocked the door and walk in. As I dragged my feet towards the hutches with sleepy eyes, there were lose fur on the floor and in the nest box of one of the cages and blood stain too. I realized the first doe had kindled (given birth to) her first kits. It was truly a mixed feeling at that moment.

Phone dialing moments later...

I: Hello Raj... one of my rabbit has kindled, I guess it was during the night. There is blood stain in the hutch... will the rabbit  be okay?

 

Raj: That's good news. Have you counted the kits?

 

I: No. I don't know what to do next...

 

Raj: Don't touch the kits yet if you have a strong scent on you - the rabbit will perceive the scent and may abandon the kits. Also pick the rabbit up gently and check her downside to see if she is still bleeding.

 

I: Okay... I don't have any smell on me... and there is no blood on the doe

Raj: Check if all the kits are in the nest box

 

I: There are no kits outside the nest box, the are all in the nest box. The mother pulled fur to cover them.

 

Raj: That's good. You can count the kits. But if you are not sure, you can place a drop of deodorant on the rabbits nose before touching the kits.

 

I: Okay...

 

Raj: Be sure the nursing rabbit has enough pellets, hay and water... That will be all for now. We'll talk later. Don't be late for work.

 

I: Thank you Raj. See you later.

 

I hurriedly went back to my room and brought a roll on deodorant and rolled it a few times back and forth on the rabbits nose before gently pulling the nest box out of the hutch. The kits had burrowed to the bottom when I removed the fur that the rabbit coverd them with.

 

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. There are 8 baby rabbits in the nest box, no death and the kits looked plump and were hairles and blind.

 

I returned the fur I removed over them and returned the nest box back to its original position in the does hutch.

 

Tic-tac the clock tiking. Few munites left. I filled the feeding bowls with their morning ration, except that the the rabbit with kits will be having more today onwards to help her produce more milk and get back to shape ealier.

Palpation - The rabbit scan

In the previous post  I mentioned mating the does on  04/08/17. Today being the third week, I had to palpate the two does early in the morning before leaving home.

The palpation process:

This requires some practice - two or more tries before you can master it. When I was feeling the does abdomen, I wasn't doing it to grab the kits or to count how many there were... that could have endangered the developing kits as well as the does life. I was mindful of the of the amount of pressure I applied and how long.

 

When palpating, the focal point should be the upper side of the abdomen. The pressure applied should be very low most of the time. Move your hand gently up and down from the upper to the lower abdomen while your thump and middle finger are used to prob the abdomen with gentle pressure.

 

Of course, you can feel a lot in the belly. Amongst others, right behind the left ribs you can feel the liver; all the way up in the abdomen on both sides and just under the spine, halfway back you will feel the kidneys. You may also feel the small fecal pellets and the guts. If she is pregnant after two weeks, you will start to feel hard things like marbles, also in the upper side of the abdomen. These become progressively larger until you might even be able to feel the form of an embryo.

It is also possible to check for pregnancy by putting the doe with the buck again 12 days after mating. If she refuses, the first mating has almost certainly worked out well. If she is willing again, the buck can repeat his work. This method has the very small risk that an already pregnant doe gets mated again with the possibility of starting another pregnancy halfway through the first. This super-pregnancy occurs occasionally.

At the end of the end of the palpation the first doe gave a positive sign while the second doe did not.

 

Bingo!... the first doe is already heavy. I could feel the embryos.

 

Meanwhile, I have rescheduled the second doe for mating...

Garden Affairs

It's one of those rare days when rain went missing in the month of August, the sun shining so bright, the sky so clear and the weather is warm.

 

Lucky day for the rabbits!

 

I am taking them out into the garden for some refreshing air, fresh grass and herbs. But that's not the only reason I am bringing them out... they will also mate, am 100% sure of that, especially when the garden is a neutral ground.

 

A neutral ground is where neither the male or the female has a marked territory. It is not always necessary to have them in a neutral ground for mating to take place. Except in rare cases where the doe (female) is aggressive even when she is placed in the bucks' (male) territory. Another suitable option would be artificial insemination.

 

On this particular day, the doe had all of the buck... + had a really good time in the garden.

 

If both does were not pregnant, I could still use the garden method to have them both conceive. Another way is to take the does separately to the buck on scheduled dates.

 

Artificial insemination would have been more precise but much more expensive and harder. Besides, the rabbits will want it natural I am sure. 

 

By 9:56am I placed both rabbits in the garden. A rabbit tractor was on stand by incase they were destructive.

By 10:06am the buck had done it twice and was still attempting to mount the doe the third time. Now that's precisely what I wanted. That buck rocks!

 

The second doe should have been in the garden too if the palpation on her was negative.

The butcher table

After just a few weeks, it took me no time in setting up a functional mini meat factory in my apartment. And here I am rolling out a time table for meat production/processing for the year 2018.

Here is the meat production time table:

The butcher table:

The two does will be mated in the month of January and between 28-31 days later the kits are born and the number is recorded. One or two may be lost between the period of birth and weaning. The kits are weaned at 3 months. Fattened for 1 month and slaughtered at 4 months. The number of kits weaned, their total live weight, number butchered and dressed weight are also recorded.

 

The first set of litter will be butchered in May when they are 4 months old.

 

In February, the two does will not mate and will only nurture the January kits and be mated in March. The January kits are then fattened from April to May. At the end of May, the January litter will be butchered and all the necessary figures/data are recorded in the tables above.

 

The circle will be repeated from March to July and from May to September and from July to November i.e. Mating to slaughter. Each of which will take five months.

 

That's just about it! The tables are ready to be filled...