Rabbit update

A few years later, we are still doing rabbits but have had a few changes to the line up.

Our silver rabbit and 2 of the does were attacked by some loose dogs.  We were not able to save them.  We also had a litter in the rabbit tractor in the yard and those were luckily spared.

We decided to keep 2 does from that litter to replace the 2 we lost.   This meant it was time to search for a buck to breed the 3 does. We probably could have kept a boy from the litter but we didn’t like the idea of him breeding his mother and sisters.

We were on the lookout for a new buck and had heard about a livestock auction that did smaller animals too.  We made the decision to make the trip one weekend.  It was an event for sure and we won’t be going back to that location for animals.  We ended up getting a little caught up in the time we spent going there and waiting and bid on rabbits that we didn’t even know the gender of.  We hoped we would get lucky and have one buck.  After winning 5 rabbits, we made it home with 2.  The other 3 got out and were lost at the auction. We hope they made it out to a field to live good little rabbit lives.

We did end up with a male rabbit and were very excited. It was the end of summer and still hot so we didn’t want to rush him into breeding and wanted to give him some time to get used to the homestead and the noises and other animals.  Sadly, he didn’t make it with us long enough to breed with any of the girls.  He had passed away in his pen, overnight.  We didn’t know anything about him so maybe he died of old age or some parasite issue we didn’t know about.  Because he was a gamble, we really had no idea. 

This meant putting off breeding again and starting the hunt for a new buck, again. We were able to stay much closer to home and find someone selling rabbits who know a lot more about their animals. He was just a little young to breed and which was okay. Now we wanted to wait until it wouldn’t be a chance of freezing and possibly hurt any kits.

Unfortunately, this buck also passed away suddenly overnight.  We’re wondering if there was something the previous buck had that was still lingering in the pen.  We need to make sure that the pen is completely cleaned first and maybe moved to another spot in the barn.  

We’re looking forward to getting started with breeding rabbits again and hope we can find a buck soon.