Little help..... Please

[lexidoodle]

I think i've about talked my parents into letting me start a rabbitry!!!!! I'm very excited and have read SO MUCH about it. I just had quite a few questions and figured I would ask them here. I have my heart set on breeding Mini Rexes, I love their velvet look. Are these a good starter rabbit? Do they have a good disposition? I've had rabbits before but breeding and showing rabbits..... that's new to me. For breeding I've heard about getting either a trio or two bucks and two does; which is the better option? I've also heard about starting with one color and then eventually start breeding other colors; what are y'alls opinion and experiences about this? I have read quite a hefty amount on peanuts and understand that not every baby will make it but..... I really hate to ask..... how do you dispose of the unfornuate little ones? Everybody has mixed opinions about this but when do you guys wean your babies? Plus, How do you socialize your baby rabbits? And last but not least when you seperate siblings can the babies be kept with their same sex siblings until they are sold?
Now I'm sorry if you feel you've just been interigated by the police but hey; a girl gotta know.
Any extra advice on showing, breeding, and housing outside rabbits; would be much appreicated and helpful. I think I'm going to build a "SUPER HUTCH" for the rabbits; where like 6 hutches would be "glued" together. Uh-oh..... one more question... How do you winterize and summerize a hutch? I live in Texas so, you know you cook in the summer and freeze to death in the winter. I'm partically kidding... ahahah. It gets to about 104 in the summer here at most and 20ish in the winter. Any advice on this would be nice too.
Please and Thank you for reading this HUMUNGEOUS MONSTER of a post!

 

[Imbrium]

I can't help with everything, but I can answer a couple questions...

babies should be weaned at 6-8 weeks and shouldn't be sold younger than 8 weeks. if it's a larger litter, you'll want to separate the largest kits around 6 weeks and leave the rest with mom until 8 to give them time to catch up. the exception to always leaving them with mom for a good 6-8 weeks is if she starts getting aggressive towards some or all of them (bullying them, etc.) in which case it may be necessary to separate them a little sooner.

same sex siblings can be kept together until they reach sexual maturity - normally around 3 mos for boys and 4-5 mos for girls, though it can happen earlier. at the first sign of any fighting/hormonal behavior, you'll need to separate the culprit(s) and house them alone.

not sure where in texas you live... I'm in San Antonio and it doesn't ever get too cold for rabbits (even little bitty ones) as long as things are properly winterized (in particular, protection from drafts) and they've got lots of straw to bed down in... however, things may be different in the panhandle area. when in doubt, if you have a litter in the winter, keep them inside until they've grown fur.

personally, I'd be wary of having babies in the hottest part of summer, as they won't have had a chance to acclimate to the heat... though I got my rabbits in late July (meaning they were born end of May) from a breeder who kept her rabbits outdoors, so there may be a way around that.

for summer heat, you definitely need good air circulation (possibly a fan or two blowing across their area) and shade... providing frozen 1-2 liter bottles of water to lie on helps a lot, as does misting their ears with cool water and giving them ice water in their water bottles. I mostly know the tips and tricks for pet rabbits... I'm sure we've got breeders/ex-breeders around here who could give better advice on large-scale rabbit cooling. Idoerr used to breed rabbits (that were kept outdoors) in south texas, so that would be a good person to talk to.

by "unfortunate" little ones, do you specifically mean peanuts and/or rabbits with other defects that won't allow them to survive long-term? if so, I believe the mother will typically cull those herself or they'll pass away very early and need to be removed from the nest - you shouldn't have to dispatch them yourself.

 

[wendymac]

I can't answer your Mini Rex questions, but the others I might be able to help with.

If you can find a breeder to get a trio from, I'd go that route. That way you know the lines already "mesh".

For the babies that are dead on arrival, I compost them in the manure pile.

For socializing, I play with mine...a lot! Most of my day is spent playing with the babies.

As far as caging, it depends on the rabbits and how long you keep them before selling. I wean between 6-8 weeks, and keep all of them together. When weaning, it's best to remove the doe and let the babies in the cage they've been in. When they're around 10-12 weeks, they are then put into individual cages. At that time is when we also sex and tattoo everyone. I keep mine until they're at least 4 months, and then go through and keep what I want and start selling off the ones I don't.

The most important thing for the rabbits in the winter is to make sure they aren't in drafts. For outside hutches, people usually throw a tarp over/around the hutch, adding a lot of straw and even little houses. I keep mine in the barn with the horses, so I put plastic up from the top of the stall wall to almost the ceiling. I leave a gap up there to let the ammonia out. You're going to want to put your hutches under trees, or something else similar. That way they'll get shade in the summer. Rabbits can tolerate the cold very well, but not heat. When it gets above 85, you're going to need some sort of cooling method. With yours living outside, that will probably mean a LOT of frozen water bottles. Fans, if there is electricity nearby, is also great.

 

[lexidoodle]

Thank both of you:
Imbrium, by unfornuate little ones, I mean babies that are dead or die, wether peanuts or other defected babies to normal kits that have freak accidents. The advice to seperate a larger kit to let the other catch up is very clever, I've never read that or thought of it myself.
WendyMac, How do you play with your baby bunnies? I know that seems like a stupid question but
do you hold them or pet them or something along that nature? And I contemplated keeping my mother bunnies in a baby play pen while they give birth and care for their babies in my house then when I wean the babies move the mom back outside and keep the babies in the playpen. Does this sound like a good idea?

 

[Imbrium]

a playpen can work... however, you'll need to mesh it to make sure they can't get out. hardware cloth (in metal or plastic variety) is one of many options you can use to mesh the bottom 1' or so of the pen. you could also zip-tie sheets of coroplast or cardboard around the bottom.

keep in mind, though, that at times of the year where temps are more extreme, you probably don't want to move the mum inside and then back out - for example, she could overheat easily in winter if she's grown a winter coat/acclimated to the colder temps and then you bring her in the house. if you're worried it's too cold for kits, you can keep the nest box inside so the babies stay warm and take it out to the mom twice a day so she can nurse them - moms typically ignore the nest *completely* aside from the 5 mins or so they spend nursing 1-2x a day. that's their instinct because, in the wild, they want to avoid having predators discover the nest - they rely on the nest and the fur they place in it to keep the kits warm rather than sitting on the nest all the time.

I assume playing with the babies would involve handling them, petting them and maybe having some toys you can play with together... same way you'd play with any rabbit, really. even just sitting in a playpen and doing your own thing while they play around/on you would work.

 

[pamnock]

You can refer to the AVMA euthanasia guidelines for humanely dispatching animals https://www.avma.org/KB/Policies/Documents/euthanasia.pdf

This issue is one of the most difficult aspects of being a breeder and needs to be carefully considered before embarking into animal husbandry.

Most people are more comfortable taking their terminally ill or seriously injured rabbits to the veterinarian to have them humanely put down.

 

[majorv]

Rabbits can live outside in Texas, with precautions. In the summer we have fans going and put out frozen water bottles, and put ice in the water bowls, if needed. Our rabbits are under an insulated roof with shade cloth all around. In the winter we hang heavy duty tarps on the sides. It's set up along the side of the house so it's protected. We plan our litters to be born between Sept and May. It's too hot the other months.

As far as weaning, our Tans pretty much self wean their kits between 4-6 weeks. Our Polish can't seem to say no to the babies and they end up getting too fat if I leave them with Mom past 6 weeks.

I can't put down a sick rabbit. We've only had to have one adult rabbit euthanized, and had the vet do it. If we have any babies die or are DOA we wrap them up and place them in a small box. I can't bury them since we have dogs that dig so I have to put them in the trash for pickup. I may look at getting a container and start composting. We have plenty of manure to put in it. Right now, people contact us to come get it.

 

[woahlookitsme]

I haven't raised mini rex but have been around them enough with people who have. They are a good starter rabbit as far as personality. The only thing is that they can be a bit pricey and you need to be very critical of their quality. Especially when you are only starting with so few. In Texas mini rex are so popular as pets and show animals so read the standard VERY CAREFULLY and dont get bad quality (because there are alot out there). I think Texas also has some of the best mini rex around so they are out there but they will come at a price.

For just starting I would pick a trio. Also pick one or two colors that are compatible with each other and stick with them. Usually solid colors like black, chocolate, blue, and lilac can go with anything. Be aware that there are also some colors that are more concentrated on and more developed with the type.

As far as socializing handle as soon as they are born. Try to handle them everyday and as they grow they should become great buns. Im not sure what questions were unanswered but if you have some in particular we would love to try and answer them! For outdoor housing just make sure you avoid the cold north wind and cover them from snow, rain, and direct sunlight. If you can place the hutch under a tree that would help alot but we use ice bottles, ice water, and fans in the summer and tarps in the winter.

 

[wendymac]

I handle my kits every single day...most of the time, most of the day. lol For the first week, I just pick them up and check them (looking for full bellies) and then put them back. Once they open their eyes, I hold them, kiss all over them, pet them, etc. Once they're out of the nest box and big enough (around 4 weeks) I put them in our one horse stall that's been "bunny proofed" and sit in there while they run and hop all over me. Baby bunnies are so fun!!

I had to bring my Max doe in, because she had a clogged tear duct that needed treatment frequently. She is now living in my den until summer, along with her 4 kits. I'm going to bring my REW doe, that's due on the 11th, into the basement. She, too, will be inside until the summer. It's not fair for them to get used to a certain temperature, and then put them back out into the cold. Our basement stays above freezing, but doesn't actually have a heater in there. Bringing them into the heat for a few weeks, and then putting them back out into the could would be much like you going outside to shovel the driveway in just a t-shirt.

 

[Blaze_Amita]

You've gotten plenty of good adive on the housing, no need to go there, but as for Mini Rex:
I had mini rex, I had some on the bottom of the spectrum and some really nice ones out of New York. Definently will pay the price on the nice ones but they are soo much better to start with.Have a few color choices in mind with what you want to work with and then start from there. the trio I started with(okay foursome), had a blue buck; opal, black otter and broken black does. Choose your buck first, that seemed like the easiest thing for me.
Temperments were astounding on them, all laid back, playful very sweet bunnies. I would socialize them by playing with them and I also would take them on car rides to the store with me(feed store so I could bring them inside) before they would start going to shows. It helped them learn to relax and I had some of the most calm, laid back babies at the shows. That's how I do still raise my dutch

 

[KittyKatMe]

Wendymac, which one of Max's kits died?

 

[wendymac]

She only has 4 remaining kits, two solids and two brokens. Surprisingly, the runt is still alive and well. The two solids are both does and the two brokens are both bucks. The nicest, so far, is still the little solid chestnut doe who Max over-cleaned the ear on. She's going to make a heck of a brood doe. Well, as much as one can tell at 3 weeks. lol