Nesting fur?

[Dublinperky]

Can I save the hair I brush out of the bunnies to put in their nests if they ever get pregnate? If so can you use hair from other bunnies in other bunnies nests or are their sents still on the fur? Thanks!

Aly!

 

[Lover_Of_Lopz]

I would not do this the bunny will pullout her own fur when the time comes and (someone tell me if I an wrong)I don't think you should use other bunn fur

--Nicky

 

[Dublinperky]

I know that they will pull fur when the time comes I was just wondering if a little extra wouldn't hurt!

Aly!:biggrin2:

 

[irishbunny]

Yup you can breeders do it all the time, another good idea is to save the fur they pull when they are nesting, then it can be used again to make a nest extra snug or incase a doe pulls little/no fur.

Grace

 

[murph72]

I always keep a bag of "extra fuzz" from the buns. I have an AFL that is always either molting (it seems), or having a false pregnancy. She makes a great "donor" then for any bun who might not pull enough fur for their kits. The buns don't care that it's from another bun. That whole idea that a bunny will reject their kits if they smell different from them is just a tale. It might work with wild bunnies, but not our spoiled ones. :biggrin2:

 

[Jenson]

I have kept spare bags of fur from nests before, but I would not recommend using fur from a different doe.

I made the mistake of doing this once when the doe didn't pull enough fur and the doe went crazy once I gave her the "donor" fur and scratched the nest to bits and attacked the kits. It's not about putting a different smell on the kits necessarily, it's another doe's smell, and to a territorial doe that will cause problems.

 

[murph72]

I guess it depends on the personality of your doe. My does that I've done it with never had a problem, but they were pretty laid back in nature. I actually read from another breeder to do this before I tried it, so it must be done by others with success as well. Perhaps it also matters how long you've had the fur away from the donor as to whether or not it actually still smells like her. I haven't taken fur directly from one doe's nest and put it in another, rather saved it for some time prior to using it. Perhaps by then it is rather odorless.

 

[Jenson]

The fur I used was a few months old.

I have also discussed it with other breeders and we feel it's not worth the risk unless you know the doe is easy going with other does, and even then they may react differently once they've got a litter.

It may also vary between breeds as some breeds are known to be better mothers and accept foster babies easier etc. I never had a territorial or doe aggressive English doe, but some of my Rex can't even stand the smell of another doe.

If it works for you and your rabbits that's great, but I would recommend any new breeders thinking of trying it to be very careful, it's certainly not something to be considered lightly because it may cost you your litter.

 

[murph72]

It's a gamble either way. If you have a doe that pulled insufficient fur and you don't have "fur substitute" then your kits may freeze to death if you do not intervene.

I'd also say a mother that doesn't pull enough fur is already showing signs of poor mothering instincts. I've personally never had a mother completely reject her babies. I had one refuse to build a nest, but she may have known more than I as the pregnancy went bad and the kits were dead at birth.

Your litter is already compromised if you're stepping in and adding to the nest...otherwise you wouldn't be messing with the nest in the first place. I'd personally try the fur first (if you don't have a synthetic available) and see her reaction. If she acts poorly I'd remove the kits and have them fostered rather than letting them with a mother that is not caring for them properly.

 

[Jenson]

There are plenty of materials that work as a "fur substitute", so personally I just don't think the risk of using donor fur is worth the risk. This is my experience with it.

Like I said in my previous post there may also be a big difference between breeds to consider as I have had a few problems with my Rex does mothering skills in the past, complete opposite to my English Spots who were always fantastic mothers and always accepted foster kits etc. with no problems.

I'm not saying it doesn't work, or that it should never be done. I just want to make other people aware that there are risks involved when using donor fur, and some members with litters may not have the option of fostering to another doe should things go wrong so they would need to be more careful.

Any other breeders care to share their opinions on donor fur? This is a really interesting discussion.

 

[BlueGiants]

I do keep a bag of "spare" fur to use with nesting moms. Not all my moms will pull enough fur for their babies. I had a litter of 11 born Monday night, (10 have made it so far.). Mom hardly pulled any fur at all, (she tends to be very vain! Hates messing up her fur!) and it was around 11 degrees out. Those babies needed more insulation! So I put the new fur under the babies and her fur over them, mixed with my "donor" fur.

I was watching and if I saw that she objected I would have put a drop of vanilla on the moms nose and rubbed a tiny bit on the kits. The babies roll around in the fur and probablymake itsmell like vanilla too...but I have not seem any problems yet.

It did work for me. I think you need to evaluate your doe's personality and the situation. If it's really necessary, I'd do it and try what I could to get the doe to accept it. The babies need the fur to keep warm, especially when it's cold out and they don't have their fur yet.

 

[murph72]

Wow...11 babies! I'm assuming this was a Flemmie...no? I thought my Holland was over the top with her seven she just had since she's such a small girl. They seem to all being doing OK though. Best of luck with the remaining 10.

I honestly only ever used my emergency donor fur for two reasons. The first was a Mini lop that was very much into pulling out all her fur to help her babies out. I put some of the donor fur outside the nestbox and she personally sniffed it, rolled in it, and then put it in with her babies. She was also a special case in that I gave her a few tea towels that she pushed up against the outside of the box for extra insulation. The donor hair kept her from pulling out too much of her hair, so it worked well for me. I'm not sure that it was necessary for the kits as they seemed fine, but I didn't want mom to be too cold from missing too much fur. She was just going far beyond the call.

I also recently used my donor fur in my nestbox heater. I set it up for a few days in our most brutal cold and put a thermometer in under the donor fur to see how toasty it would get. I didn't want to fry my little ones if it was overkill. I was glad I kept the donor fur for that and will be rebagging it in case of emergency. I do think it is for emergencies and I'd rather have an option than no option at all. JMO

 

[BlueGiants]

Yeah, a Flemish... first time mom, and first time the buck was used too. I'm pleased that as of this morning, she pulled more of her own fur and is finally feeding them willingly. :foreheadsmack:That's a relief. (Wasn't keen on bottle feeding 10!)

I've had pretty good luck using "spare fur" to line a nest. As I said, every doe is different, and if you think a doe won't accept it, maybe a little "scent deception" is necessary.

 

[murph72]

I've never had to bottle feed. I've heard it's a real iffy situation as to whether or not it will work. Knock on wood I haven't had to cross that path yet.

 

[irishbunny]

Jenson wrote:

There are plenty of materials that work as a "fur substitute", so personally I just don't think the risk of using donor fur is worth the risk. This is my experience with it.

What do you use as a fur substitute? Thanks!