01-25-2006, 08:20 AM
Hello,
I\'m new to this group but was hoping I could get some feedback from some of you. My daughters and I started with rabbits 3 years ago for 4H. We\'ve discovered that they\'re quite addictive!
Without going into too many details, let me give you the setting for 2 of our does: We have a mother and daughter housed together in what we call a \"rabbitat\". It\'s an 8 foot x 4 foot space with places for them to burrow, run, jump, etc. We have a couple of structures and some toys for them (ok, so we\'ll never make it as commercial rabbit breeders).
Both does were bred last fall and successfully raised their litters in this same space, but separate nest boxes (it was an experiment based on some literature I\'d read about warren dynamics). All 15 kits survived and are in their own space now. Ok, the girls escaped about a month ago and found their way into a buck\'s rabbitat and, of course, bred. When I palpated about 2 weeks ago, they were both pregnant. We figured we\'d just let them kindle like they did last time and put 2 nest boxes into the rabbitat. Here\'s the catch...10 kits were born on Sunday, and they\'re all in the SAME nestbox! I can\'t believe that one doe would have 10 kits and the other miscarry, but I\'m also skeptical that they\'d share a nestbox.
I\'m writing to find out if anyone has had a similar experience or heard of 2 does sharing a nest box. Also, can anyone direct me toward research or other literature (if there is any) regarding this puzzling observation.
Thanks so much!
I\'m new to this group but was hoping I could get some feedback from some of you. My daughters and I started with rabbits 3 years ago for 4H. We\'ve discovered that they\'re quite addictive!
Without going into too many details, let me give you the setting for 2 of our does: We have a mother and daughter housed together in what we call a \"rabbitat\". It\'s an 8 foot x 4 foot space with places for them to burrow, run, jump, etc. We have a couple of structures and some toys for them (ok, so we\'ll never make it as commercial rabbit breeders).
Both does were bred last fall and successfully raised their litters in this same space, but separate nest boxes (it was an experiment based on some literature I\'d read about warren dynamics). All 15 kits survived and are in their own space now. Ok, the girls escaped about a month ago and found their way into a buck\'s rabbitat and, of course, bred. When I palpated about 2 weeks ago, they were both pregnant. We figured we\'d just let them kindle like they did last time and put 2 nest boxes into the rabbitat. Here\'s the catch...10 kits were born on Sunday, and they\'re all in the SAME nestbox! I can\'t believe that one doe would have 10 kits and the other miscarry, but I\'m also skeptical that they\'d share a nestbox.
I\'m writing to find out if anyone has had a similar experience or heard of 2 does sharing a nest box. Also, can anyone direct me toward research or other literature (if there is any) regarding this puzzling observation.
Thanks so much!