Lyka's gave birth to two babies on 22 july 2011

Breed Netherland dwarf

Sire B Berry's Merlin

Dam B Berry's Lyka

DOB 22/07/2011

No of Kits 2

maple's babies

Breed  Netherland dwarf

Sire B Berry's Merlin

Dam Berry's Maple

No Of Kits 4

DOB 15 July 2011

How to Care for Pregnant and Baby Rabbits

How do you know if your pet rabbits is a pregnant? Rabbits pregnancy and pregnant rabbits is one of common question asked by many female pet rabbits owner who owns two rabbits. We discourage pet rabbit owners to allow their rabbits to procreate. There are already enough rabbits population in the world and if you would like to have some additional rabbit, we encourage that you get them from rabbit shelters.

Caring for newborn rabbits can be a big responsibility too. Many pet rabbit owners had few successes in raising baby rabbits. The mortality rate of newborn baby rabbits are high but there are things that pet rabbit owners could do to improve the survival chances of the newborn baby rabbits.

Before we discuss further into the topics of rabbit breedings, pregnancy and baby rabbits, let’s get the terminology right. A female rabbit is called a doe. A male is called a buck. The doe will give birth to bunnies called the kits. All the bunnies are called a litter.

Nesting refers to the preparation of a nest for the doe to give birth. Gestation period refers to the period between the time that a rabbit had successfully conceive to the time she gave birth. When a doe gives birth, it is called kindling. Weaning refers to taking away the young rabbits from the doe.

Female rabbits may hide their pregnancy quite well. Hence, even experienced vet sometimes made mistakes in assessing if a female rabbit is pregnant. A female rabbit that is pregnant do not change its behaviour much. Some however, gets a bit aggressive when they are pregnant. Some other pregnant rabbits may still be as active as if she has not been pregnant, including jumping on furnitures or doing the binkie.

You may also not notice any considerable increase in food intake of the pregnant rabbits. As rabbits are at the bottom of the food chain, it is natural for rabbits to procreate as often as possible to ensure their survival and perpetuating of the rabbits.

When a female rabbit is sexually matured and is ready to bear babies, they are willing to the procreation process with their male counterpart. Depending on the breed of the rabbit, a female rabbit is sexually matured at the age of 6 months. Some rabbit breed are sexually matured at 9 months.

One of the more reliable way to check if your female rabbit is pregnant is that she may start rejecting advances made the male rabbit. The gestation period of the rabbit is around 31 days. At day 21, if your female rabbit is pregnant, you should be able to feel the foetus in her abdomen. The foetus in the female rabbit’s abdomen feels like marbles.

At about 28 days into gestation, female rabbits will start pulling out its fur to make a nest in preparation of kindling. Female rabbits may also look for suitable places such as inside well hidden card-boxes. If you see your female rabbits actively gathering hay and started lining them in some places, including inside the cage, you know that the time is near. Be cautioned though, female rabbits may only display these behaviour as late as one day before delivering the baby bunnies.

The whole kindling process may take 10 minutes. The female rabbit may deliver a litter of 7 to 13 kits. Unlike cats or dogs, the doe may leave the kits immediately after kindling. This is related to how they would behave when they are in the wild. They reckon that the best way for the litter to avoid detected by predator is when the female rabbit is not around. Adult rabbits has a scent which will attract predator animals, baby rabbits do not.

There is also a common misunderstanding that female rabbit will cannibalise on their young. A female rabbit will usually only cannibalise on stillborn, a natural way for them to “hide their mistakes.”

It is common that female rabbit stay at a distance from their youngs. Feeding time is usually limited to two times a day and each feeding time is limited to 5 minutes at the most. Unlike some other mammals that abandon their young if they smell human scent on their newly born, rabbits will not. Hence, it is alright to touch and check on the newly born baby rabbits.

The first thing to check on the kits to ensure their survival is to check if the litter of baby rabbits are warm. Newly born baby rabbits do not have fur on their bodies and their eyes are closed. They are also deaf.

If you need to keep the baby warm, use bottles that contain warm water but not hot. Lay a towel over the warm bottles. Place the newly born baby rabbits on the towel. If the doe has not create a suitable nest for her baby rabbits, you may create one using paper cardboard box.

Cut out one end of the box as an entrance opening. The bottom side of the entrance should be higher by about two inches to prevent the baby rabbits from crawling out of the box. Line the inside of the box with grasses of hays and gather the doe’s fur that she had shed. This will be able to keep the baby rabbits warm. Ensure that you replace the hay every other day. Hays that had urine will get mouldy and is bad for the baby rabbits.

The buck (the male rabbit) should be separated from the both the doe and the newly born baby rabbits. It is not likely that he will injure the rabbit but it will increase the survival chances of the baby rabbits. The buck may almost immediately tried to procreate with the doe again, and this should be avoided. If you intend to spay the buck, now is the best time.

The doe will usually feed the newly born baby rabbits during dusk or at night. She will feed them only when she feels that it is safe. It is important to allow the doe the time to be alone with her baby rabbits during feeding time. If humans are present, the doe may feel stressed and she may not nurse the baby rabbits.

How do you know if the doe has been feeding her litter? If you notice that the baby rabbits have plump tummies and are warm, then likely they have been getting sufficient nutrition from the doe’s milk.

If you are worried that the baby rabbits have not been getting sufficient nutrition, you may feed them with milk. Some doe that were too young when they do delivered the baby rabbit will abandon them and will not nurse them. In this case, you will need to play the roles of the surrogate parents. Suitable milk for baby rabbits include formulated cat milk. The KMR kitten milk replacer is one such product that you can consider. You should be able to purchase these from pet shop or from your vet.

When feeding the baby rabbits, you can forget about buying feeding bottle. There are just to big for the baby rabbit's tiny mouth and they do not know how to suckle. The most efficient feeding tool is feeding syringe or medicine dispenser that is used to administer medicine orally.  The milk should be made warm to be similar to the doe’s milk. Feed them twice a day. As the baby rabbits are very young, they are not good at suckling milk from the bottle. They may even reject the milk. The feeding duration for the litter of baby rabbits may take one hour initially. As you gain experience, it should take less than half an hour to complete the whole feeding process.

The baby rabbits will open their eyes and take in sound at approximately 10 days old. Some of the kits will be slower in opening their eyes and some will be faster. Fur will start growing on their bodies as early as 3 days old. They may develop the strength to crawl very short distance.

When they are 1 month old, the baby rabbits are beginning to get active and are curious to experience adult rabbits food. You may feed them the leaf of hays. However, the baby rabbits should continue to get the nursing required from the doe. Weaning should only take place when the baby rabbits are 10 weeks old and are consistently feeding on solid food.

The buck may be introduced to the rabbit family after he has been spayed. He may play with the baby rabbits. The doe may be neutered after weaning.

Netherland Dwarf Babies

Breed Netherland Dwarf

Sire: B Berry's Merlin

Dam : Reko's Netherina

DOB :07/07/2011

Nest Preparation Before Giving Birth

The gestational period for rabbits is 28 to 36 days. The mother will usually build a nest

lined with her own fur a few days before giving birth. Rabbits are not chickens, and after

the initial preparation, do not sit on their nests. They also do not stay on or by the nests

for prolonged periods after the babies are born. In the wild, this would attract the

attention of predators. The babies burrow into the bottom of the nest where they cuddle

together to stay warm until Mama wakes them up at feeding time. The mother does not

lie down to nurse like a cat. Rather, she stands over the babies to nurse them. After

nursing she will groom her babies and lick their bottoms to stimulate elimination.

Baby bunnies are called “kits”. Typically there are 5 to 8 kits per litter. Baby bunnies are

born nearly hairless with closed ears and eyes and weighing approximately 100 gm. The

eyes will open around 6 to10 days of age. The kits will be begin eating solid food around

3 weeks of age, and will be completely weaned between 6 and 7 weeks of age. They will

reach puberty at 4 to 8 months of age.

Rabbits nurse their young one to two times per day, most often in the early morning

hours. The mother rabbit’s milk is very rich and can sustain the babies for up to 24 hours

at a time. Rabbits do not usually nurse their babies immediately after birth and often wait

until the night after kindling to begin nursing. If you are unsure whether or not a rabbit is

feeding her kits, check them early each morning. They should be warm and roundbellied. The best way to know for sure is to check them on a small postal or kitchen scale.

If they are gaining weight, they’re being fed.

Rabbits are not as prone to cannibalism as people think. When it occurs it is usually the

result of a stillborn litter. Most domestic rabbits are not that concerned about human

smells on their babies and will not care if the babies are occasionally gently handled.

Pregnant females should be separated from other animals when they are close to kindling

to prevent them from being disturbed. The mother can conceive again with in a few

weeks of giving birth so it is best to keep her separated from the male at least until the

kits are weaned.

Merlin's Babies

Breed: Netherland Dwarf

Sire: Merlin (Chocolate Otter)

Dam: Netherlina (Blue Otter)

DOB 25.06.2011

Raising Rabbits

Benefits Of Rabbits
Raising rabbits are much cheaper, more efficient, and more productive than raising chickens.
1) A doe can produce up to 1000% her body weight in food per year. 
2) Rabbits can be raised in confinement, whereas chickens need much more space. 
3) Chicken reproduction is "light sensitive", whereas rabbit reproduction is opportunity sensitive. 
4) It is much easier to raise food for rabbits than it is food for chickens. 
5) Since rabbits are raised in confinement, it drastically reduces the threat to your herd from predators. 
6) You can skin and butcher 5 rabbits to every chicken given the same amount of time. 
7) Rabbit fur can be a separate barter item.
Rabbit meat tastes good too, some people say that it taste much like poultry.  Rabbit meat is mild and savory, never gamy. It is extremely lean, making it perfect for cholesterol-reducing diets. Cooking with liquids keeps rabbit dishes moist and tender. If you're not minding your fat intake, you may want to choose recipes that use oil to maintain juiciness. You can look for rabbit recipes in wild game cookbooks, but most of these just rehash the familiar methods of stewing, frying and baking.
Besides providing you with meat, rabbits produce dung, which makes a good fertilizer. Rabbit skins and fur have many uses.  A rabbit can be a source of instant cash in an emergency. 
Rabbit Cages
Healthy and productive rabbits need clean, dry homes. You can keep them in cages raised above the ground on posts or on a fence. The bottom of the cage should be three to four feet  above the ground--a convenient height for you to work with your rabbits. Some people save space by building shelves on a wall for the cages. 
Keep each adult rabbit in its own cage. Each cage should be three feet square, and about two feet high, large enough for a rabbit and its young to move around a little bit. Put the cage in a place that is protected from rain, wind, and hot sun. 
Keep the cages clean. Dirt, droppings, and urine from rabbits can contain germs that will make them sick... and a dirty cage will attract flies.  You will find it easier to keep a rabbit cage clean if the floor of the cage has holes just large enough for dirt, droppings, and urine to fall through. If the spaces are too large, it is uncomfortable for the rabbit's feet, and baby rabbits' feet may be injured by slipping through the holes. 
You can make the floor from wire mesh. Thick wire, with holes that are a 1/2 in. square, is best. Do not use old, rusty, or broken wire mesh. And do not use chicken mesh, because it is too thin and will hurt the rabbit's feet. 
The walls should let in plenty of fresh air to keep the rabbits from getting too hot. The walls can have larger spaces in them than the floor. 
The door on your cage should be big enough so that you can reach in easily to feed the rabbits and clean every part of the cage. You might want to build a cage with a roof that comes off instead of a regular door. 
Note: Never stack cages above one another.  I wouldn't want droppings on my head, would you?
Feeding Rabbits 
A rabbit's main diet consists of the store bought rabbit food and Timothy Hay. The rabbit pellets come in large bags and look like brown pellets. This is the main source of nutrition for your rabbits. This food has all of the vitamins and minerals that will keep your rabbits healthy. The Timothy Hay will come in a bag that is compressed into a bail. The hay is good for the rabbit's digestive system and will keep them healthy. Another store bought food, alfalfa hay, can be purchased in blocks or as hay. This is good to give to your rabbit as a treat, but not as the main food supply. I prefer to give my rabbits the alfalfa in a block, so as to help wear down their teeth. 
Rabbits also eat a number of other foods.  My rabbits eats lettuce, carrots, apples and bananas. They also like pears, strawberries, sunflower seeds and a number of other vegetarian food. Fruits and vegetables should be given to yours once a day. Try to vary what you give your rabbits and remember to only let the rabbits eat as much as they want and then take the food out of the cage. If left in the cage it can spoil and the rabbits may get sick. When you give your rabbit forage, like hay, keep the forage off the cage floor by tying it together in a bunch and hanging it from the ceiling or wall of the cage.   Just be sure not to put your rabbit feed directly on the floor of the cage where it will be dirtied by urine and droppings. Dirty food can make a rabbit sick. Try to limit the number of fruits your rabbit eats, these are high in calories and make your bunny chubby. Vegetables are better for your rabbit because they do not have as many calories and are a good source of roughage for your rabbit. 
Try to keep your rabbit's forage dry, especially in hot weather. If your rabbit eats wet forage it may get sick with diarrhea and even die. If forage is wet when you cut it, let it dry for a few hours before you give it to your rabbit. 
Your rabbit needs clean water at least twice a day. You should also clean your rabbit's water container or bowl often. 
Note: Rabbits are subject to dehydration, so make sure they always have plenty of water.
You can feed your rabbit forage and scraps from a garden. Then you can use the rabbit droppings you clean out of the cage for fertilizer. 
Rabbit Breeding
When it is time to breed the female rabbit, put her into the cage with the male in the early morning or evening. After they have mated, put her back in her own cage. Her litter will be born about a month later. 
About a week before your rabbit's babies are born, give her a nest box where she can give birth. The nest is also a warm, dry place for the young rabbits. 
There are 6 to 10 babies in a litter. Their eyes will not open until about two weeks after they are born. Do not touch any of the baby rabbits until they are 7 days old. If you do, you will change the way they smell, and the mother will not feed them. If you need to check the baby rabbits, rub your hands over the mother first. Then the babies will smell like their mother instead of smelling like your hands. 
When they are two months old, baby rabbits should be weaned from their mothers. You can breed the female again once her litter has been weaned. Feed them for another two months. Then, when they weigh about 4.5 lbs, they are big enough to eat or sell. 
Rabbits can give you and your family meat and earn you extra income. And since they are small and easy to feed, they adapt well to city conditions. 
Rabbits Are Territorial
Rabbits are extremely territorial.  In the wild, rabbits' territorial behavior includes depositing marking pellets at the boundaries of their territory, chinning, urinating, and aggressive behavior such as digging, circling, and fighting. Wild males tend to defend larger territories while females concentrate on their nests. Thus, when introducing new rabbits, territory must be considered. What you are trying to do is eliminate the possibility for there to develop any territorial behavior in the rabbits.  Use a water bottle (with the nozzle set on "stream") to break up any fights if they occur. It's best to spray the instigator before a fight actually occurs (watch for aggressive body language) rather than work on breaking up an existing fight.
Interpreting Body Language And Behavior
Rabbits have a language all their own. here are some tips on interpreting your bunnies hops, kicks and grunts.

Sniffing: May be annoyed or just talking to you.Grunts: Usually angry, watch out or you could get bit! Shrill Scream: Hurt or dying Circling Your Feet: Usually indicates sexual behavior. Spraying: Males that are not neutered will mark female rabbits in this manner as well as their territory. Females will also spray. Chinning: Their chin contains scent glands, so they rub their chin on items to indicate that they belong to them. Same as a cat rubbing it's forehead on people and objects. False Pregnancy: Usually unspayed females may build a nest and pull hair from their chest and stomach to line the nest. They may even stop eating as rabbits do the day before they give birth. Bunny Hop Dance: A sign of happiness. Begging: Rabbits are worse than dogs about begging, especially for sweets. Beware of giving the rabbits treats.  Overweight rabbits are not as healthy as trim rabbits. Territory Droppings: Droppings that are not in a pile, but are scattered, are signs that this territory belongs to the rabbit. This will often occur upon entering a new environment. If another rabbit lives in the same house this may always be a nuisance. Playing: Rabbits like to push or toss objects around.  Don't Rearrange The Cage: Rabbits are creatures of habit and when they get things just right, they like them to remain that way. Rabbits often are displeased when you rearrange their cage as you clean. Stomping: He's frightened, mad or trying to tell you that there's danger (in his opinion). Teeth Grinding: Indicates contentment, like a cats purr. Loud grinding can indicate pain.