Unusually small litter of mini rex

Question
QUESTION: Dear Pam-

We have been raising mini rex rabbits for the past year and before that have had 5 years of rabbit breeding experience outside of mini rex. We raise our purebred mini rex for show purposes and are registered ARBA members.

This last breeding, we bred a maiden doe to a proven buck and got what appeared to be 5 beautiful healthy babies all the same size. One died due to trauma after escaping from the nest box too early. We found another dead mysteriously in the nest box yesterday (no broken bones, or other obvious signs of illness). Today we checked on them and noticed one baby appeared lethargic and not as lively. We immediately brought it inside, warmed him/her up using hot water bottles and administered fluids orally. It responded to being given oral fluids and warmth but still seemed sickly. After closer inspection, all the babies in this litter are much smaller than babies from other litters their exact same age out of the same buck but a different mom. They do not appear to be peanuts, they have grown some since birth, at this time they are 16 days old, eyes open, and awkwardly hopping around. We have been lucky enough to not encounter something like this until now. We are trying to understand more about what might be going on to prevent it in the future, and do anything possible to keep these babies alive. What are the odds all 5 of the babies could be peanuts? We are considering trying to supplement the babies with goats milk and cream to increase their growth. Any advice/knowledge would be much appreciated.

-Michelle

ANSWER: Hi Michelle,

I have seen litters with peanut like rabbits that lived until about 3 weeks old.  I don't believe they can be peanuts either but I wouldn't know what else to call them.  If both parents carry the dwarf gene then it is technically  possible to get an entire litter of double dwarfs.  Each baby  born has a 25% chance of getting the double dwarf gene.  

I have had whole litters of these funny looking things. I will try to post a photo that I kept.  You can see the normal litter mate in the background.  This baby was 3 weeks old and hopping around.  You can see that its ears are set way back on the head.  The legs are also deformed.  I haven't noticed any  particular combination of parents causing this.  The only thing I know for sure is sometime between 2 and 4 weeks I find them dead for no apparent reason.  Sometimes their eyes open and sometimes they don't.  I wish I knew what they were.  I thought maybe they were max factors but the description doesn't sound correct.  I suppose it would be possible as if I recall correctly the mini rex were created with netherland dwarfs.

You can try supplementing but I have never been successful with that.  I am supplementing a litter right now.  I actually hold them up to a doe that is still lactating and they will nurse for several minutes.  So far they are doing ok.  They are normal kits but there were 10 and the doe only weighs 3 pounds.  There just isn't enough milk to go around.

http://www.freewebs.com/hgrabbitry/12photoshoppics/tiny%20baby%20ears.jpg   

above is the photo. Please let me know if it does not come through.

This is the description of MF's

http://www.tranquilacresrabbitry.com/article-MaxFactor.html


I am not sure what you have going on.  My  best guess would be peanuts.  If you want to avoid peanuts try breeding a larger animal to a smaller animal.  In order to get peanuts both parents have to carry  the dwarfing gene.  Keeping the 'Big Ugly Does' (BUDS) can help a breeding program.  You never have to worry about peanuts if she doesn't carry the gene.  About 90% of our does are the big uglies.  


Sorry I couldn't be much more help. If you have any further questions please let me know.


Pam

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Pam-

First off let me thank you so much for the answer. Since asking the question we have begun to supplement the 3 little guys with a goats milk/cream mix. The two broken blacks otherwise appear like normal baby rabbits. We weighed them tonight and they both weighed 4.4 oz. Their eyes are open, they are hopping around and feisty little things. We weighed another kit from a different litter born the same day and that kit weighed 6.7 oz, so their is a difference of 2.3oz. The broken chocolate is still slightly smaller than its siblings, and while he looks better than he did, he still doesn't appear 'normal', he weighs in at only 2.6 oz. I think we have accepted what might happen to him but we will give him our best anyways.

As for the other two broken black kits in that litter, we are wondering what is the best way to ensure their survival if possible. Leave them with their mother and supplement daily with our goat/cream mix is an option, or is it too late to foster to another doe with more milk. They are 17 days old.

My other question is why did this happen? Could it be the first time momma didn't make enough milk for these babies to thrive? All our other does and kits are doing super, (aside from these guys). Even other first time mommas. Everyone is getting fed the same thing, housed in the same area etc. I also did some reading and wonder if the babies are lacking gut bacteria for whatever reason. Is that something that a 17 day old rabbit can have a problem with? If a lack of bacteria is the problem, aside from pro-biotics, would a cecotrophic like tea fed to the babies harm or help them potentially?

We understand about peanuts and BUD's - we used to have a false dwarf buck so we never had problems with peanuts before, the problem with the larger rabbits is they almost never make weight in shows! It's a constant battle! We have a couple 'horses' as we call our big ugly does, we also notice they produce larger litters.

Thanks so much.

-Michelle


Answer
Hi Michelle,

I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to reply.  For some reason the question didn't come through my  e-mail.

Hopefully the babies are still alive.  If you are worried about the bacteria cecotropes from healthy rabbits would be fine.  You should also try some Bene-Bac or some other name of pro-biotics.  If the supplements are helping and you have time to keep up with it then by all means keep doing it.  Personally if I have babies that are extremely small at 8 weeks I keep them with their mom.  I take the bigger ones out to give the smaller ones a fighting chance.

I can't tell you why this happened.  There are a lot of factors that go into play.  The litter size, how much milk the mom had, the genetics, etc.  My best suggestion would be to try a different buck next time.  If it is genetic than whatever it is they both have to carry it.

I also suggest that you look into this group

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Rabbit_Genetics/

This is just a group of people that know a whole lot about genetics.  There is almost always someone there that can answer just  about any question there is.

Good luck to you


Pam