First-time Moms by Laurie Stroupe I become a mom on November 9, 1989. My husband Andrew and I had traveled to a foster home in Jesus-Maria near Lima, Peru, to meet our daughter. After many years and many struggles, the moment had finally arrived! It was everything I had hoped it would be and more. … Read more
Mean, Aggressive Does by Laurie Stroupe A pregnant doe or a doe that badly wants to be bred can be mean as a rattlesnake. I’ve had a few pregnant does charge me, and one or two have bitten me. I do put up with it in pregnant does. I do not put up with that … Read more
Wandering Babies by Laurie Stroupe Newborn baby rabbits are amazingly mobile. I found one newborn had crawled about 16 feet from the cage when we had our very first litters. I didn’t realize that having a ridge around the nest box to keep babies in was important. Boy, is it! When there is an adequate … Read more
May’s Retained Kit Story by Laurie Stroupe. Please note: This is merely a story of one breeder’s experience. Authors at the Nature Trail are breeders, not vets, but try to help others out from their experiences. However, we recommend you consult a veterinarian before administering oxytocin or any other drug to your animals. GC The … Read more
Losing Kits by Laurie Stroupe I lost a kit yesterday. But don’t worry, I found it again. It was time to take out nest boxes yesterday for three of my litters. One litter had made a very cute tunnel in their nest material. They were adorable. So, I scooped them out and put them on … Read more
Getting Babies out of a Tough-to-breed Doe Please note: This is merely a story of one breeder’s experience. Authors at the Nature Trail are breeders, not vets, but try to help others out from their experiences. However, we recommend you consult a veterinarian before administering oxytocin or any other drug to your animals. I recently … Read more
“Breeding the Tough Girls” [Editor’s note: this post contains a bit of “colorful language,” but I guess we are breeding rabbits here!] by Laurie Stroupe This morning was cool by July standards, probably in the wake of hurricane Dennis. So I decided to try breeding my tough girls again. I started with a list of … Read more
Care of Nesting Boxes by Laurie Stroupe. Our procedure with nest boxes is to spray them off to remove any solid matter, hay, or fur. Then Andrew dunks them in a solution of bleach and water. He leaves them in there about ten minutes to soak them well. After that, he rinses them thoroughly and … Read more
by Laurie Stroupe So far, I haven’t had every variation of stuck and retained kits (knock on wood), but I’ve had some experiences in this area. I don’t have all of the answers, but maybe I have one that will help you in the future. I’ve had several stuck babies. In all cases thus far, … Read more