# hairless rabbits



## superpetssss (Apr 5, 2011)

my mum recently bought some mini rex rabbits from someone who wanted to give up breeding due to a family death, and she couldnt cope. she had lots of rabbits, my mum fell for a pair of females with a male. 1 black otter, 1 blue otter and a tri-coloured buck. the black otter doe had 5 babies, 1 died at a week and a half. All black otters, 2 have white circle on the top of the head and a few white spots around the sides. All got fur as normal but within the last few days, a couple are starting to lose the fur. 1 is almost completely hairless (just fur on face, feet and tail) and another has thinning fur on the back. The other 2 babies are fine as are the does and the recently removed buck. They dont look ill, theres nothing wrong with the sick, its not sore or flaky. it looks just like what happens to her double rex rats and was wondering if its a genetic things. Had a quick google and found a few bits about it. It is possible especially as a lot of things say its particully in the rex breeds. We were told this is her first litter so the previous owner doesnt know. Any thoughts?


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## pigglywiggly (Jul 19, 2008)

the astrex go a bit thin then it grows back.

can you post pictures?


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## superpetssss (Apr 5, 2011)

Astrex? is that a seperate gene? thf parents do look like normal rex. il have another google. 
il try and put pics up but its hard for me to do so il do my best.


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## pigglywiggly (Jul 19, 2008)

astrex are curly rex. think were a few breeders playing around with minirex ones.
fugly imo but each to theri own :lol2:


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## Ophexis (Feb 19, 2010)

pigglywiggly said:


> astrex are curly rex. think were a few breeders playing around with minirex ones.
> fugly imo but each to theri own :lol2:


I've just Googled hairless rabbits... truth be told the astrex ones look a bit bleurgh, but the ones I saw as totally hairless had some strange allure of cuteness to them :lol2:


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## corny girl (Aug 30, 2009)

pigglywiggly said:


> astrex are curly rex. think were a few breeders playing around with minirex ones.
> fugly imo but each to theri own :lol2:



Unlikely to be an asterex though as sofew breeders have them. In fact in all the time i was in the fancy i never ever saw one & they were thought to be virtually extinct :whistling2:. My guess is that it is a vitamin/mineral deficency, i had a hamster once who went like this (almost bald).

OP when was the Buck taken out from the Doe's?


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## cloggers (Mar 13, 2010)

Ophexis said:


> I've just Googled hairless rabbits... truth be told the astrex ones look a bit bleurgh, but the ones I saw as totally hairless had some *strange allure of cuteness to them* :lol2:












I'll pay for your eye test..


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## corny girl (Aug 30, 2009)

cloggers said:


> image
> 
> I'll pay for your eye test..



Agree, that is the most ugliest thing i have ever seen :devil:. At least hairless rats are cute :2thumb:.


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## little fish (Mar 19, 2011)

i want one :blush:


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## Ophexis (Feb 19, 2010)

cloggers said:


> image
> 
> I'll pay for your eye test..


:lol2: Not that one... They're like sphynx cats, very individual! I'm not into uber-wrinkles, haha.
And I already wear glasses, you can pay for my repeat prescription if you like!


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## cloggers (Mar 13, 2010)

Ophexis said:


> :lol2: Not that one... They're like sphynx cats, very individual! I'm not into uber-wrinkles, haha.
> *And I already wear glasses, you can pay for my repeat prescription if you like! *



Nahh, I'll be paying my own in a few years, best get saving :lol2:


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## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

Cute bunny:flrt: I have a great passion for naked and wrinkly, not in humans though:lol2:


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## Hammyhogbun (May 19, 2011)

Well i have never seen a hairless rabbit before lol

As they had fur and then lost/loosing it I would say something is not right in my opinion


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## corny girl (Aug 30, 2009)

Hammyhogbun said:


> Well i have never seen a hairless rabbit before lol
> 
> As they had fur and then lost/loosing it I would say something is not right in my opinion



That's why i said it sounds like a vitamin or mineral deficiency :whistling2:. Needs to be investigated i think.


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## Ophexis (Feb 19, 2010)

corny girl said:


> That's why i said it sounds like a vitamin or mineral deficiency :whistling2:. Needs to be investigated i think.


I'd agree, I had a mouse that lost quite a lot of his fur, went a bit scabby in places... he ended up getting an antibiotic injection and although the fur never grew back, it did stop any further losses to the wee chap!


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## giant snail (Oct 25, 2009)

i would take them to the vet for tests............. as there is no hairless rabbitfrom what i know of. as people say only he astrex and they will grow thier hair back in a few weeks time....... maybe you need to contact a breeder........... probably in USA they are more common to be on the safe side!

awsum looking rabbit though must say!: victory:

found this months ago when i decided to type in hairles rabbit 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fP4AoD3gF7A


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## pigglywiggly (Jul 19, 2008)

in lionheads i`ve had babies where they`ve been bald in the middle of their heads for a few weeks longer than they should have been, but its furred up eventually, and by the time the were 6 weeks you couldnt tell.

i`ve not seen or heard of astrex in exhibition bunnies for a long time, but there have been a few non-show breeders of them popping up on the tinterweb over that last 2 or 3 years.

theres even been some advertised on here before.
http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/foru...eds/694537-mini-rex-baby-rabbits-carrier.html


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## superpetssss (Apr 5, 2011)

we spoke to the vet and he said its unlikely to be mites as it wouldnt affect them this young. although i know it does in guinea pigs. as far as a definency, they were on wagg complete rabbit when we got them will plenty of hay. my mum is giving them greens, all different everyday and the parents look very healthy. im realy hoping its the astrex. but dont be conserned, we are keeping a very close eye and will do the very best for them. if they stay hairless, im definatly having them, they are cute. my mums not so sure they are cute although she loves the hairless rats. she-l come around. lol.


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## saxon (Feb 26, 2007)

I'm sure I've seen a breeders website late last year that said they had hairless rabbits but it was from the astrex gene somewhere along the line.
I know nothing about breeding rabbits other than the basics but as long as they are otherwise healthy I'd not worry.
I'd probably only allow them to go owners who kept them as house rabbits or in a heated rabbit shed though.


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## Hammyhogbun (May 19, 2011)

Its a mutation in other species so i dont see why i cant happen in rabbits if there is no other explination. i would have a look for what can cause hairloss just to make sure

i have never looked in to it when learning about rabbit genetics.

I know show breeders wouldnt breed for them as they would be far from standard. but i do know someone with rex who had one pop up in a litter a few years back.

I would love one for a house bunny but i know hubby would say no


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## BenjaminBoaz (Jan 6, 2006)

yes please :2thumb:


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## superpetssss (Apr 5, 2011)

The first two pics of the hairless one and another baby looks like this. (cute!! lol). The last pic is what the other 2 babies look like and i must say looks more like astrex than rex, from the pics ive googled of them. looking more and more curly now each day. I want them all!!


sorry the pics are small, is the best i can do.


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## corny girl (Aug 30, 2009)

superpetssss said:


> we spoke to the vet and he said its unlikely to be mites as it wouldnt affect them this young. although i know it does in guinea pigs. as far as a definency, they were on wagg complete rabbit when we got them will plenty of hay. my mum is giving them greens, all different everyday and the parents look very healthy. im realy hoping its the astrex. but dont be conserned, we are keeping a very close eye and will do the very best for them. if they stay hairless, im definatly having them, they are cute. my mums not so sure they are cute although she loves the hairless rats. she-l come around. lol.




Wagg is so full of sugars, colours & additives that you may as well of been feeding them candy :devil:. This wouldn't of helped them at all :whistling2:. Also it was marketed for the pet market so the protein level & fibre levels would be all wrong for breeding Doe's rearing kits.

ETA: Mites can affect them at any age :whistling2:.


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## superpetssss (Apr 5, 2011)

they were on wagg but are slowly mixing it more and more with the vet recomended nuggets. if it was a deficiancy though, id have thought it would just be a higher death rate and perhaps small bald patches not like what they have. maybe problems with teeth and weight and thats all fine. very healthy acting babies. also in guinea pigs mites tend to affect the nose eyes and ears. and thats practicly the only place they do have fur. lol. im leaning very much to thinking they are some kind of astrex now that iv done more research on it. the other babies look very much like the pics i googled up on astrex. i just hope the hairless ones survive as i heard they often dont live past 4 weeks (dont know why)


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## BenjaminBoaz (Jan 6, 2006)

I do think it's a deficiency.


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## corny girl (Aug 30, 2009)

superpetssss said:


> they were on wagg but are slowly mixing it more and more with the vet recomended nuggets. if it was a deficiancy though, id have thought it would just be a higher death rate and perhaps small bald patches not like what they have. maybe problems with teeth and weight and thats all fine. very healthy acting babies. also in guinea pigs mites tend to affect the nose eyes and ears. and thats practicly the only place they do have fur. lol. im leaning very much to thinking they are some kind of astrex now that iv done more research on it. the other babies look very much like the pics i googled up on astrex. i just hope the hairless ones survive as i heard they often dont live past 4 weeks (dont know why)



Mites affect the whole animal, i don't know where you got that they only affect the nose, eyes & ears from :gasp:. I have had mites on Guinea Pigs & it was all over the body on them, they will lose fur very quickly too. Asterex are very rare, it is unlikely that you will have them. More likely to be a deficiency or stress related. In your first post you said about taking the Buck out. Can you please answer the question i asked on the first page? The vet recommended pellets wouldn't be Burgess Excel by any chance would they? These have more sugar in them than Wagg does :devil:. I would get a good mix like Dobson & Horrell Rabbit Royale, this is a very good mix & has the correct protein etc.. for breeding Doe's :2thumb:.


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## superpetssss (Apr 5, 2011)

me and my mum have had probably ahundred guinea pigs throught our live including rescues and have seen many mite problems. which mainly affect eyes nose and ears, but if its bad, yes it will affect other areas but it doesnt spread in a few days. ringworm comonly afects whole body and does spread quickly but it does come with sores and wounds. 
no its not burgess but i dont know what it is called. i will recommend the one u said. 
the buck came out when the babies were about a 10 days as thats when we got them. i know- not ideal. we didnt want to stress mum by too many changes (including moving home(stayed in the same hutch though)). the mum doesnt show to be ouerly stressed. very used to people but she could be. i wouldnt think the babies would be stressed, theyre too young. not enough to go bald. 
no worries every one, we will soon find out, when we take them to the vets (when old enough).


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## Hammyhogbun (May 19, 2011)

Babys can get stressed aswell.

I would be taking them to the vet (with mum) in a carrier/traveling box.

If it turns out to be anything waiting a few weeks untill they are old enough could be too late


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## corny girl (Aug 30, 2009)

How old are they now? Expect another litter soon :whistling2:. This will cause lots of stress on the Doe, watch out for signs of Pasturella too which is brought on by stress :devil:. There is no cure for it & you can't really sell any youngsters with it as it is highly contagious :gasp:.


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## giant snail (Oct 25, 2009)

guinea pig fungal/ ring worm is mostly seen around the nose eyes and on the ears on the feet before anywhere else on the body even though they can obviosutly get it all over. mites will be seen in patches for a short time then if not treated will loose hair all over eventually.

i recon you just got lucky and have astrex babies their hair will grow back in a few weeks and you wont know any difference

wagg is awful food wouldnt even feed it to my rats. i told the boss at work not long after i started to stop selling it this was a few years back and to this day we dont

: victory: if i where you i would take lots of pictures of the cute tempory hairless bunnies before thier coat starts to come though:2thumb:


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## BenjaminBoaz (Jan 6, 2006)

animalstory said:


> I do think it's a deficiency.


I ment to say don't. 

! 
If it was mites you should see them and find them on the others and the ones with fur would be patchy. 
Don't see why there can't be a hairless gene at work or a reduced hair gene at work here. 
Would be good to mate again and see what you get in future and also if hairless survives to breed it back and see what happens.


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## pigglywiggly (Jul 19, 2008)

depends what sort of mite dosnt it?

theres oodles of different ones, from one you cant see that burrow under the skin, to the ones that live in their ears, to the ones that are stuck to the hair shaft, to the ones that run about through the coat.......

.........the permutations are endless, and thats before you take into acount the lice that wriggle about through the coat like maggots.

chances are they have got some kinda vermin load, especially if they`ve come from an incompetant numpty thats kept them together as a breeding pair so the female is pregnant the minute she`s given birth. 

and if your really unlucky they`ll be carriers of e cuniculi too.

fungal infections and mites are both easily treated, buns should have ivomec routinely imo, its no different to worming your dog.


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## Hammyhogbun (May 19, 2011)

^^^agree


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## superpetssss (Apr 5, 2011)

pigglywiggly said:


> depends what sort of mite dosnt it?
> 
> theres oodles of different ones, from one you cant see that burrow under the skin, to the ones that live in their ears, to the ones that are stuck to the hair shaft, to the ones that run about through the coat.......
> 
> ...


i know i have ivermectin and imaverol. for the guinea pigs, i know what to do. i know the doe is very likely to be pregnant again and we are aware. they are given the best care anyone could give to these rabbits now. and NO they havent got wriggling maggot mites on them lol gross.


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## pigglywiggly (Jul 19, 2008)

my last piggy purchase had the full complement of lice, mites and ringworm.
wherever you parted his fur there were crawling maggots everywhere.

truly gross and  inducing. he`s nearly clear now, just gotta work on him being terrified of people.

have you popped a few drops of ivomec on the back of the does neck?


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## corny girl (Aug 30, 2009)

superpetssss said:


> i know i have ivermectin and imaverol. for the guinea pigs, i know what to do. i know the doe is very likely to be pregnant again and we are aware. they are given the best care anyone could give to these rabbits now. and NO they havent got wriggling maggot mites on them lol gross.



You will have to take this litter out as soon as she kindles the next litter (they are weaned by 3 1/2-4 weeks old anyway so won't be a problem). Just watch out for any signs of Pasturella, if any show symptoms then they will need to be pts as it is highly contagious & there is no cure for it. I know what i'm talking about as i had my whole stud wipped out by it when i brought a new trio in (that had been quarantined, it was when the younger Doe was mated when she was old enough that it brought it out). I lost Champions, breeding Doe's, litters, my Son's pet Nethie everything & spent hundreds of pounds at the vets in the process :devil:.


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## x Sarah x (Nov 16, 2007)

Give it a while and see if the fur grows back, if they are not showing any signs of illness or discomfort.

Could be Astrex, happened to a friend of mine recently, she had a rex who had a litter and as they reached a certain age began to lose the fur, after losing a majority of it, it then grew back curly. Turned out to be Astrex.


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## x Sarah x (Nov 16, 2007)

Some pics, they lost it on their bellies first i think, then patches developed elsewhere.




























and couple weeks later...


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## superpetssss (Apr 5, 2011)

thanks for those pics. they do look curly like that. the 2 that have fur look like that already so dont kn ow if the 2 hairless ones will grow fur back and it will be curlier than the others perhaps. il have fun with these. it seems that the astrex gene is still about and its good to know that it is still popping up and hasnt gone extinct. :2thumb:


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## Pinkchi (Nov 23, 2009)

Ive seen 'hairless' rabbits before on a forum. They have had at least 3 crop up in their litters

Bug eyes *Fugly the 2nd*

Fugly the 3rd

VERY RARE hairless mini rex - YouTube


"The genetics are reasonably well understood. A rabbit with no fur less gene (FF) will be totally normal. A rabbit with one fur less gene (Ff) will often display some balding as a baby, but that will usually grow in. Not all will display any balding. A rabbit with two fur less genes (ff) will be mostly or completely bald. The Ff babies can sometimes be a little weaker, and they tend to need a little extra care, but once they reach about 4 weeks, they are fine. However, if a whole line of ff babies was developed, there must be stronger lines of fur less rabbits"


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## MissRosyBoa (Jul 23, 2009)

How abotu asking on this facebook page https://www.facebook.com/HairlessAnimalsAppreciationSociety there are all sorts of hairles animals there from dogs and cats to rats and hamsters.perhaps someone knows about hairless rabbits too


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## BenjaminBoaz (Jan 6, 2006)

Hairless Rabbits!
i want this little guy! lol.
http://jhered.oxfordjournals.org/content/19/10/438.extract


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## xXFooFooLaFluffXx (Aug 4, 2007)

isnt it like a double gene or somethin? 

i would message xx cherry xx on here, i think thats her username. She had a few hairless while breeding and unfortunately they would get to about 4 weeks and die. They were exactly like the OP described, just small amounts of fur on the face 

ps i think that hairless rabbit is gorgeous! <3


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## salad dodger (Feb 13, 2007)

the rabbits in xsarahx photos are mine, they started loosing fur at two weeks and it grew back by 8 weeks, i also had curley ones in litter that didnt go bald, i must say though breeding astrex rexes can cause a complete throwback that is bald and never grows fur these normally die :-( when the fur grows back on ones that have gone bald it is better than before and very soft


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## superpetssss (Apr 5, 2011)

salad dodger said:


> the rabbits in xsarahx photos are mine, they started loosing fur at two weeks and it grew back by 8 weeks, i also had curley ones in litter that didnt go bald, i must say though breeding astrex rexes can cause a complete throwback that is bald and never grows fur these normally die :-( when the fur grows back on ones that have gone bald it is better than before and very soft


well i was going to say exactly that. They have grown fur back and its coming in more wavy that the others. They are a day away from 5 weeks and have a good coat. U can see they were hairless as the fur on the body is still slightly shorter than the fur on the legs but its almost there. the vet said they are in good condition and healthy.


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## BenjaminBoaz (Jan 6, 2006)

photos please


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## salad dodger (Feb 13, 2007)

did the mum have any more babies? if she did i still wouldnt recommend taking other litter away until 6 weeks as it can kill them through stress and not getting correct nutriants can bring on problems even bloat, due to there delicate stomachs being messed around, i would never take a rabbit away from mum until 8 weeks but if i have to for mums health it would be 6 weeks at a real push but thats just my opinion , but im sure you would know that if you have buns :2thumb:


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## corny girl (Aug 30, 2009)

salad dodger said:


> did the mum have any more babies? if she did i still wouldnt recommend taking other litter away until 6 weeks as it can kill them through stress and not getting correct nutriants can bring on problems even bloat, due to there delicate stomachs being messed around, i would never take a rabbit away from mum until 8 weeks but if i have to for mums health it would be 6 weeks at a real push but thats just my opinion , but im sure you would know that if you have buns :2thumb:



For a start if the Doe is in kit again then the older litter would need to be taken away as soon as she kindles, for their own safety :gasp:. The Doe is likely to attack the older kits so it is best to take them away otherwise there will be a bloodbath. They are weaned by 3 weeks old anyway so by 4 weeks are more than capable of leaving the Doe. If the OP takes some of the floor litter from the original cage & puts it in the new cage then that will minimise the stress as the smells will be there.


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## salad dodger (Feb 13, 2007)

corny girl said:


> For a start if the Doe is in kit again then the older litter would need to be taken away as soon as she kindles, for their own safety :gasp:. The Doe is likely to attack the older kits so it is best to take them away otherwise there will be a bloodbath. They are weaned by 3 weeks old anyway so by 4 weeks are more than capable of leaving the Doe. If the OP takes some of the floor litter from the original cage & puts it in the new cage then that will minimise the stress as the smells will be there.


well thats your opionion and if you wish to to that thats your choice, i however have a rescue doe on her tenth litter i took her in with babies and she gave birth to another lot and they are all fine and in my personally experience a baby is not fit to be taken away at 3 and half weeks but thats my opionion and everyones intitled to there own iv had rabbits for over 20 years and have show quality and rescues and i have my own experience and way of doing things so mine are all well, i guess we all have own way of doing things, i would take babies away if mum was aggressive but would not be happy with 3 and half week old babies on own


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## superpetssss (Apr 5, 2011)

salad dodger said:


> well thats your opionion and if you wish to to that thats your choice, i however have a rescue doe on her tenth litter i took her in with babies and she gave birth to another lot and they are all fine and in my personally experience a baby is not fit to be taken away at 3 and half weeks but thats my opionion and everyones intitled to there own iv had rabbits for over 20 years and have show quality and rescues and i have my own experience and way of doing things so mine are all well, i guess we all have own way of doing things, i would take babies away if mum was aggressive but would not be happy with 3 and half week old babies on own


my mums having that conundrum. The mum is looking like she is going to give birth soon. she hasnt made much of a nest but is sitting about and looking fat. babies are 5 weeks so are weaned, eating and drinking independantly. she thinks its best to take them out and i think shes doimg it tomorrow. trying to leave it as long as poss. thanks for imput although its conflicting lol.


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## pigglywiggly (Jul 19, 2008)

i`d put mom in a fresh hutch to kindle and leave the older litter where they are to reduce stress.....otherwise how do you know the older litter wont take all the milk from the little ones?

they should be weaned off milk by 4 weeks anyhow, even though they`re left with their moms for a bit longer, so they should be fine.


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## superpetssss (Apr 5, 2011)

pigglywiggly said:


> i`d put mom in a fresh hutch to kindle and leave the older litter where they are to reduce stress.....otherwise how do you know the older litter wont take all the milk from the little ones?
> 
> they should be weaned off milk by 4 weeks anyhow, even though they`re left with their moms for a bit longer, so they should be fine.


well a new litter was born this morning. in a lovely nest she must have made over night. shes fine with the older babies in there but we have taken them out now anyway so shes got peace. all seems fine.


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## corny girl (Aug 30, 2009)

superpetssss said:


> well a new litter was born this morning. in a lovely nest she must have made over night. shes fine with the older babies in there but we have taken them out now anyway so shes got peace. all seems fine.



Good luck with them :2thumb:. I would be inclined to feed mum Ad Lib, she will need all the strength she can get to rear this litter after just rearing a litter. If you can get some alfalfa give her a good handful every day (it's a high protein food so will boost her up).


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