# Daughter doing rabbits for 4-h



## TiffofMo (Jan 10, 2011)

So after looking around she decided on holland lops. She told me she would sell or trade her goat for the Hollands. So a lady I've had dealing with before offered her 2 baby bucks and 2 does 1 adult 1 baby. The adult is bred so she will have kits by mid next month. We never seen rabbits shown so this is a exciting new chapter for her.


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## TiffofMo (Jan 10, 2011)

The first 2 the opal and harlie are the boys and the tri and the broken chestnut are does. The little girl we have to wait on her to wean she is only 3 weeks old. So we have to wait tell the end of the month to trade. So it looks like my daughter will be starting a rabbitry. She has got to come up with a name for it.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

The rabbits are adorable. I love Holland Lops.


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## wildegoats0426 (Aug 30, 2013)

They're so cute! When mom has her babies make sure they are nursing! We had a rabbit with only 1 kit and we realized she wasnt nursing him at all, he died at 4 days old:/


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## goatiegirl (Jan 7, 2013)

Very nice looking rabbits. My daughter loves taking care of our rabbits and has been considering 4h. Let us know how it goes!


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## OwnedByTheGoats (Mar 7, 2013)

MOST IMPORTANTLY, there are things you reallyy have to check for when you see them. Two **'s means very important, one means optional.

**Check poop and bottom for stuck pellets and diahrea.
**Check nose for runny or thick white, clear, or yellow snot. ABSOLUTELY do not get them if they have this going on, it's called Pasteurella and eventually kills the rabbit and others around it.
**Check teeth to make sure they are aligned properly.
*Check conformation if she is going to show.
**Check feet for sore hocks.
**Check for bald spots and dandruff. That means the rabbits have mites which are fairly difficult to rid them of.
**Check for abscesses. 
**If the rabbit has matted or wet fur on the inside of the legs, do NOT get it. Also a sign of Pasteurella or Bordetella.

And, of course, make sure she will enjoy them.  A rabbitry is hard work, and if you breed Hollands you have to be aware of peanuts, which are rabbits who do not develop and have to be culled (i.e. whack them on the head, she has to be prepared for this type of stuff with Dwarves) or they suffer and die. She will most likely run into quite a few of these. 

Raising rabbits is NOT all fun and games, it's hard work. And you have to do a lot of research, a TON of research. When breeding, you usually loose a lot through the years. I lost... 4 kits my first time. It can really stress and overwhelm a kid. But, then again, a lot of things that have to do with rabbits are very fun. 

Good luck. You can PM me any questions.


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## caprine crazy (Jun 12, 2012)

^^Added to that I would check their ears as well. Any animal with long ears is more prone to ear problems because the air cannot flow into the ear canal as well.


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## TiffofMo (Jan 10, 2011)

Thanks guys she will need all the help she can get. Being she is still young i will be in hear asking questions or posting stuff for her. The good thing is she has seen good and bad times with my goats and i used to run a meat rabbity so i can teach her some. Good thing u reminded me to check bellies on kits i had forgot to tell her that. I know her and her rabbits look healthy and has a good amount of pepole behind her. but yes we need to check them over. The big thing im not sure we can do is Conformation but the good thing is she will not be showing tell spring so we will probably keep some babies back to show. The big unknown for both of us is showing. And sting up hollands for showing. I tried to look on you-tube and there is not a lot of videos showing how to setup a holland and a holland lop show.


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## Smallfarmer (Jul 10, 2013)

Here's a few tips from when I used to have rabbits. 
Know how to sex them. We thought we had two girls but ended up with babies. 
Build your hutch escape and rodent proof. 
Be smart about hutch materials cause they will chew on it. 
Do not keep males and females together if pregnancy has occurred. 
No heavy top opening doors on hutches. They like to stick their heads out doors and if you don't pay attention bad things happen.


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## TiffofMo (Jan 10, 2011)

Where doing wire cages and they will be going inside. We where going to do a hutch but we decided this barn had no use so we figured it will be a good bunny barn lol. We plan to plug holes and cover the walls in cardboard and plastic behind the cages


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## Smallfarmer (Jul 10, 2013)

Wow that looks really nice!


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## TiffofMo (Jan 10, 2011)

We get to pick up her rabbits this weekend Montana is full of babies and due October 5 hope we get her home and settled ok. The cages still need hung but u can see where there going. And there is 9 holes there plenty of room for growth LOL


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## GroundGoats (Sep 17, 2013)

Bass Supply sells tons of rabbitry stuff.
I love your cage set up! Bass sell plastic guards to go on the sharp cut wire edges around the doors.
I would definitely recommend getting them, they're cheap and they'll save your daughters arms and her rabbits feet.
I have scars on my arms from jagged hardware cloth!
Also, what size hardware did you use? I know nothing about Holland Lops, but I think someone said they were small? I raise Silver Foxes and Angoras, they're pretty big.
If they are and you didn't already, you might want to put strips of 1/2" x 1/2" hardware around the bottom edge so they don't pop out when they squirm around or when they start leaving the nest.
You can put it on the outside to prevent babies or momma from getting scratched up on it.
And diaper boxes make great toss-away nest boxes. I cut a hole on one of the handle sides and leave at least 1.5 on the bottom edge to minimize babies and nest material from getting out of the nest.
Did you build those cages yourself? They're really awesome!


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## OwnedByTheGoats (Mar 7, 2013)

Holland Lops are required to be at least 4 pounds when they are shown, and some do hit 8 pounds. They aren't really THAT small. If they can kick like a rabbit, it's gonna hurt, no matter how big they are. I get tons of bad scratches from 3 pound baby rabbits. It's crazy. Your daughter really needs to know how to handle a rabbit, because you are going to run into some that want to scratch your arms and face off. Rabbits, don't laugh I'm being serious, are very vicious little things, actually. You HAVE to have experience if you are breeding, really, because some of your rabbits aren't going to be sweet little things.

Also, I LOVE that cage!!! I wish that was in my barn right now! Actually, I don't, because I have a colony set up, BUT if I didn't, I would want those!

I would stray away from ANY rabbits living on dirt. Cocci is a pretty big thing. If they had one rabbit, ONE, ever get cocci, it lives in the dirt forever. My rabbits live on concrete for this reason. It can kill your rabbits. Oh, and make sure to check genders before you take them home.


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## GroundGoats (Sep 17, 2013)

OwnedByTheGoats said:


> Rabbits, don't laugh I'm being serious, are very vicious little things, actually.


I tell my friends this and they laugh.
Then I go through all the reasons WHY.

You should post about your colony setup. I've been wanting to go that route.


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## OwnedByTheGoats (Mar 7, 2013)

It's crazy! I raise French Lops, 12+ pounds, there feet are HUGE. They give me trouble! I am, honestly, nervous about picking up the adults. They aren't anything to mess around with! When someone wants a rabbit from me, I say, "Is this your first time? If so, I would suggest getting a smaller rabbit.". When I DON'T say that, and someone comes for a rabbit, I laugh (out loud, I have a problem with that, lol) at their faces when they see the grown ups. They freak out! They take the rabbit anyway, but they walk away quite guilty, I can tell, LOL.

I will if you want me too. The most common pin point that people freak out with colonies is introducing does. I had two does that were on their sides biting each others faces for about 30 seconds, at least. They were kicking at each other's guts. But, I left them together, and 2 days later, they are absolutely fine with each other. So, I made a video proving that they are okay with each other, lol.


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## TiffofMo (Jan 10, 2011)

They all have baby saver on all them. We got this wire from a friend and its a heavy duty wire. So the babies should not wiggle out but i imagine to have a few that will lol. I know how mean rabbits can be. Ive been bit and have plenty of battle scars on my arms from raising meat rabbits. I for know will handle any grumpy butts and weed them out of our operation. I dont want her being scratched or bite. But yes time will come and she will be bit or scratch. Im hopping starting with a smaller breed will help teach her how to handle them.
O Thanks about the cages hubby and i used to build and sell cages all the time.


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## OwnedByTheGoats (Mar 7, 2013)

Oh, and Tiff, she will get scratched probably even the first time she handles them. Nature of it is rabbits just DON'T LIKE to be off of the ground. No matter if they are super duper sweet or not, it just happens. The sweetest rabbit I have tried to rip my arm off today when I tried to pick him up. Of course, he weighs at least 13 pounds, so his feet are HUGE!. Just trying to warn you. I know you have raised rabbits before, just telling you that your daughter WILL get scratched more often than not when handling them. There are a few rabbits that won't kick, but that is not super common.

You can't exactly breed out kicking. Or scratching. Not something you can "breed out", but I would understand if they BIT you. That is definitely something to cull for.


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## GroundGoats (Sep 17, 2013)

You should totally post about your setup!

And Tiff that's pretty awesome. What's the total area of each of the individual holes?
Glad you put in baby saver, a lot of folks don't think about it.
I would totally pay you for cage setup plans, or even pay for pre-cut panels and shipping if the price was reasonable.


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## TiffofMo (Jan 10, 2011)

Thanks groundgoats hubby is already thinking about doing it again lol. I started a new post over in barnyard bonanza that u can follow.
http://www.thegoatspot.net/forum/f203/my-daughters-rabbitty-barn-154178/#post1492977


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