Anwen's Lost Litter

Sad news at Koenigland Rabbitry today. It appears the former owner of Anwen was lied to, and the litter of one she gave birth to this past night was in fact her first. With hallmarks such as uncertainty and fear rather than practiced ease; a long, strenuous labor; and one, large, single kit that was stuck and birthed broken, that is my impression.

However, Anwen herself appears to be doing fine. Now that she is no longer pregnant, she is relaxed and friendly, nearly snuggly. She's let me pet her head and ears and even back, her back which was a no zone only a couple of days ago. She's even moving much more freely, including happily flopping into her nest box which I have left just in case she gives birth to another kit or two later on, much like Kyle's rabbit who gave birth to two new kits sixteen hours later. Patience must be had.

Despite the loss of her first kit, Anwen showed good mothering qualities. She made a decent nest, pulled fur, and was protective of her nest box. She even cleaned up the stillborn kit and ate the afterbirth (if that has been passed, as I presume it has because of lack of contractions). She only dropped her guard when I moved her head to dispose of the kit, and even then she was clearly confused and a bit upset (I can't blame her).

According to a veteran breeder, I should rebreed in the next few days, which should hopefully give me a larger litter with smaller kits. I'm looking for an outside stud to do a cover, but that's risky, just because said stud could carry a disease. I might end up breeding her to Basil, just for peace of mind. The kits would be even smaller and she might have better luck. If I do breed to Basil, all kits should be black or minimally white-spotted black and not have rex fur. Any that carry the dwarf gene should be 4-5 lb., but the larger kits could get up to be 9-10 lb. though that is unlikely. While it wouldn't do terribly much for either my American Sable or Mini Rex program, it would at least prove to me that she can give birth to healthy, living kits. If she can't, a pet home is in her future. I hope this won't be required, because I have already gotten a bit of a bond with this shy, gentle rabbit.

Prayers and well wishes would be well received.