These are newborn kits (approx.12 hours old). They are born thick and
stocky with bulldog heads and necks. So far any kit born like this has developed into a show type fuzzy lop
for me.
When consulting other breeders, the one draw back to extremely compact
fuzzy lops can be a lack of depth. They can get so short in the body
that they're built like a brick and lack the arc to their back.
I've only had this problem if it's a small rabbit that's gone overweight.
Above photo is of a peanut, a kit born with 2 dwarf genes.
A peanut is approximately half the size
of it's siblings (see photo above left) and has a dome shape to it's
head (possibly water on the brain). When breeding dwarfs rabbits, a kit
will inherit a dwarf gene from one parent. If it inherits a dwarf gene
from both parents it's called a peanut and dies in 2-3 days. Some
have been know to live a few days longer but they always die.
The photos above are fetal
giants. Fetal giants are normally kits that go over their due date.
Other theory's of fetal giants are kits whose mother were overfed and
some believe they can be kits that do not inherit the dwarf gene.
They are always either born dead or die soon
after the doe kindles.
These are the largest fetal
giants I have ever seen. They are out of a young 3.5 pound Holland lop
doe (her 2nd litter). She went 2 days over her due date. The small
elongated kit in the middle of the photo is a small but normal sized kit
or a large peanut. It's mom was sitting on it and flattened it. Even flattened the kit
is dwarfed by it's giant siblings. Normally a doe would need a C-section
to remove kits this large. This doe not only delivered them on her own
without assistance, she did it without injuring herself or stretching
the babies. This is one of the weirdest bunny experiences I've
encountered. I'm awed not only by the shear size of the kits but the
thickness of them. Mom's doing fine and acting like nothing has
happened.
