Anyone with Babies due in Feb?

[Dutchgirl]

My doe is due Monday. I'm so excited! We put in the nestbox yesterday, but she hasn't been showing any signs of pregnancy, though she's sure pretty fat and is sensitive on her belly. No fur-pulling or interest in the nest, though. Just chewing on the outside of it. :/

 

[TherapyBunnies]

the girls dont live together they each have their own 4ft by 2ft hutch to laze around in lol...
but doe 1 in at 8:30 am, doe 2 in at 9am...then put doe 2 in again at 5pm and doe 1 in at 5:30pm
figured that would give me the best chance at good verility without having the 2 does due days apart and me only having 1 buck right now.
We'll see what happens

You can put the does with the buck again tomorrow. This should increase likelihood of successful breeding. At times the first meeting (only) stimulates the doe to ovulate & she takes on the second. I experienced this with pair a few months ago. The worst part was she bred the 2nd time 2 weeks after the 1st breeding. The buck started nesting 2 weeks before she delivered. I only planned on having the one pair at the time so I was letting them cage together. Lionheads can be docile enough for a pair to raise litters together until she presented herself to him the day she delivered. They quickly were put into separate cages because I think that is to close for a doe since she was feeding a litter of 7. She started nesting 2 weeks ago & is due to deliver anytime.

 

[Dutchgirl]

She still hasn't pulled any fur, paid any attention to the nest, or showed signs of mothering whatsoever. Should we pull fur for her?

There's snow right now and I'm worried she might have the bunnies on the wire.

 

[flemish lops]

She still hasn't pulled any fur, paid any attention to the nest, or showed signs of mothering whatsoever. Should we pull fur for her?

There's snow right now and I'm worried she might have the bunnies on the wire.

I had a doe that wouldn't build a nest till a few hours before she had her kits. Is she a first time mother?

 

[TherapyBunnies]

She still hasn't pulled any fur, paid any attention to the nest, or showed signs of mothering whatsoever. Should we pull fur for her?

There's snow right now and I'm worried she might have the bunnies on the wire.

I had a doe that wouldn't build a nest till a few hours before she had her kits. Is she a first time mother?

Keep in mind the average is 28-32 days gestation. There have been a few report 35 and I read a post where the doe kindled on day 39. Another post talked about delayed implantation where a doe kindled 6 months later than expected. From what I understood a doe can delay implantation if their are unfavorable conditions. My does are on day 33/34. I feel kits moving in one of my does & pretty sure I do in the other. Both are very territorial today.

I only have 2 does ready to kindle so I brought them into my office attached to my bedroom. I'd be a wreck if they were outside in the wide ranging Oklahoma weather. I know most breeders don't have that option. :/ All the best to you as you wait. I am sure you are keeping plenty of bedding/hay in the nest box. I felt the same way when I was raising sheep in high school. I was fortunate that all ewes & lambs were healthy.

 

[SarahMelisse]

This is my first breeding so I'm not sure of what is considered "normal" rabbit behavior... My doe is on day 25 and seemed very restless so I put her nest box in. She jumps in and out of the nest box then runs around the cage, jumps back in, and digs. Is this what a lot of pregnant does do?

 

[hemet dennis]

They all act different you just never know. Try not to change any thing other then putting the box in. When they get close to their due date they don't like change.

 

[Marinarawr]

I tried the "community" method at the recommendation of another rabbit keeper for the first time this winter (3 females and one male in an 8'X10' shed with hay and four 2'x2' nest boxes). I was told that with the cold weather and short days that there wouldn't be any breeding activity until spring... So I found a surprise litter buried in the reserve hay pile! It's a lot less shocking because of how nice the weather has been all winter, but still unexpected. Unfortunately of the 6 that were originally in there, 4 have died of exposure. The nest is elevated and they keep wiggling out .
Imagine my surprise when I went in yesterday morning to feed and water when I found a little fist-sized fluff ball sitting in the food dish! I shut the pen and turned back around and it was long gone. I dug around the back of the huge nest box condo on the back wall and I find 6 fuzzy little kits! I estimate 3-4 weeks old. Two have pretty advanced cases of nestbox eye (one of which has a cloudy eye) but they're already looking better after just one treatment so I think they'll be fine. So I've got a total of 8 unexpected babies, and a buck that needs to be separated before that number increases! On another note, I'm curious to know the lineage of the mother of the kits... The does are a white silver fox cross mother and her two black daughters with an unrelated NZW buck but there are two fawns, and two silvers in the litter... Genetics are amazing.

 

[Dutchgirl]

She still hasn't pulled any fur, paid any attention to the nest, or showed signs of mothering whatsoever. Should we pull fur for her?

There's snow right now and I'm worried she might have the bunnies on the wire.

Yay! Yesterday morning I went out in a glorious winter wonderland to find eight newborn bunnies, covered with a lot of fur, in the nest box. No peanuts or dead ones! All healthy, beautiful bunnies!

 

[nerissad]

Hey all!

Today the nest boxes go in! Two of my girls were bred on the 23rd of Jan. I have been feeling pretty lazy today so I didn't put the box in until tonight and didn't even have the wool liners ready for them, which I offer for added insulation during winter. I went out to check on them and my french angora rabbit had a 'beard' of hay on her chin with a mouthful of hay in her mouth. Exciting as she is a first time momma so I'll consider it a strong sign she is pregnant. Later after the liners are washed I'll offer them to the bunnies. They are due this next Monday! I hope I get healthy plump kits.

I just wanted to offer an update: Monday was the earliest I could expect them to deliver (day 28) and they delivered today (day 31) when I went out to do rabbit chores I found one of my females had given birth to 9 babies but that 5 of them were spread around the nest box, exposed and dead. I tried rewarming them but still no signs of life. My second female was actively nesting and had a bloody rump so I new it was time. I checked one her a few hours later and found the litter was also spread out but they were still warm. In the second litter there was 13 babies. I removed 4 babies from the second litter and put them in with the first smaller litter.

For today I have 13 live babies, which I hope will all make it. Today has been a good day for my little rabbitry. My first time mommas are doing fine and I feel like a proud owner.