what if my doesn't take care of her babies?

Yvonne, We generally prefer people to do their research before they breed their rabbits. There are a number of things that can go wrong and jeopardize the life of your doe. You will need extra cages to separate the mother from the babies, you will need another cage to separate the boys form the girls. You will need to find good homes for the babies when they are 8 weeks old. You ae going to have a bit of work ahead of you.

But if she is already bred, the best thing to do is be ready for whatever will happen. The gestation should be about 31 days from the day she was bred. What breed is Bashful? What does she weigh? What breed is the buck? What does he weigh? Do you have the name and number of a good vet in case something goes wrong? Do you have any idea what you are going to do with the babies?

You will need a box that she can use as a nest box. Something just big enough for her to hop into and turn around. (Not too big, or she can accidentally harm the kits.) For smaller breeds, a shoe box works well. You will need shavings or absorbent material for the bottom of the box and a nice dry thick layer of hay over it.

She will pull fur off her belly and chest to line the nest right before she delivers. You should keep the area quiet and calm, leave her alone while she is delivering.

After she kindles (delivers), you will need to check the nest to make sure there are no dead kits or leftover placentas in there. Bashful will not abandon her babies if you touch them, but make sure your hands are clean before you do.

Bashful should know what to do and how to do it. You will need a couple of extra cages, before the babies are 2 months old. When the babies are 6 weeks old, you should wean them off Momma. Remove Bashful to another cage. The babies can be kept together for 2 weeks, and then they can go to their new homes. They HAVE to be separated by sex before 16 weeks of age, or they may start breeding on their own. (And Brother/Sister breedings are NOT nice!)

Bluegiants has provided some excellent advice.

I would also advice you to start reading information in the library regarding the care of young.
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12047&forum_id=17

If you have any more questions, please post them and we will do our best to answer them. Best advice is to do as much reading and preparation now as you can.

--Dawn

Bluegiants has everything covered as always.

You've got approx 3 weeks to learn as much as you can about breeding rabbits. It's best to be aware of the time, money and effort it takes to raise a litter of rabbits before breeding. You will need to be doing checks on her every 20 minutes, day and night from her due date until she kindles. That often means staying up all night but that's what good breeders do. If she gets into trouble in labour you have to be there, you can have as little as an hour to rush her to the vet before it's too late. You need to know the symptoms of stuck kits, hemorrhage etc. and how to hand rear if you need to (you can find all this information online if you search google). You must have an emergency vet trip planned in advance and the funds ready (at least $500) for as much as a C section and and after care just in case she has complications. As bluegiants said, there are a number of things that can go wrong during all stages or raising rabbits, and if you're not on the ball you can lose your doe and/or babies.

Most does are fine, but it does happen, and it's always good to be prepared for the worst and hope for the best!

I would suggest you contact the ARBA and try and find a good rabbit breeder in your area who will be willing to help you out. It can be very useful to have breeder friends just in case you need a foster mother for your kits. As for Bashful she doesn't need much extra care until the kits are born, just a good quality diet and increase her food once the kits are born (some does will want 3 times as much as normal!).

Breeding rabbits properly is very hard work and it can be a big drain on your time and finances, but it's worth it when you have a happy, healthy litter that are going to make their owners happy!

Good luck!

i would research this more.
i lost 3 kits, a whole litter to not knowing.
bu as jenson said, you have 3weeks to learn to be a good bunny babie breeder.
its worth it in the end.

How old is Bashful? Cause if she's over a certain age, about ten months, she has a high chance of delivering a dead litter or having a complicated birth and would need extra care and supervision when she's due.

Two years old is a little late for a doe to have her first litter. (This goes back to doing your research first...) But what's done is done. Learn as much as you can over the next few weeks and be prepared. We will all hope for the best.

Well, it may not have taken this time either... we will have to wait and see... :waiting:

Mini-rex? Did someone say mini-rex?

I can't add anything here but that.

ha, ok. well...... i guess ill just have toooooo wait at least another week to see... :sigh:

I wouldn't breed her again if she didn't take. Has she been bred before and had litters? If so then it will be ok because her pelvic bones wouldn't have fused but if she has never have a litter then they have, if she is pregnant she will require alot of attention and you'll need to have an emergency vet number ready (should have that with a normal litter too).

I'd say you might want to seperate the babies even sooner than 16 weeks if its a mini rex litter. A breeder on another board was just talking about how she had a minirex doe kindle at 12 weeks. --Yes that would mean she was sexually active at 8 weeks.

Its an uncommon occurrence, but why take the chance? I wean/seperate everyone but my class 6 breeds (big breeds that take longer to mature) by 7 weeks.

i dont know about rexes but doent there pelific bones fuse at about 1 year old?????
good luck

ahhh!! this is going to suck!! i wish i researched alot more before i had this done!! mann:shock2:

ok well whats done is done.
sure you will learn more on this fourm than any other. and i hope all goes well.

You will put the nestbox 3 days before her due date (put it in day 28 after breeding). The babies eyes will open up between days 10-12. They will start coming out of the box after that. If the litter is indoors and warm, Itake the box away at18-21 days (the latest). If they are outdoors, at 21 days, I will turn the nestbox on it's side (so they still feel sheltered). I will remove it when the kits are around 4 weeks old. They can really start making a mess after that.

You are going to check the babies every single day. Check the nest that is it clean and dry. If it ever feels wet, damp or smells, you are going to replace all the bedding and put the babies back. Sometimes I have to change bedding around 2 weeks of age... they are getting bigger and the doe doesn't always clean up after them as they grow up.