Sabine
Well-Known Member
One of my mature Netherland Dwarf does was due to have her litter yesterday.
She felt quite heavily pregnant and I was sure I could clearly feel babies in her tummy.
I put her into a new hutch a few days before her due date and she spent two or three days just digging the bedding all over the place making a big mess and I was getting concerned that there was no clean spot left for the nest.
I kept adding new straw so that at least she'd have clean nesting material.
The evening before her due date she suddenly started gathering straw and hay and made a decent nest in the enclosed part of the hutch (the usual place)
I was delighted that she eventually started nesting and when I came down the next morning I expected to find a litter but to my surprise all the bedding had been kicked all over the place again and the nest was destroyed.
There was no evidence of pulled fur and certainly no babies.
I also palpated her and could still feel "something" inside her but oddly it didn't feel alive.
I decided to take her out quickly to fix up the hutch and I added all clean bedding. I thought maybe she would start afresh.
This morning I checked the hutch and it looked all neat: no digging, no nesting and she even used the litter tray for most of it.
She still feels big but strangely smaller than before.
I have had fake pregnancies before but they usually only lasted a bit over two weeks. I have no idea what happened here? Was this a false pregnancy that went to term and she somehow showed all the physical symptoms? Or did the babies die close to term and rather than expelling she is re-absorbing them? Is that possible?
She seems in good enough form and is eating, peeing and pooing perfectly well.
Any thought what may have happened her? Thanks.
She felt quite heavily pregnant and I was sure I could clearly feel babies in her tummy.
I put her into a new hutch a few days before her due date and she spent two or three days just digging the bedding all over the place making a big mess and I was getting concerned that there was no clean spot left for the nest.
I kept adding new straw so that at least she'd have clean nesting material.
The evening before her due date she suddenly started gathering straw and hay and made a decent nest in the enclosed part of the hutch (the usual place)
I was delighted that she eventually started nesting and when I came down the next morning I expected to find a litter but to my surprise all the bedding had been kicked all over the place again and the nest was destroyed.
There was no evidence of pulled fur and certainly no babies.
I also palpated her and could still feel "something" inside her but oddly it didn't feel alive.
I decided to take her out quickly to fix up the hutch and I added all clean bedding. I thought maybe she would start afresh.
This morning I checked the hutch and it looked all neat: no digging, no nesting and she even used the litter tray for most of it.
She still feels big but strangely smaller than before.
I have had fake pregnancies before but they usually only lasted a bit over two weeks. I have no idea what happened here? Was this a false pregnancy that went to term and she somehow showed all the physical symptoms? Or did the babies die close to term and rather than expelling she is re-absorbing them? Is that possible?
She seems in good enough form and is eating, peeing and pooing perfectly well.
Any thought what may have happened her? Thanks.