Breeding rabbit

[Javotte]

Hi! I have two dutch which I rescued from another home. A male anda female. We are quite happy for them to have a family and so we put them together a month ago and things seem to be OK. She started nesting straightaway after. I now realise that it must be a phantom pregnancy. Is there any foolproof signs to real or phantom pregnancies? Can phantom pregnancy last a whole month with the doe adding fur and hayto the nest regularly?

I do not think it is a sign of stress as she is otherwise fairly laid back and well looked after,

Thanks for your tips,

Natalie

 

[mouse_chalk]

Hi, and welcome to the forum!

I'm afraid I'm not the best person to answer this, but I shall move your thread to our Rabbitry and Showroom area where our experienced breeder members and mods will no doubt be along to help you soon

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

The only difference between a real and false pregnancy is that she actually kindles in the real one. lol The signs are all the same.

 

[irishbunny]

A rabbits gestation period is 31 days, did you keep track of how long she has been pregnant? She probably is pregnant, they usually start to nest a couple of days before they give birth, some does pull fur a few days before they give birth, some pull fur just before they give birth and some pull just after they give birth, it really depends on the doe.

It can be quite easy to tell the difference between a heavily pregnant doe and a non-pregnant doe if you are used to it. A pregnant doe has a big, hard belly and you can feel the babies moving sometimes. I would treat this as a real pregnancy at least until day 35 of her pregnancy.

 

[tonyshuman]

Most breeders will leave the nest in for 35 days from the time she could have been pregnant. So, keep the nest for 35 days from the day you separated these two (they shouldn't be housed together even if you want them to have kits, as the male can injure the kits).

 

[Javotte]

She would be due now, so I will give her a couple of days. My doe seemed ahead of the game though as she started nesting 30 days ago... Maybe I have a long term thinker :biggrin2:

Natalie

 

[BlueGiants]

If a doe starts nest that early (like anytime beforethe 25th dayafter breeding) it is probably a false pregnancy. But if the doe was together withthe buck for a period of time, the breeding could have taken anytime before that.

To be on the safe side, I agree with the advice you've been given, leave the nestbox in with her until 35 days after the last day she was with the buck. If it is a false pregnancy, at least you haven't lost anything but time. You can re-breed her safely at that point. (And re-start the timer!)

 

[Javotte]

:biggrin2:Aaaaaaaagh! They have arrived.... It was not phantom at all! Yuppppeeeeeeeeeee! I am a proud granny! :blushan:

Daleelahleelah!

Natalie

 

[BlueGiants]

OHHH! How wonderful! Congratulations!

 

[Luvr of Wabbits and Polar Bears]

How many babies did she have? And can we see pics?

 

[Javotte]

Hi! It looks like she's had at least seven of them - I would not dare touching them, still live and kicking this morning! Yuppee!
How do load pictures here?
Natalie:highfive:

 

[crystal]

yay congratulations on being a grandparent hehe

 

[Luvr of Wabbits and Polar Bears]

To post photo's read thru this

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=25443&forum_id=66

 

[aurora369]

I would recommend that you "touch" them. It is very important to have a look through the nest to make sure that there are no dead babies or left over pieces of placenta. Then after that, a daily inspection of the babies to make sure all are getting fed or that none are injured.

Mom will not reject the babies, her instinct to care for them is much stronger than being weirded out by human smells. You can rub your hands on mom to get her smell on you before handling the babies if you think she might have a problem with your scent.

You can distract mom with treats while checking the babies. If the babies are in a nest box, I would remove the box from the cage then return it after you've check over all the babies. If the nest is not in a box, I would transplant it into one. The box will help keep the babies contained so they don't wander out of the nest and get cold. I have used a shoe box or a clean litter box in the past, the sides should be high enough that the babies can't squirm out, but low enough for mom to jump over.

--Dawn

 

[BlueGiants]

I would most definitely tell you to handle them... right from day one! You need to make sure that there are no dead babies or left over placenta's in the box. You should handle them to acclimate them to your smell and touch.

No smell from your touch is strong enough to keep a mother rabbit from her babies. She will take care of them, no matter what.

 

[Blaze_Amita]

I handle all my babies from day one as well. I had a breeder tell me not to touch them until they wre two weeks old or had their eyes open or the mother was goign to kill them (Again back when I first started) When I had told her that I had 7 babies and that two were blue and 5 were black. The Mini rex babies, and a mutt litter(auction pull-stupid me) I had had before that I hadn't touched the babies and those babies took a lot more to handle later in life. Experience enough there to not handle them daily that I handle them daily their first week and then every other day if I don't have the time for daily.

 

[Javotte]

 

[Javotte]

Sorry, must have got something wrong in the process of copying, it is a bit big... Deadly cute though!I will handled them as recommended (agh twist my arm!)
See ya
Natalie

 

[JadeIcing]

:biggrin2:BABIES!

 

[BlueGiants]

CUTE!!!! CUTE!!!! CUTE!!!! I never get tired of seeing the babies!

Looks like momma is taking good care of them...