Pregnant Rabbit?

[MiniLopMad]

31 days ago I bred my 1.5 year old mini lop doe (named Daisy) to my 1.5 year old mini lop buck (named Chilli). Chilli grunted and fell off about 3-4 times. It's not his first time so he was fine breeding, but Daisy has never been bred before. There is no kits yet and I'm not even sure if she is pregnant. She isn't aggressive at all, until you go near her belly. She is not nesting yet, however, the other day she had straw in her mouth. I'm pretty sure it was just because it was in her way though. I didn't have the chance to palate her, she won't let me touch her belly. I did manage to gently run my hand along her belly as she moved away from me on about day 21 and I felt a large bump. Could that be kits? I also saw her stomach moving around a lot last week and I'm sure it was kits moving around. She's also been destructive.. Digging in her hutch, chewing the wood. She has plenty of toys and chews. I heard that older rabbits being bred for the first time have a hard time getting pregnant. I'm actually quite disappointed. I was really prepared and excited for kits, but I'm not even sure she's gonna have them.

 

[Azerane]

If you've seen her belly moving it's quite likely she is pregnant. I believe does of that size should generally be bred in their first year, but she is still young so it's likely she could be pregnant, I would wait a day or so, they may still be coming It's also possible that she may give birth without building a nest. First-time mums can get things wrong, so it's important to check for kits in hay etc around the hutch.

 

[MiniLopMad]

Ok, thankyou so much! I bought her when she was about a year old, I would have need her then but I was worried that it would be too much stress for her when she was still adjusting to the new home, new food etc...
I believe she pulled out a small bunch of fur yesterday, but it must of fallen through the bars or blown away because when I checked again there was no fur.

 

[MiniLopMad]

UPDATE: It's day 33 and no kits yet This afternoon though, she was laying down and I saw her belly moving quite a bit again. She also seems a bit off her food, is this normal? She also drank a full water bottle in one day

 

[majorv]

When does are close to kindling they usually don't eat much. Do you already have a nestbox out for her? If she doesn't have them in the next day or two you may not get live kits. Some people let their rabbit run around to induce labor, some will try giving a chewable Tums or will introduce a buck to the doe (without breeding). A vet can also give her oxytocin to start labor, if needed.

 

[MiniLopMad]

Yeah, she has a next box She keeps on peeing in the corner of it though so I hope that isn't affecting anything. I've been letting her into the run each day for a few hours and she runs around a bit before laying down. I let her and Chilli meet through the bars and she tried getting her head under his through the bars before losing interest and hopping off. I read somewhere that oxytocin can kill them? Is this true?

 

[woahlookitsme]

It can't kill them I haven't heard of. You just want it to be done by a vet and under the right supervision. Other breeders will give tums and this helps to start labor. At 1.5 yrs and her first litter I would not hold my breath.

 

[MiniLopMad]

If she doesn't have them at all, what would be the consequences? Would it affect her life later on?

 

[woahlookitsme]

If you really think she is pregnant and she hasn't given birth by day 35 then you can take her to a vet for palpation and ultrasound or X-ray. I would recommend X-ray as you can more easily see everything in the body and not just sections

 

[MiniLopMad]

Ok, thankyou you all so much I'll try and get her to the vet asap.

 

[AbbottRabbitry]

Any news on daisy did she have kits?

 

[BunBun02]

Ps.... I am friends with Daisy's owners and she hasn't given birth


BunBun.... Breeding quality mini lops since 1999

 

[SouthernNetherlandDwarf]

Oh maybe it's too late for the kits?

 

[BunBun02]

She re breed her


BunBun.... Breeding quality mini lops since 1999

 

[AbbottRabbitry]

oh so the other kits didn't make it or it was a false pregnancy?

 

[woahlookitsme]

She probably didn't take. Crossing fingers for this next time

 

[MiniLopMad]

False pregnancy I was sure she was pregnant, but I'm a beginner with palpating so I may have made a mistake. I rebred her and she acting much more like a pregnant bunny... She's cranky and hates being petted now hahaha. I hope that this one will work Just before I rebred her I clipped her nails and groomed her etc.. I felt her belly and the large lump I felt before thinking it was babies was actually just a fat roll oops hahaha

 

[SouthernNetherlandDwarf]

Lol it's okay. Hopefully this time it works for you!

 

[MiniLopMad]

Thankyou

 

[MiniLopMad]

UPDATE: Daisy is still very cranky and I can't palpate her because I can't even get near her belly without her going crazy. Today she was picking grass and carrying it around in her mouth. She keeps dumping it in her food bowl hahaha