Re-Made A Nest Today And She Will Not Come Away?

[Heather-M]

Hi Everyone,

I am unsure when she got pregnant as the male escaped a fewtimes(Getting through gaps half his size), Something I will be sure toprevent in the future....But Ebz made a nest before in a previous postquite some time ago, and today she has been making a new one, and nowshe wont budge of it. She is very grumpy and seems to like cry when itouch her.

Could she be having her litter soon?

Heather

 

[Flashy]

Could be that she is starting to havecontractions maybe, and her hormones are, rightly, telling her to staynear the nest, so that she can get them in it.

If you stand at a distance, preferably out of her eyeshot so that shecan settle, you might be able to see the contractions. They can getpretty violent and very obvious to an onlooker.

 

[Heather-M]

Hi Flashy,

What would the contractions look like?

No idea lol

Heather

 

[Flashy]

You can basically see the muscles tightening andit ripples along the body from the head backwards. If you see them youwill know. It can look very distressing though.

Obviously as the doe gets to the later stages of labour they will bestronger, ours arch their head, rear up on their back legs andsometimes grunt in pain. It's horrible to watch, I wouldn't recommendit for both you or the rabbit, because it could easily unsettle her andshe might have them not in the nest. But if you could watch for a bitto see whether or not she is having them, that would give you some idea.

 

[Heather-M]

Owh, wellI dont thinkI wantto Watch I'd Ratherjust wait till they are born (If sheshaving them at all) Itsa surprise that way...Even though icarnt wait!

Thanks alot Flashy

 

[clarzoo]

I agree, it sounds like she may be having herlitter now or very soon. If she remains in this agitated state for toolong, you will need to have a close look at her. She might be havingtrouble delivering and have a stuck kit. Birth for rabbits happensrelatively fast compared to other animals- they shouldn't struggle verylong for any one kit, but for her to have the whole litter might take awhile (few hours max). To check for stuck kits, flip her over andexamine her genitals. It will be pretty obvious if there is a problem.





Good luck with her, and let us know how it goes!

 

[Heather-M]

Hi Clarzoo,

Nothing going on yet no contractions but shes still very strange kind of like crying.

If she dont drink could this be a problem with supplying milk?

Heather

P.s, Thanks Clarzoo

 

[Flashy]

Good luck with her.

I agree with Clarzoo try to keep a close eye if youcan,preferably at a distance. To give you an idea of time scale, mynetherland dwarf showed no signs of contractions at 8.15am (when my mumleft), but when I went outside at 10.15am, she had had four babies anddelivered all the placentas.

Obviously a bigger litter can take longer, and also if there are problems, but 2 hours was a max. for her from start to finish.

 

[Heather-M]

Its her first litter, whats the average size for a first litter?

Sorry about all the Q's but if you dont ask you will never know lol

Heather

 

[TinysMom]

I think in all the litters I've had - I've never had a doe cry - and I've had over 50 litters.

I would seriously consider having her see a vet if you can. It sounds like it could be a stuck kit....

Peg

 

[Flashy]

That depends on the breed, the smaller the breed the less kits (kittens, baby rabbits).

Do you know what breed she is? Sorry if you have said elsewhere.

Also, as it is her first litter she may not totally understand what todo, and also her birth canal won't be very big, so you almost need toexpect that the full lot won't survive. Almost certainly the first onemight be dead, and she may not quite understand how to look after theothers, which is why you need to be onhand incase she has one out ofthe nest, or something.

 

[Heather-M]

Hi,

Theres nothing there :?sometimes my other does do it aswell.

Do you know like when they growl? its sorta like that but its like lower pitched.

Heather

 

[Heather-M]

I will be doing a check to make sure she is okthrough-out the night ( I was going to bring her indoors in her hutchbut i would guess this will just stress her out )

And she is a lop crossed with a dwarf.

Heather

 

[binkies]

Just throwing this out there just in case."Something I will be sure to prevent in the future" You mightwant to be doing that now. Because she can get pregnant immediatelyafter giving birth. I would hate for him to escape again at this point.

 

[Flashy]

Any news?