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BlueCamasRabbitry

BlueCamasRabbitry

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2007
Messages
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Location
Thurston County, Washington, USA
So Me and my sister were -planning- on not breeding Lily because we found out she's 2 1/2 around there. But, to our dismay it seems she's pregnant. This was obviously an accidental pregnancy, and luckily by a purebred MR buck, but we're still concerned. We're not -exactly- sure if she's pregnant but she's showing all the first signs: being nasty, getting larger, eating and drinking more, and she squeaks when you're not even at her cage.

So we've palpated her -countless- times, -countless- ways and by far we've felt two "kicks" or that's what we thought they were. So, we're guessing she's pregnant due next week. She's gotten bigger in the past 2 days! And this is the week that babies grow fast.

So we're debating: If i can sell my dirtbike thursday and get her to the vet and have her ultrasound will she be ok? Or is that too much stress?

Our vet is kinda rabbit savvy, we're his only bunny patients but he seems to know alot because we have taken our bunnies there before. I'm just concerned that he's never handled a pregnant rabbit before and that if she is preggo, he may squish the kits or hold her wrong and she'll hurt herself. I'm also afraid that he'll try some wacko way to do the ultrasound which will make me so flippin angry.

So i need help. The only other vet that's in our area "doesn't do bunnies because someone is allergic" why be a veteriarian then? Too bad! ugh!

Emily
 
Emily, I would set her up with a nest box and just wait and see. An ultrasound may stress her out alot and if she is pregnant, what will you do? You'll still set her up with a nest box and wait. Keep her calm, take good care of her and let things progress.

Give her a week and see if she kindles. If not, then I might look for reasons why she's gaining weight and getting cranky.

edited to add: Then I would make sure she stays away from the buck and spend the money to get her fixed. She's getting older now and shouldn't be having anymore babies.
 
Yeah I'm giving her a nest box this weekend to see what she does.

If she is pregnant I'm staying home from school and getting up early to make sure she's ok. But we will sell the kits and just hope that everything is ok.

Yes she will be staying away from the boys. I'm worried about fixing my does because of the doctors but there is someone who fixes kitties for $60 and can also do bunnies. One place scared the frick out of me by saying there's a 50-50 chance , I was like no thank you then!
 
If the vet only gives a 50-50 chance on a spay, he can't be a very good vet! Best stay away from him.

If you are not sure when she is due, and she's getting that big, I might not wait until this weekend to give her a box.
 
I would stop increasing the doe's feed until after she kindles. If she has only

a couple of babies then she could end up with fetal giants if you feed her too

much. My pregnant MR does only get a 1/2 a cup of pellets a day during their

pregnancy andfor couple of days afterward and then I slowly start increasing

their feed until by the time the kits open their eyes they are on unlimited feed.

give her plenty of hay though.

Good Luck

Roger
 
Ok so Lily's mammary glands are soft and squishy and kind of lumpy. I read somewhere that this means there getting ready for milk right?

Now I'm starting to get SO worried that she won't feed them (if she is pregnant) and I have puppy milk but from previous litter experiences the babies don't seem to like it. It's not Esbilac puppy milk, because when we went to get Esbilac we couldn't find any. I'm going to Walmart today and I saw Esbilac there once, so I am going to get a small container of it, just in case.

I just hope she isn't pregnant! If she is, i'm glad for her and all but I just want a safe delivery. I'm starting to get stressed out and I keep having horrible dreams about this. It's not good for her because then she'll sense my stress and just freak.

I was reading today about hand-feeding babies and I found some methods to bring the milk down into the doe's glands if she wont feed and then you flip her on her back and latch the kits on to her teats.

So right now I'm searching for more information on older does w/litters. Please, everyone just pray for Lily. Me and my sister will be there with her the whole time and we'll have $500 (from selling our dirtbikes hopefully this Friday) to spend on her if she MUST go to the hospital.

Anyways, just thought I'd update, ask some questions. The question in bold at the very top I'd like some answers because I never felt the mammary glands on my other does when they were pregnant/nursing, stupid me!

Emily
 
Her mammary gland should normally be soft... I'm not sure what you mean by lumps. Once the milk comes in the glands get firmer, but not hard (unless there is a problem).

Emily, Stay calm, don't panic. She should do fine. If you go for a milk replacement, I use a Kitten formula. But don't be in a rush to use it. Give the doe a day for her milk to come in....

Most does kindle just fine, all by themselves. Have patience and just make sure everything is set up for her. A nice clean nest box, plenty of dry, clean straw and hay, a warm dry place to kindle and some peace and quiet.
 
Well her mammary glands are soft and squishy. No lumps. I read that somewhere.

I'm trying to stay super calm. omg. I'm just so nervous i don't want to lose her at all. She's my doll and my nephew's fav bunny. He'll be crushed if she doesn't make it. He doesn't even know and he's going to be here in 2 weeks.

do you think her pelvic bones are too far shut to deliver without any problems? I read that 4 year olds who've never delivered have that problem because their pelvic bones are closed up and all.


 
Emily, She's only 2... not 4... stay calm. (Has she ever had a litter before? I think you told me, but I couldn't find it...)

Readingup on a subject is a wonderful thing so you know what to expect and are informed INCASE something goes wrong... that doesn't mean that something will always go wrong.

You are prepared, just in case. Keep her comfortable and relaxed. That means you have to stay calm and relaxed around her. There is almost nothing you can do at this point except wait. (We all get nervous for our bunnies at times like this! But you have to be calm around her.) Your getting nervous and worried won't help her in any way and will only make you tired and nervous... and then you won't be much help to her.

Just think how surprised your nephew will be to see babies... take deep breaths and stay calm.
 
Alright I'm trying to stay calm. Since I'm at school it's calming me down because I'm not constantly going out to see her.

So her pelvic should be fine? Yes I'm doing as much research about this as I can. I'm at school so I can't really do alot. But I am comptuter class.


 
Ok I'm home now.

Lily seems to be doing good. I tried not to stress her out; she was being good, but being that nasty self again, squealing and grunting. Her belly looks bigger than yesterday as the kits must be getting bigger and bigger. I'm thinking she must be due sometime next week because she doesn't do anything with all the hay. She just lies in it. Tomorrow or Friday we're moving her to a large brood cage and putting a nestbox in on Friday or Saturday. I don't want to put it in too early as she may urinate in it. I'm hoping she'll build the nest, and if not I'll build it for her. We have a tub of fur from when the rabbits shed in the summer.

Do you think that fur from other rabbits will be ok over the kits? It's fur from bucks and does, but they all have no mites, no lice, no fleas and it wasn't taken near their bottoms. It's sat in a tub for pretty much the past few months and we add fur here and again. But it's also the winter months, so i'm definitaly going to make sure the nestbox is well insulated.
 
Before you build a nest for her, let her do it herself. Some does don't pull a strand of fur until the last baby is born... some start a full week before they are due. The important thing is that she doesn't kindle on the floor. If you need the other fur to protect the babies, you can use it. But I prefer to let the doe do it, and only suppliment if I have to.

I'd put the nest box in ASAP, since you don't know exactly when she is due. I wouldn't wait til I see signs of her in labor or pulling fur. She has to know the box is there and a safe, warm place to kindle. Do not put in the corner she uses to deficate. Most does will not pee in the box (as long as it isn't in their "favorite" corner). (And I'd take the chance that I have to clean out the box in the morning rather than the chance that I'd lose the babies.) Most does won't give you much advance notice that she going to deliver. It'll be over in 10 minutes, and if you're not ready, she'll leave them on the floor and they can die quickly.


 
Alright. Yeah I'm hoping she will not need any help or fur but i'll make sure there's enough fur/hay to keep the babies warm in this cold weather.

Alright I'll put the box in tomorrow when she goes into the big cage and see what she does.

Emily
 
BlueGiants: Even though this was an accidental litter, if she does good with this litter(i.e: delivery, feeding, caring) do you think it'd be ok to breed her again sometime next spring? Or would it be a good idea not to? Because she'd be used to it and all.

We're breeding our Polish and Netherland Dwarf does next spring.
 
Blue Giants has been doing an awesome job of giving you advice....I agree with her about putting the nestbox in ASAP. I'd rather have to take it out and clean it again than lose the kits on the floor.

As far as rebreeding this doe - I'd wait to see what her offspring are like before considering that. I haven't gone to your website if you have one - so if I'm speaking out of turn - I apologize....but I would want to wait and see if she produces high enough quality kits to make it worth breeding her again. I have many many does - but I have found that only a few of them give me kits that make them worth breeding...then again, I'm trying for show quality lionheads or at least brood quality lionheads.

Do keep us updated - if you can see/feel the kits them I'm betting she has enough of them in there that it will be an easier birth. I've always been told that the more kits - the smaller they will be and the easier the birth will be for the mom.

Good luck! I'm gonna step back out of here because Blue Giants has been doing such an awesome job of helping you....

Peg
 
BlueSkyAcresRabbitry wrote:
BlueGiants: Even though this was an accidental litter, if she does good with this litter (i.e: delivery, feeding, caring) do you think it'd be ok to breed her again sometime next spring? Or would it be a good idea not to? Because she'd be used to it and all.

We're breeding our Polish and Netherland Dwarf does next spring.
Click to expand...
Don't be in a hurry to make the decision to re-breed her. Wait and see what happens. She will be almost 3 by the spring and that's getting older for a breeding doe. More chances for complications and problems. You already said you and your nephew would be very upset if anything happened to her. Why take a chance. Might be a good time to have her spayed and keep her as a pet. If a bunny is that special, why take chances. (Look how upset and worried you are now... imagine how bad you'll feel if something happens with a planned breeding.)

Good idea to move her to the bigger cage and give her the nestbox tonight. Keep us informed with how she is doing.
 
Ok thanks TinysMom.

Alright last nite after I got home from shopping she seemed to be doing ok. She's going to the bigger cage today and I'll put the nestbox in and see what she does. A long with a lot of hay. I usually always place hay in the nestbox before the does start nesting to let them know that's where they're supposed to deliver.

As for her rebreeding, I know the dad is of great brood quality and that's the only reason we got him for, besides showing. He's actually up for stud right now to any MR girls, but we probably won't get anything until Spring.

Yes, Tinysmom I do actually have a website: http://www.freewebs.com/blueskyacresrabbitry/

And on the herds page you can see Lily. It says on there she's 3 years old but she's not. I haven't updated that in a while and the last time I did I forgot to fix that.

This morning before school (when I went to check on her and feed everyone) she seemed to be doing ok. She wasn't as pi**y, so I def. will put the nestbox in her cage this afternoon. Her belly looked much different also; it had ripples in her fur, not her belly but in her fur. I guess she just has extra fur near her belly?

Emily


 
I'm still in school so haven't checked on her. I hope she's doing ok.

My sister told me she might know when Lily could have gotten pregnant ( on Nov 19th)while the rabbitswere in the exercise pens.Apparently my sistersaw Bruce inwith Lilyand she removed him immediatley. But she never told me because she was afraid I'd get mad at her. I'mjust angry she didn't tell mewhen it happened.

So i calculated and it seems she could be due sometime next week.

I'm wondering should I still put the nestbox in tonite? Or this weekend? I think putting it in on Sunday or is a good idea. But i need your opnions.

Edited to makethis shorter. It was super long.

Emily








 
Sounds like if she is pregnant and they were together on the 19thshe is due anytime from 17th to the 21st, but most likely the 20th. That's a Friday which means if necessary you should be able to get a vet if necessary (always a useful thing to know).

It's a shame your sister wasn't responsible enough to tell you as soon as it happened.

Keep us updated :) I hope everything is ok.
 
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