Help!! rabbit kindling trouble :(

[Celie]

How is your oe doing?

 

[iluvsedward]

Nothing has changed except that recently i took out some of the fur from the nest to see what she would do because she hasn't done anything to the nest in a while and it was getting messy, and today I noticed that she had pulled out more fur and put it in the nest, but still no babies. She has also been hungrier then usual... As for dates... I really need to write stuff down!!!! lets see... I put her with him sometime in July then separated them about 2 1/2 weeks later and she built her nest ABOUT 4 days after that.. and then I dont remember when I saw the blood...

 

[iluvsedward]

I didn't really know where to feel her but i didn't feel anything. I did feel something hardish up kinda under her rib cage but i think that was just organs.. but i could be wrong

 

[iFairyx]

When breeding rabbits you really don't need to leave the buck with the doe. It takes about 3 seconds for a rabbit to conceive,
so if you leave them together for about 30 minutes or even an hour it should be more than enough time. This is much easier if the female wants to mate (I had a doe who just laid straight down and let the buck do his thing once), so once you have seen the male on top a few times I would separate them as the deed is most likely done.

Also dates are really important, so if you mate them in the future I would write down the date they mated and the date they are expected (this is approximately 4 weeks after they have mated give or take a few days). This will let you know if there is a potential problem such as the doe not giving birth (if she is pregnant) or letting you know she has not conceived.
If she is used to being handled then you should be able to feel if she is pregnant at least a week before she gives birth (this can be done much earlier if you know what you are feeling for).

Next time you mate it might be worthwhile placing both the buck and the doe in a run (this takes away territory issues), if this can't be done then the doe should be put into the bucks hutch to mate.




If she hasn't had any babies yet I would say she is not pregnant and that you need to look at other reasons why she would be pulling fur.

Pulling out their fur can also be a sign of stress and/or boredom. Is the male now in a different hutch? If not this can be a source of stress (it can also be stressful if the buck is too near - even if he is in a different hutch. Other things such as loud noises, other animals etc can all be stress.

If she is bored then there is several things you can do, here's a couple of ideas
- Get the cardboard tube that is in the inside of a toilet roll and fill it with hay. You can also get hay balls, these are metal and can be hung from the hutch and filled with hay.
- Push a carrot through the bars of the hutch.
- Place the rabbit in a run for a couple of hours a day.
- Provide her with toys.
- Handle and interact with her more.

These are aimed at making her work for her food or entertaining her. If you can keep her occupied then she is less likely to find the time to pull fur.

Check her to make sure she doesn't have any fleas or mites, these can really irritate the rabbit (or indeed any animal they are on), sometimes there is nothing you can do to prevent them, but if she has them then you can get special shampoo to wash her in. It might be an idea to give her a bath anyway just in case her skin is irritated (normally you don't need to bath rabbits).

It can also be a sign that she is ready and wanting to mate, however I would try some of the other ideas before mating her again.

As I have mentioned it can also be a sign that she is experiencing a phantom pregnancy (this is where the female thinks she is pregnant when she isn't).

Hope this helps, if you need any advice then feel free to ask (rabbits are more my thing than chickens lol).
iFairy x

 

[Celie]

Rabbits do not go into "heat" like dogs or cats. The act of mating, causes the female's body to release eggs. When my buck mounts the doe, it triggers her to release eggs. These eggs can be released in time to combine with the sperm or not, so I mate them 2 moretimes, about a half hour to an hour apart. Also, I know if he did his job, when he clutches onto the female and rolls off her back. If not I don't think he did it right. Others with more experience can probably tell you more. I have just gotten my first rabits in Jan.2012 and have only 32 at present, but that is what I have experienced. I raise only white new zealands.

 

[Fly 2006]

What would the blood have been if she never got pregnant in the first place? Don't have any experience breeding rabbits but always want to learn new things

 

[Bunnylady]

What would the blood have been if she never got pregnant in the first place? Don't have any experience breeding rabbits but always want to learn new things

That would depend on how much blood. They don't lose a lot while kindling, but there would likely be some smears from when she ate the placentas. Killing and eating the babies would make a bigger mess. Does typically dig in the nestbox during the nest making process, if she broke a claw, that could make a mess, too.

 

[iluvsedward]

When breeding rabbits you really don't need to leave the buck with the doe. It takes about 3 seconds for a rabbit to conceive,
so if you leave them together for about 30 minutes or even an hour it should be more than enough time. This is much easier if the female wants to mate (I had a doe who just laid straight down and let the buck do his thing once), so once you have seen the male on top a few times I would separate them as the deed is most likely done.

Also dates are really important, so if you mate them in the future I would write down the date they mated and the date they are expected (this is approximately 4 weeks after they have mated give or take a few days). This will let you know if there is a potential problem such as the doe not giving birth (if she is pregnant) or letting you know she has not conceived.
If she is used to being handled then you should be able to feel if she is pregnant at least a week before she gives birth (this can be done much earlier if you know what you are feeling for).

Next time you mate it might be worthwhile placing both the buck and the doe in a run (this takes away territory issues), if this can't be done then the doe should be put into the bucks hutch to mate.




If she hasn't had any babies yet I would say she is not pregnant and that you need to look at other reasons why she would be pulling fur.

Pulling out their fur can also be a sign of stress and/or boredom. Is the male now in a different hutch? If not this can be a source of stress (it can also be stressful if the buck is too near - even if he is in a different hutch. Other things such as loud noises, other animals etc can all be stress.

If she is bored then there is several things you can do, here's a couple of ideas
- Get the cardboard tube that is in the inside of a toilet roll and fill it with hay. You can also get hay balls, these are metal and can be hung from the hutch and filled with hay.
- Push a carrot through the bars of the hutch.
- Place the rabbit in a run for a couple of hours a day.
- Provide her with toys.
- Handle and interact with her more.

These are aimed at making her work for her food or entertaining her. If you can keep her occupied then she is less likely to find the time to pull fur.

Check her to make sure she doesn't have any fleas or mites, these can really irritate the rabbit (or indeed any animal they are on), sometimes there is nothing you can do to prevent them, but if she has them then you can get special shampoo to wash her in. It might be an idea to give her a bath anyway just in case her skin is irritated (normally you don't need to bath rabbits).

It can also be a sign that she is ready and wanting to mate, however I would try some of the other ideas before mating her again.

As I have mentioned it can also be a sign that she is experiencing a phantom pregnancy (this is where the female thinks she is pregnant when she isn't).

Hope this helps, if you need any advice then feel free to ask (rabbits are more my thing than chickens lol).
iFairy x

I think she must have had a phantom pregnancy, she was definitely building a nest though. The blood must have been from a broken claw, that happened once when I first got her. I put her back with the buck a few days ago and I will take her out now. My buck doesn't do the falling off thing though, maybe he is being unsuccessful... He is about 1-2 years old I believe so I don't think his age is a prob...

 

[Celie]

A buck can be fertile as young as 7 months old, so unless he is shooting blanks, or too small to mount properly, that is probably not a case of age. Hot weather will make many rabbits temporarily sterile. I have never seen a buck not clutch the doe and fall over after mating, but I do not leave my rabbits alone, as mating is so fast, I stay close until they have mated and I take the doe out of the buck's cage. I repeat this twice more within the next couple of hours. I write Everything down, especially dates and which doe mated with which buck, # in litter, etc. Another way I can tell if a buck went sterile is if she accepted the buck but she did not have kits. If no babies 35 days after mating, I would re-mate her. If she accepts the buck this time, she wasn't pregnant to start with. If she refuses him, I give her another couple of days and try again. If you wait too long between litters, it can be hard to get her to mate. As far as noise, I raised my rabbits from very young with all the noise they might experience on our little farm, chickens, cats, dogs, ducks,geese,turkeys, people and a lot of trains passing 1/2 mile away, very often. They do not get spooked very easy that way. My dogs love to watch the little "Wascally Wabbit Baybays" and goes up to their cages often and stares. This doesn't bother the little mamas at all, because they were always, since we got mama at about 6 weeks old. It is normal to them having 2 labs stare at them and their babies. I think they understand the dogs are for their safety. The rabbits live in thier barn and the dogs live in the house, but patrol the property at night, by way of a large dogie door. Rabbits are nocturnal so they are up at night and during the day, the birds free range and the ducks eat any pellets the rabbits drop out of their feeders.I would try putting the doe into the bucks cage and Watch what happens. If she presents herself to him, she is not pregnant and will mate. If not, put her back into her own cage and try to figure out when 35 days will be, and see if she has any babies by then.

 

[iluvsedward]

im just so frustrated with these darn rabbits!! I thought breeding rabbits was supposed to be too easy! ughh im tired of trying, im just going to let nature do whatever and leave the doe with the buck. I went on a trip once and when i got back my other doe (which i got rid of) had had babies! i didnt even know the other rabbit (stil very young) was a boy and the boy didnt attack the babies or anything.. but that might have been becuause he was young. if she has kits i will move the buck out.
I just wish she would surprise me with some babies.