Hopefully having baby bunnies soon-wish me luck!

[warmfuzzies]

My doe is due on Thursday, so I went out today and cleaned her hutch and gave her new straw.

The first thing I noticed was her food was not gone from yesterday. She always finishes her food. She has been pulling hair, and as I pulled the old straw out, she kept trying to put it back in the nest box!

SOOOOO wish me luck, maybe I can get this thing right this time! This is the doe I thought had aborted, but maybe not....

 

[ducks4you]

I had two litters with my New Zealand Whites when I was a kid.

Pulling fur indicates she's ready to have her babies!!

I also had a doe that THOUGHT she was pregnant and did the same, but you'll know shortly. Enjoy your bunnies!!

 

[animalgirl2010]

Good luck! I have a lionhead doe due on thursday too. This is her second litter and I cant wait to see how many we have this time.

 

[Rex Mom]

Not eating is a good sign... means the does body is in nesting/kindling mode! Has she also been gathering hay obsessively? Love that when they pick up hay to the point it's spilling out of her mouth. All bug eyed like there's an emergency about to happen...LOL. Do you use shavings in the nest box too? That helps with the digging instinct... just put her fur that she's pulled back in the nest box. Love it when you find a litter in the box... always like Christmas... never know what gift you'll find.
Best of luck!

 

[kycrawler]

like the others said not eating and pulling fur your about ready , we have 40 meat does and right now have 19 new litters only 1 doe lost any babies and thats because she had them out of the box on the wire 6 of the 9 died of cold before i found them the other 3 are ok now that i moved them to the nest box , i havent counted all of the litters but most of them are 6-11 kits , i use pine shaving in the next boxes and give them all the hay they want when they start pulling fur or 2 days before they are due , after the babies are born dont touch them just pull a little fur back to make sure there are no dead ones in there , check them this way for 2 weeks then you can clean the nest box and move the babies around I have lost alot less babies doing it that way than any other , good luck

 

[mom4morecritters]

I have Holland Lops and Lionheads. Most of my does pull their hair right before kindling, or while kindling! If I see hair in the nest box I expect to see babies already, or VERY soon! They also stop eating until after kindling. That is one tell-tale sign that their litter has arrived... they start eating again!

I haven't been able to follow the "do not touch the newborns" rule. The first day I check to see how many are in the nest box by pulling back the hair. Typically from there on I check the kits one to two times a day, handling them most of the time. My does are use to me handling their kits and don't throw much of a fuss about it. I am just too dang anxious to see what they look like, what color they are, and watch them change and grow!

Right now I have a litter of 6 Lionheads that were born on 4/10 (Easter bunnies!) and a litter of 6 Holland Lops born on 4/12. I have a HL doe who just had her second litter ALL ON THE WIRE! The first time I was able to save 3 of the 4 and foster them out. This time only one has survived and is being raised by a Lionhead who had her kits on 4/24. I re-bred my HL the day after she had her second litter. This is her 3rd and final chance at raising her own kits!

On 5/7 I have two Lionheads and one Holland Lop due with litters! I LOVE baby bunnies (but hubby said I need to get rid of some so an ad in the paper is needed!).

It's Thursday... did your doe have her kits yet, warmfuzzies???

 

[Chickie Mamma]

Sounds like everyone is ready! GOOD LUCK !!

 

[animalgirl2010]

My lionhead had hers today she had 7 healthy little babies.

 

[sandspoultry]

Congrats there animalgirl. Yours will be along soon warmfuzzies. Keep us updated.
I love new bunnies, that are just too cute.
The best age is about 3 weeks old when they start moving around real good and looking over the top of the nestbox.
Sharon

 

[RabbitMage]

The 'not touching babies' thing is mostly an old wives' tale. We handle all our kits pretty much daily from the very start. Good luck!