New Zealand white about to give birth?

[handyman42]

Good way to ensure she's pregnant is wait a week or 2 after you put her in with the buck the first time and put her in with him again and if she growls and refuses to be bred again then she's bred if she lets him do his thing then she probably wasn't bred the first time.

 

[Kelsykin]

Not always. Some does will even when already pregnant lift for a male.

Go to Youtube and search for rabbit palpitation videos. We usually feel around at day 10 after breeding. Not hard, but if you know what the doe feels like when she is not bred you will recognize the difference in the feeling when she is pregnant.

 

[handyman42]

Will agree the only tale-tell sign that she is bred. Just never was great at it. :/

 

[Kelsykin]

Not great at feeling the babies. I did spend a month feeling my girls bellies so I could feel any changes. Our FG/NZ cross doe we can not tell if she is. We just wait it out with her. She will be getting a round with our NZB buck. We are going to breed three of our girls next week. Hoping for new kits come Christmas.

 

[Domd28]

OK, so we were mistaken, wasn't a false pregnancy. She finally had the babies. It has only been a few hours or so, but so far so good. I hope the cold front that is moving in don't reek havoc on the new born. We are almost as excited as I was when our son was born. Thank you for all the insight. I'll keep everyone updated through their progression.

 

[Domd28]

On another note, our other doe is showing signs of birthing tonight. Plenty of straw for her to build with. She has tore out a bunch of her fur. I appreciate all the helpful ideas y'all have posted.

 

[Kelsykin]

I hope all goes well for you. We had one give birth last week the other two we got nothing. Once the girls are all in the garage the females with out litters and of breeding age will be bred.

 

[OrpObsessed]

My experience with kindling does is the less you do the better. As long as you've gotten the proper nesting material and conditions (I'd say the heat lamp is a good idea since it's so cold). With my does the less I interacted with them during the kindling process and the first couple of weeks after birth the better they do. Just peek in and make sure feed and water are good and then leave. Only other thing I did was check for dead kits about every 3-5 days or so just so you don't have one laying in there for too long. 

It all boils down to stress. You don't want to stress mama out or she'll be more likely to have kits die at birth or not care for them properly afterwards. So the least human, and other animal, interactions as possible is what I say. Let nature take it's course.

X2!

Writing down the date is so important, I know you already know this but i once made the mistake of thinking a doe was preggo, but when she didn't kindle on day 31, I bred her again that day, and then she ended up losing all her kits and she died herself on day 32. I was used to all my rabbits kindling on day 31, it was a new buck I had used, and I assumed he wasnt mature enough yet. Wrong! Terrible ordeal, HUGE lesson learned! When I breed, I put the doe in with the buck all day, then put her back in her cage at night. The less I interfere or leave my scent in her cage the better. I've had a doe reject her kits cause I kept meddling with her cage. She just straight up rejected them, they left their fluff ball to seek her out, then were stranded and got cold and died. What I shouldnt have done was move her and them the day after kindling! Big mistake! Lesson learned! Lol just make her feel like she has loads of privacy and her cage will always be there with her own scent to protect her and her little ones. Dogs barking or sniffing around the cage stress mine out too. Sorry for rambling, hope This helps !

 

[Domd28]

The first litter has been 3 days, I have done as mentioned and only check food and unfreeze the water. But I try and be quick as possible. I have ordered my son and his friends to steer clear of the cages with the mothers. Is the barking dog important? Travis, our lab mix comes out every morning and goes to check on the rabbits and chickens, he barks about every morning. Near and far from the cages. Since its been very cold I only open the cage and look for a wiggle. I don't stick my hands where they don't belong.
As far as dates noting, next time I put the buck with her I will for sure note it on the calendar, along with a future date to which a nest box will be added.

 

[handyman42]

Alot of people will debate on the barking dog deal. I'd say if they're used to it and it does it every morning then it probably won't bother them very much. Rabbits are creatures of consistency. They like everything to happen the same way, every day forever. Sometimes that's not possible such as changing seasons and such. But as long as you stay as humanly possible to keeping everything as consistent as you can they do fine. Congrats on the little ones. I'm currently "out of the rabbit business" but remember how it feels to have a fresh litter in the nest box. Have fun.