Rabbit Help, Prego Rabbit, pulled hair on day 31, no babies on day 34

[Jenlyn9483]

OK I got an adult Female New Zealand Doe a couple months ago. I was told she was bred and which day that occurred so I knew the due date. Well I gave her a nest box a few days before due date and nothing ever happend. No hair pulling, nest making, hormones, nothing. So I waited 7 days then bred her with my NZ buck. Immediately he bred her when i put her in his pen but I left her in there for 24 hours anyway just to be sure. Well she was due this time on Mother's Day. May 10th. On may 9th I put a nest box with hay in her pen again. On day 31 (may 11th) She started pulling hair. On day 32 She pulled alot more hair and had a good nest going on. Well today is day 34 and still no babies. I have not seen her in the nest and for the past couple days she has become aggressive. She has never acted that way before. Each morning since the 10th I have checked the box periodically and no babies. How long should I wait til I take the box out? I have never had a rabbit pull hair and make nest but no babies. Any body got any advice?

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

She may have had the babies...but decided to eat them. It's a problem with first time mothers (in rabbits!!!).

 

[txchickie]

That was my first thought........she ate them

 

[RabbitMage]

It could have been a false pregnancy, she may have reabsorbed, aborted, or eaten then as other poster suggested.

Did you ever palpate her? You can try now-if there are babies in there it should be obvious. I'd give her a few more days and then try rebreeding her again.

 

[Jenlyn9483]

umm what is palpate? Not sure about that one. I have never had this problem before. In the past my does always took and always delivered a full litter and took care of all of them.

 

[aidenbaby]

Palpate is feeling their tummy. Gentle pressure is usually applied for better clarification. You'll be trying to feel for the babies (if they are there). I don't know if you've had a baby before but my midwives palpated my tummy to make sure my kids were in the right position.

 

[Jenlyn9483]

LOL OK then thats what I thought you meant, I have a three yr old so those days are not that distant. The only problem is since she started the hair pulling she wants to attack me every time I open the cage. I think im just going to give her a few more days and see what happens.

 

[amysue2012]

My NZ usually go 32-34 days it all depends on the breed. The larger the breed the more time it usually takes. If this is her first litter she may just be having a difficult time. Id give her a few more days.

 

[Sachasmom]

Can you check under the cage (or in the box) for any signs of delivery? Blood or placentas or anything...

Normally if its a false pregnancy they'll pull fur at about two weeks in, its "possible" shes reabsorbing them, but at that late date, I'd suspect an aborted litter rather than absorbtion.

Which of course, does not solve the "where are the babies" problem. I have on occasion had this happen, I just figure they had one dead one and cleaned up good, or something got in the box and took off with the litter! I doubt most of my rabbits would let a snake or rat in the cage to mess with their litters though, and probably not yours either if she's acting aggresive!

If tomorrow is day 35, I'd go ahead and rebreed her, leave the box in for another day or so though. Rebreeding will stimulate her and help her pass anything that may be stuck (way way cheaper solution that a vet visit, xray and shots of Oxy!) Plus, if you left her in with the buck for 24 hours, you really need to count from that second day, and don't forget, sperm is viable for more than 24 hours! I'd hate to have you pull the box and have kits on the wire the next day!

 

[sshannon024]

I use to raise rabbits and had this same problem once. When I bought her she had already been breed, and I knew her due date. I even palpated her when I got her to make sure. Well her due date came and no babies. I waited an extra 3 days and still no babies. So being new to rabbits I took her to the vet, and he checked her and told me she had reabsorbed them and not to worry it was nothing that uncommon. So I rebreed her and waited, well I thought the same thing was happening all over again because there were no babies on her due date, I palpated her and felt them though. Thats when another breeder told me to get some raspberry tea bags from the store, put the tea in a mug pour the hot water over it and let the bag seep for 5-10 minutes. Then take the tea from the mug and mix it with 12-16 ozs of cold water, add 1 tablespoon of sugar, and put it in her water bottle. Also was told to feed her fresh parsley at the same time(guess its suppose to help induce labor). Well the next evening she went into labor had 6, the first one out had died, the other 5 were happy and healthy. Im assuming she didn't go into labor like she was suppose to because the 1st one was dead, and therefore no stimulation to make her have it.

You can try these things and see if it helps her any, it can't hurt her its all natural foods.