# Are My Does Pregnant?



## Hobby Farm (Sep 11, 2009)

Are there any good indicators that a doe is pregnant other than her getting larger?  I breed mine last week, and the suspense of knowing is driving me nuts.


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## lilhill (Sep 11, 2009)

Sorry, posted and neglected to see "rabbits."  I'm not a rabbit person, so hopefully somebody on here can help you there.


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## trestlecreek (Sep 11, 2009)

Not really! Some people palpitate and have good luck.
With it just being 30 days, I hold my breath and assume it.....


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## Hobby Farm (Sep 11, 2009)

trestlecreek said:
			
		

> Not really! Some people palpitate and have good luck.
> With it just being 30 days, I hold my breath and assume it.....


I'm not a very patient person.  21 days for chicken eggs seems like an eternity sometimes, so 30 days will seem like an eternity and a quarter. lol

What does palpitate mean?  Can you usually judge by their belly size in a few weeks if they are expecting?


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## ()relics (Sep 13, 2009)

I would assume that your doe is expecting if you saw her and a buck "do the deed"...I would treat her as if she IS pregnant...Put the nest box in on the day you would usually...if the expected kindling date comes and goes with no kits..set up to breed her again and count it as a miss...I doubt you will be able to see her getting bigger durring her gestation period....The only way I know for sure any of mine are ever pregnant is they get grouchy and eat less a day or two before they kindle...
as far as palpating.  It means you feel the does belly after 14 days after conception, the kits feel like very small marbles...I think that this process stress' the doe too much and stopped doing it several years ago; besides I was never sure anyway about what I felt....I use the "hands off and wait" method....JMO


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## trestlecreek (Sep 13, 2009)

Yes, you feel for "marbles" during different time periods through the pregnancy.
I'm not patient either, but after trying it a few times,  I found it's not worth the stress. The rabbit hates it and you really can't tell much.
My son puts the doe into the "momma cage" at around 25 days and when he does this, he feels as he carries and makes his prediction, but that is as far as we go with that.


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## miss_thenorth (Sep 13, 2009)

I don't palpate either.  I just make sure the buck "falls off " twice, and then I assume she is pregnant.

What's really helpful though is to _write down _the day they do the deed (that which I forgot to do last  time I bread my one doe--so my nest box is going up earlyish)


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## Hobby Farm (Oct 7, 2009)

Well, I don't think they are pregnant.  Today is day 30.  I put the nesting boxes in Monday, and they haven't done anything in them except eat the hay.   I'm very dissappointed.  It feels like having a clutch of eggs not hatch.  Seeing as it is October and I am in Ohio, it's probably not a good idea to try and breed them again right now.  I guess I will have to wait until it gets closer to Spring.  It seems odd that neither one of the two was succesful.  I would have thought at least one of them would have had babies. :dunno


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## ()relics (Oct 7, 2009)

Oh well...soon you will be a professional...Now you know what you have to do?  Change your signature line from breeding pair to "just friend" pair....Sorry


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## Hobby Farm (Oct 7, 2009)

()relics said:
			
		

> Oh well...soon you will be a professional...Now you know what you have to do?  Change your signature line from breeding pair to "just friend" pair....Sorry


LOL.  That would be a much more accurate statement at this point.


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## Goatzilla (Oct 13, 2009)

I palpate all of my does at 12 to 14 days. If done gently and properly, it stresses the does very little, if at all.  I have raised rabbits both for meat production and for show. If you can tell for certain that a doe is pregnant at 14 days, you save a lot of valuable time, and can re-breed rather than wait out the whole 31 days. If you want maximum, efficient production out of your rabbits, palpating is a must.

It requires patience and practice, but once you know what and where to look for, and find the "marbles" for the first time, you will be amazed.

I place the doe in front of me, facing directly toward me, and reach my hand under her between her forelegs, then I gently reach up and back gently squeezing my thumb and index and middle fingertips together. You have to almost visualize what you are feeling, and sort of feel up and above the internal organs. The little round fetuses are arranged in almost a straight line, toward the top of the stomach area, and just below the underside of the spine. If the doe tightens up her stomach muscles, back off a little, and wait for her to relax and try again. It takes some getting used to and practice, but once you "get it" you will be able to do it with great accuracy every time.

Hope this helps someone. It's pretty hard to describe the tecnique in written words, and far easier to demonstrate to someone with a pregnant doe.


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## popcornchicken (Oct 19, 2009)

Another way we were told,,,

Take your doe back to the buck 4-5 days after "the deed" was done and if she doesn't have anything to do with him, you can pretty much bet "the deed" was indeed done. . But other than feeling for the "marbles" I don't know of anything else.  Better luck next time


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## JoieDeViveRabbitry (Nov 5, 2009)

Goatzilla this is a GREAT description of Palpating, probably the best I've ever read, about the placement of fetues in a line, and being just below the underside of the spine, etc. You can see it the way you describe it and many people have tried, and failed, to do that with words online and in books.

 I like bringing my doe back to my buck 12 hours after the deed and if she tries to kill him, then she's usually pregnant. I always love watching the look of shock on the first time sires who the day before had an amerous mate who was "easy" turn into Cujo! Cracks me up!

 Also lots of people weigh their does to determine pregnancy. If you weigh the day of breeding and again in three weeks, their will be an increase in weight if the doe is pregnant. Moreso with a larger litter.


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