# Does can't seem to have litters.



## GD91 (Mar 31, 2014)

I'm having serious issues with my rabbits. I have a very young buck (approaching 6 months) whom I've been giving the benefit of the doubt. 

The rabbits do seem to be mating successfully, the buck thrusts hard & squeaks / squeals & falls off the does who lift properly & are more than willing. 2 does are a year & 4 months old, the other doe is only 4 months (same age as the buck)& not ready yet really. 

Afterwards both main (older) does will reject mating again & then build nests, but produce nothing. Both of the older does seem frustrated, one doe is constantly building nests now (but not lining it with fur). Both does are currently rejecting the buck & may be pregnant. I've tried a number of methods. 

Provided supplemental lighting. 

Moved all the does & the buck into the same pen for a few days. 

Left the does in hutches, separated from each other. 

Given all the rabbits the run of a shed with supplemental lighting, enrichment etc. 

Nothing has worked. They are now on their 3rd "pregnancy" & I'm not expecting anything. They just build nests around the time of birth & produce nothing. This has been going on for 4 months. 

Is it likely the bucks fault? The matings were definitely successful.... 

Please advise me.


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## SA Farm (Mar 31, 2014)

Sounds like he may be shooting blanks  I would get a new buck since it's not just one doe that is having issues, but all of them, which implies to me that it is the bucks fault. 
If you can get a proven buck, that would be the best option in my opinion


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## GD91 (Mar 31, 2014)

I'ts also a possibility the 2 girls are too fat  nut I guess I'd better get another buck. Its impossible to get a "proven" buck where I live because nobody breeds & eats rabbit except me 
I'll just have to see if I can offer a good home to a mature buck


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## GD91 (Apr 1, 2014)

OK, So I inspected both does today & they both have very heavy with dirty bums, which tells me they are too overweight to clean themselves properly. They are large mutts & look like furry balls on 4 feet.

The does are in hutches currently & we have always been freefeeding scraps & mixer.

Do I put them on a diet of hay with a small bit of mixer?

Will this harm them if they are pregnant?

Sorry, I'm just concerned....

I thought maybe they were a bit fat, but I never realized how heavy they had got  we don't have scales to weigh them here so they are weighed by hand. Not good.

How can I judge when they are at the right weight?

Maybe the poor buck is in the clear after all, he's the right weight & so is the other doe we haven't bred.


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## SA Farm (Apr 1, 2014)

Yes, hay and a small bit of mixer. Just free-feed the hay and even if they are preggers, they will be fine. You can usually tell their condition just by feeling them rather than weighing them, if that would be easier for you.
The main areas I check are ribs and haunches. If I can't feel the bones, they're too fat, if there's only a bit of meat on the bone, they're too thin.
If you have a safe area, you could also let the does out for a bit of time each day to exercise


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## GD91 (Apr 1, 2014)

Hmmm. Right, well, I've just been out & I can feel the ribs & haunches with a thin layer of fat over them. 

Its their stomachs, they both look & feel very heavily bloated, literally like giant furry balls on feet like I wrote.  The white doe is rounder than the brown doe & spending a lot of time lying stretched out with a huge belly. Hopefully she's just heavily pregnant  They are still acting "off" being more vocal & grumpy since they were last bred. At a guess I'd say that was 3 weeks to a month ago when they were in the shed with lighting in late feb - early march. I bred them both to the buck within 2 days of each other.

They were both given to me, never bred before, by a lady who's daughter couldn't handle them anymore because they grew too big. 

I wish I had someone experienced nearby  

I moved the hutches 2 days ago to give them both more direct sun in the mornings & evenings. They both have shady bed boxes. One doe has the run of a double hutch & the other doe is in the largest single which is 5 X 3 ft. We have a temperate climate. I'm hoping it may trigger some spring hormones.


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## SA Farm (Apr 1, 2014)

for you! My does wouldn't breed this winter - too harsh, so my first litter of the year wasn't until about a week ago! 
Usually rabbits carry weight more evenly dispersed over their bones. Are their big tummies new since their last breeding or have they been butterballs for a while now?

My does definitely tend to stretch out more when they're pregnant and I have had a few that are also more vocal when pregnant, but you've also had issues with these ladies having false pregnancies, so they could be putting the weight on because their hormones tell them they're eating for babies when they haven't been.


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## GD91 (Apr 1, 2014)

Congratulations on your new litter! 

We are further south in the North West UK. The UK was fairly mild here & the rabbits didn't seem to mind. I see your in Canada. 

I've tried palpitating the white doe, I could feel a line of lumps along her abdomen to the right hand side, are they what I'm looking for? They didn't feel that tiny, I expect if she is expecting it won't be long. The lumps were firm & squishy & seemed to be in a row.

Both does are very vocal & grunting & whining a lot. Also, I keep getting on the receiving end of sharp nudges & nips.


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## GD91 (Apr 1, 2014)

Also, whilst discussing the does, I'm very concerned about the behavior from one of the large does. Even when she is not pregnant, she is frequently stamping & running away. When cornered she becomes aggressive, growls & lashes out. I can't handle her without protection from a thick coat & gloves. I can pet her, but she's on edge & huddled at the back of the hutch in a corner.

When I picked her up the other day (scruff & bum) She wet herself. It was just a stream of urine that didn't stop. I'm wondering if she was mishandled by the child that owned her. 

She is also very destructive of her pens. She has attacked a shed door before now, shoving against it like a dog would & biting it. We were quite shocked. She is always given lots of space. At that time she had a whole shed to herself.


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## SA Farm (Apr 1, 2014)

Yes, when palpating you should feel something that resembles grapes. Sounds like you may be expecting this time around!


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## SA Farm (Apr 1, 2014)

That's not good. I would probably cull her as soon as she's done raising her litter (if she is indeed preggers )
I won't keep aggressive animals. I might consider keeping a doe or two from her if I were you, but you still have the potential of them inheriting her nasty disposition if it's a genetic problem rather than mistreatment. 
I've had some does turn nasty when they reach maturity. They never last long around here


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## GD91 (Apr 1, 2014)

I'd considered culling her. The only reason I haven't is I only have 2 large does at the moment. One of the does (the white) is nice, the brown one is the problem doe. 

I was thinking about waiting until I could keep a doe or 2 back from the white doe & _then_ cull the brown doe. I wasn't planning on keeping any of her kits because of her issues.


I'm glad you think there's hope for kits, I was surprised, but unsure when I palpitated her. I think she is pregnant, the brown doe is not. I palpitated both, the brown doe may be having a false pregnancy again  She isn't bloated, just grumpy, but then she always is. 

How many rabbits do you have?


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## SA Farm (Apr 1, 2014)

Sounds good  I kept a somewhat aggressive doe when I started out due to lack of options, so I hear you 
Right now I have 3 bucks and 8 does with a litter of 9 on the ground and should have 3 pregnant right now


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## GD91 (Apr 2, 2014)

I have one buck, but he's a dwarf lop  I plan to get a bigger buck. I also have another doe which is his sister & another dwarf lop. Both small & both very sweet with wonderful temperments, but not really what I wanted.

Then I have the 2 big mutt does which are pretty big, with good dewlaps. I have no idea whether they are sisters or were just picked up together as kits.

I was going to go the pet shop & select the largest buns, but its £30 a rabbit & thats just for small ones  Big NZ & Californian whites are £60 - £80 a rabbit which I'm assuming is to stop anyone buying them for meat purposes which while perfectly legal here, is frowned upon heavily. In your country thats 80 - 100$ per rabbit.
How much did you pay for meat rabbits?


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## SA Farm (Apr 2, 2014)

Here the price usually depends on the age. I can buy babies for around $10 and adult proven breeders for anything from $25-50 depending on the gender and age. Males are usually on the lower end.
Where I live, meat rabbits are very acceptable and desired. I get the occasional nasty email when selling, but that's all they can do to me 

There are also auction places around my area where you can buy rabbits for anything from $2 - $70 depending on the day and the people there!


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## VickieB (Apr 6, 2014)

Looking forward to seeing if they kindle...


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## GD91 (Apr 13, 2014)

We've got babies!

One doe sadly ate her own litter (didn't even know she was pregnant!) then had a stroke 2 days ago & I had to cull her because she couldn't stand, eat / drink on her own etc(the little lop eared doe that was the bucks sister). 
What may have caused this?

But today I found a nest in one of the pens built by my white doe!

She looked very pleased with herself & I counted at least 2 babies after I removed her. I didn't touch the nest directly, just carefully peeled some fur back for a peek with a small stick, then covered them back over. The pen looked like a rabbit had exploded & she had built her nest in a corner & most of the fluff was there & the kits were well protected.

Very pleased with her, she's done perfectly.

Mama's out in the run now enjoying the good weather 

Now, we are just waiting on our other doe.


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## luvmypets (Apr 13, 2014)

Sorry for your loss, I had a hen break an egg perfectly developing. Good Doe.


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## GD91 (Apr 13, 2014)

Ok, recount,  there are at least 6 kits & they are big babies!

She's been being a typical doe ignoring them now they are here  Any health issues I should look out for?

I checked her vent earlier & she was spotting blood, I'm going to  check again tomorrow & see if it stops. The previous doe who ate her kits also spotted blood for nearly 48 hours before she stopped, so I'm not too worried at the moment.  Apart from the small matter of that doe died of course  I'll be watching this doe


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## luvmypets (Apr 13, 2014)

Yay babies


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## GD91 (Apr 14, 2014)

Well I woke up today &.....

The other rabbits built a nest & had kits to. We have 7 babies in each nest, a total of 14! 

Even DH couldn't resist an excited peek into the shed & he's normally a very reserved kind of guy!

Luvmypets - Did your hen have any other eggs or was it just the one?
I'm sorry that she broke it  you must have been disappointed, I know I would have been.


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## luvmypets (Apr 14, 2014)

Yes she had eight others and hatched out three


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## GD91 (Apr 14, 2014)

How sweet! Of course, it had to be a Silkie! I want some of those.

Is it true they are pretty much living incubators?  Think of all the eggs I could hatch!


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## luvmypets (Apr 15, 2014)

Yes I actually convinced her to go broody now her chicks are starting to cluck. Our other silkie accepted three duck eggs I gave her hopefully in a month we will have some peeps.


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