# Can I leave my buck with a pregnant doe?



## BunnyBoxHop

Okay, so I have my male and female rabbit together. They have *cough* made love. Lol. I've seen where if you see that your rabbit is pregnant to immediately separate the male from her, but can't I just leave them together until kindling time or no? 
I'm not all the way sure if she's pregnant, it's only been a few days. I'm assuming she is. It hasn't hit ten or twelve days, so I can't tell if she is quite yet. I was just wondering for if I do find out she is.


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## promiseacres

Very rarely will rabbits be "one happy family"  they are territorial and will kill, injure each other and or kits, even if they are theirs. The buck may not leave the doe alone and cause problems when he continues to breed her. 
Breeders have found that separate quarters are best for all involved. Some have been successful with colony raising but they've also had some pretty terrible tragedies too.  Sorry if you find me blunt but they are rabbits, not people and therefore we can't expect them to behave as a person would.


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## Tale of Tails Rabbitry

So they have been together for several days? Please assume she is pregnant and you are fortunate because most of my does get rather aggressive with the buck after breeding....whether they were pregnant or not.

I would NEVER leave a doe in with a buck until kindling. Even if you remove him as she is nesting, you will have one stressed out doe and stressed does may do things to their kits that you really don't want to see happen.

There are many very good reasons that experienced breeders advise removing the doe from the buck after breeding.


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## Bunnylady

I have put rabbits together in colony-type settings on many occasions. Sometimes, everything works swimmingly for weeks. Often, though, the buck continues to make advances, and the doe gets pretty darned tired of it. Whether she acts out against the buck or not, she is being hounded and harassed, and stress is never good for the pregnant female or her potential litter. If the two of them seem pretty cozy together, I suppose you could leave them together for a while, but if she's fussing, get him out. In any case, you will want him out well before the kits arrive.


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## BunnyBoxHop

promiseacres said:


> Very rarely will rabbits be "one happy family"  they are territorial and will kill, injure each other and or kits, even if they are theirs. The buck may not leave the doe alone and cause problems when he continues to breed her.
> Breeders have found that separate quarters are best for all involved. Some have been successful with colony raising but they've also had some pretty terrible tragedies too.  Sorry if you find me blunt but they are rabbits, not people and therefore we can't expect them to behave as a person would.


No, you're good! Okay, that is good to know, thank you. 



Tale of Tails Rabbitry said:


> So they have been together for several days? Please assume she is pregnant and you are fortunate because most of my does get rather aggressive with the buck after breeding....whether they were pregnant or not.
> 
> I would NEVER leave a doe in with a buck until kindling. Even if you remove him as she is nesting, you will have one stressed out doe and stressed does may do things to their kits that you really don't want to see happen.
> 
> There are many very good reasons that experienced breeders advise removing the doe from the buck after breeding.


Yes, after the first known breeding it has been around seven days. Thank you for the information.


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## BunnyBoxHop

Bunnylady said:


> I have put rabbits together in colony-type settings on many occasions. Sometimes, everything works swimmingly for weeks. Often, though, the buck continues to make advances, and the doe gets pretty darned tired of it. Whether she acts out against the buck or not, she is being hounded and harassed, and stress is never good for the pregnant female or her potential litter. If the two of them seem pretty cozy together, I suppose you could leave them together for a while, but if she's fussing, get him out. In any case, you will want him out well before the kits arrive.


Okay. Great to know! They are pretty cozy with each other and so far I've seen, she hasn't fussed at all, so I think I will keep a look out for any fussing and if I see ANY, I will take him out immediately. I don't think I'll let it go past a week though. Would that be okay?


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## Tale of Tails Rabbitry

As to finding out if she is pregnant, some palpitate the doe at around two weeks to feel for "marbles" or "grapes." I am pretty good at feeling things out of place with my rabbits, but I have yet to confirm pregnancy until the doe is about 7 to 10 days from her due date. 

At that time, I gently massage her sides and underside for about 30 seconds. Afterward, I place my hands gently but firmly against her in those areas without moving to feel for movement. I usually do this daily until I have felt movements a few times, because once I mistook what may have been a movement in the bowel because the doe ended up not being pregnant.


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## BunnyBoxHop

Tale of Tails Rabbitry said:


> As to finding out if she is pregnant, some palpitate the doe at around two weeks to feel for "marbles" or "grapes." I am pretty good at feeling things out of place with my rabbits, but I have yet to confirm pregnancy until the doe is about 7 to 10 days from her due date.
> 
> At that time, I gently massage her sides and underside for about 30 seconds. Afterward, I place my hands gently but firmly against her in those areas without moving to feel for movement. I usually do this daily until I have felt movements a few times, because once I mistook what may have been a movement in the bowel because the doe ended up not being pregnant.


Oh okay! Now, my rabbit is not very easily handled and I don't want to stress her out or scare her by putting my hand under her stomach. Do you know of a way to help her calm down or should she be fine?
Sorry for all the questions, I just want to make sure I'm doing this right and not going to harm her or kits.


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## Tale of Tails Rabbitry

BunnyBoxHop said:


> Okay. Great to know! They are pretty cozy with each other and so far I've seen, she hasn't fussed at all, so I think I will keep a look out for any fussing and if I see ANY, I will take him out immediately. I don't think I'll let it go past a week though. Would that be okay?



If you have eyes on your rabbits 24/7, otherwise by the time you see evidence of aggression, one of your rabbits could seriously injured or worse.


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## BunnyBoxHop

Tale of Tails Rabbitry said:


> If you have eyes on your rabbits 24/7, otherwise by the time you see evidence of aggression, one of your rabbits could seriously injured or worse.


Okay then.


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## Tale of Tails Rabbitry

BunnyBoxHop said:


> Oh okay! Now, my rabbit is not very easily handled and I don't want to stress her out or scare her by putting my hand under her stomach. Do you know of a way to help her calm down or should she be fine?
> Sorry for all the questions, I just want to make sure I'm doing this right and not going to harm her or kits.



Most of the movements I have felt are on the lower sides. As to calming a rabbit to accept touching, that is a process. Treats of edible greens might help, but generally you just have to get them used to it. 

However, you do not have to do this at all, just assume she is pregnant counting from the day they were first put together.


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## Ron Bequeath

I'm sure by now you have the answer to your question. But may I add a few examples of experiences as a lad. As children my cousin and I raise rabbits, there was an unspoken rivalry present in the situation. My cousin had a 6 x 8 coop where he would group all his males and leave them up to 6 months or longer, needless to say male rabbits have the same tendency as red squirrels, they neuter the competition, it was a little funny when he went to sell breeding bucks and found that all 25 males had nicely been neutered, even leaving males and females to long in the same pen can result in neutered males. Go one farther, had bought 3 beautiful flemish does and a checker giant doe and buck. $60.00 each. Instead of putting them in cages, since my trailer was located on a 1/4 acre lot with brush, trees and lots of mixed vegetation I figured I'd try the herd method on a grand scale. So turned them loose, put out food and water sources. And thought all was well. By morning the does had mortally neutered the buck and fought with the checkered doe to such a degree that the injuries where consuming.  Later learned that i had a nice band of coyotes in the area which was the demise of that expensive experiment. Now I seperate all kits at 3 months, bucks to sell or thefreezer and does to sell or the auction. Selection of needed breeding stock as cages become available. Never leave bucks together for longer than 4 months and then only for a larger eating animal. And breeding is under a watchful eye until he has fallen 3 times, sometimes removing her between operations never taking the buck to the doe but rather vice versa. I do at times let the bucks run the rabbitry during the day just for exercise but because of the coyote, and fox (spotted 14 coyote one night's call) problem it requires strong cages and double floors.


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