# Castor Oil and Rabbits



## Petit Jean Bunnies

I have a doe that was due to have her babies today, she has pulled tons and tons of hair but no babies. Should I just wait a couple of days? I know that Castor Oil is used in putting animals into labor, does anyone know if it is safe for rabbits, and if it works to put them into labor?


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## flemish lops

I would wait another day, some of my rabbits pull fur 2 or more days before they have there kits.
I have never used castor oil before so Im not sure on it.


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## Petit Jean Bunnies

Thanks for the info! All is well that ends well... She surprised us 5 Happy Health Holland Lops this morning in the nesting box when we went to check on her!


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## flemish lops

Congrats!


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## bunnylovincowgirl

I have never heard of castor oil for rabbits!  Would be wary of it, therefore.

But congratulations on your new bunnies! I hope they do well.

A couple tricks that can work for getting a doe to kindle:   put the doe in with a buck.  She will not conceive, I believe, if she is pregnant, but that seems to get things moving for her to deliver the rest of the kits.  Another trick is to let her out to run for an hour or two.


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## Petit Jean Bunnies

I have another doe that is due tomorrow, and if things seem to be slowing I will defiantly try those tips! Thanks so much!


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## Ms. Research

Petit Jean Bunnies said:
			
		

> Thanks for the info! All is well that ends well... She surprised us 5 Happy Health Holland Lops this morning in the nesting box when we went to check on her!


Congratulations on the 5 Happy Healthy Holland Lops.

K


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## oneacrefarm

I would not give a rabbit castor oil. It works by causing intestinal cramping, which can in turn cause uterine contractions. Rabbits have a very different digestive system and it could upset the balance. If you feel you *need* to try something, lavender can be used to help the uterus contract. I would not try this unless you are very sure there are kits and the doe is several days overdue.


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## Petit Jean Bunnies

Thanks so much for the information, I will defiantly keep the lavender in mind.


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## oneacrefarm

Oh, and congrats on the popples!


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## Leslie

I believe Castor oil does work. I had to join so I could write this because I was searching for answers to take care of my rabbit.
I have enjoyed raising rabbits to sell and possibly eat (haven't done that yet) but I put a rabbit down 6 months ago because she had trouble giving birth and became very ill. 
I want to do what is best for my animals and with one of my rabbits due 4 days ago, I was very worried I would have to put her down if she didn't have the kits. 
Yesterday, I gave her oxytocin about 57mg at 6:30 in the morning and waited all day to see if anything would happen. I also let her out of the small cage I was keeping indoors and put her with the buck in the large pen outside. They ran around and she was very irritable. By 12:00 nothing had changed, I brought her back in and I was worried about giving such a strong drug without a vets help. I didn't want to do it again so I tried at about 3:00 pm some castor oil, one teaspoon. She was making irritated sounds all day which is not normal for her. By 6 pm, she was carrying bedding around in her mouth (something she did 4 days ago). At 11pm she gave birth to one and I went to bed. This morning I woke up to 8 seemingly healthy babies. They don't look as clean as I remember her care compared to the last two times she gave birth but she is alive and so are 8 babies.
I really believe the castor oil was mostly the thing that did it, but maybe it was a combination of oxytocin and the activeness.


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## Bunnylady

I'm sorry to sound so cranky, but it sounds like your doe is lucky to have survived your "help," Leslie.

If a doe is ready to give birth, a _very_ small quantity of oxytocin (like, a couple of tenths of a cc) will cause very strong contractions. If you give enough to induce contractions in a doe that_ isn't_ ready, you can cause her cervix to rupture, which means one dead doe. That's why most vets won't put oxytocin into the hands of anyone but their staff.

Are you absolutely, 100% sure that this doe was at day 35? I have never had a doe go that far past her due date when pregnant with 8 babies; space restrictions and hormones tend to push them out on time. Every time I have had a doe kindle that far past her due date, there were only one or two babies, and they were_ huge_. That said, there was a person on this forum a few years ago that had a doe that regularly would go 40 days or more, but we think she was doing some sort of "delayed implantation" thing, because the litters were normal sizes and the kits all appeared to be at the normal gestational age, too.

I think most people who know what they are doing will tell you that, if an animal is already in the early stages of labor, there are things (like activity) that can help to speed things up, but trying to induce labor in one that hasn't already started the delivery process is futile at best and may even be dangerous.


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## Tale of Tails Rabbitry

@Leslie
This thread is years old and does can go as long as 35 days before kindling naturally. I have not had to induce with any of mine.

However, putting aside the whole castor oil and oxytocin thing which I would never do to my rabbits and @Bunnylady already addessed as I was writing, I am trying to get my head around why you placed a pregnant doe around the time she is due in with a buck. I think that would add more stress to her at a time when you would want her to feel comfortable about the birthing.

On my mother's side of family, before ultrasound, we knew whether the baby was a boy or a girl because boys were always on the due date or a day before and the girls were *three weeks late* to the day usually. Once my pregnancy past my due date, as I did not have any ultrasounds, I relaxed because I knew it would be another three weeks for my daughter to be born. Sometimes you just have to trust nature's time table for the individual, including your rabbits.


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## Bunnylady

Just to be clear - oxytocin (or whatever) is not used to cause labor to begin, it is used to speed up labor that has_ already_ begun. The cervix must have started to thin and open before the strong contractions happen, or you risk a potentially fatal injury. Some does have weak or irregular contractions; oxytocin helps to make the contractions stronger and more regular. So much stronger, in fact, that anyone using oxytocin on a doe needs to be prepared to clean kits themselves, because they will be delivered faster than a doe can clean them up.


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