# Moving Pregnant Does.



## Hobby Farm (Sep 8, 2009)

I breed my rabbits this weekend.  I currently have them in an 8 unit wire cage.  The individual units that they are in, are in my opinion, too small for these big rabbits.  I plan on building some wood/wire hutches for them very soon.  If I get the hutches done before they have their babies, is it a problem moving them to a new home while being pregnant?  I hope to get them done in the next two weeks, so they would be halfway thru gestation when they get moved.

Should I have any concerns?


----------



## JoieDeViveRabbitry (Sep 8, 2009)

No. Pregnant does can be moved just fine as long as they have a few days before kindling to settle in


----------



## trestlecreek (Sep 9, 2009)

Yes, move them in 5 days before they are due. Have the nesting box in there ready for them to build in.

Do it gently and swiftly. We never hold pregnant rabbits.....


----------



## Hobby Farm (Sep 9, 2009)

Great!  That gives me a few weeks to get them something bigger.  

What is the ideal size cage/hutch for a 9-11 pound rabbit that will have babies in with her?


----------



## trestlecreek (Sep 10, 2009)

It just depends on how big you want it. For my "momma cages" I use a 30 X 30 for my 4lb-5lb does. That is large enough for her to have room, room for the nestbox and plenty of room for the kits once they start to hop out of the box.


----------



## Hobby Farm (Sep 10, 2009)

trestlecreek said:
			
		

> It just depends on how big you want it. For my "momma cages" I use a 30 X 30 for my 4lb-5lb does. That is large enough for her to have room, room for the nestbox and plenty of room for the kits once they start to hop out of the box.


I was thinking 2'x3', but that may not be big enough based on the size that you use and the size of my rabbits.


----------



## trestlecreek (Sep 10, 2009)

Well, these 30in by 30in cages are pretty big. For your 9-11lbs does, this same size would probably work. These cages seem HUGE to me. 
I bought a double stack of this size "just because" and have been using them for my momma cages.... 
The 3 X 3 would be fine, not sure I'd have 2ft going one way, it gets cramped at 24 in..... I have put a 4lb with a nestbox box in a 18in X 24in(emergency) and that is really way too small.
Ideally, the doe should have room to hop in and out and enough space for them to be able to turn around, stand on their hind legs and lay down if they want. 
I like to keep my kits in with the doe in the same cage until weaning, so the bigger cage seems to work out perfectly. I like to see the kits hop around and run in that cage. They won't be able to run if you make it too small...
Think about litter size too,... what if she had 8!!


----------



## Hobby Farm (Sep 10, 2009)

It will probably be another one of those things that no matter how big I make it, it won't be big enough.  That seems to be the case with everything I do.

Thanks for all the advise.  I will shoot for 30"x30" minimum.


----------



## JoieDeViveRabbitry (Sep 10, 2009)

I am in the process of planning to have cages built for me and I too am chewing on cage size. My rabbits are in at 7-10 pound range and are FLUFFY obviously. 
 I was thinking about making double units where each hole would come out being 24" X 36". Or 36" X 36"....

 Not sure yet. I only want to have to build them once, I would rather have too large than too small.
 These will be hanging or single stack rack units over worm beds.

 ETA: The thing that I do not like about 36" X 36" is that in that large of a cage the rabbits can get away from me and I will have a space where I cannot reach them. I have a particular doe who always tries to evade being picked up in the very back of her cage, if her cage was 36" deep there is no way I would be able to reach her back there without crawling into the cage with her!


----------



## trestlecreek (Sep 10, 2009)

*~A Guy named Joan~* (still snickering,..LOL) I'm sorry, I didn't see a name and did try to look at your siggy,  but when you go to reply, the sigg disappears....

I know, with those 30 in X 30 in cages, they can run me and hide in the back. I can actually crawl up in the cage with my elbows inside the cage to get them out if I have to......LOL. Maybe 24 in from front to back, but one could go a longer run from side to side to avoid that?

Luckily, my last kits love me and run to see me when I open the door.

I have 18 X 36 cages that are build into a 6-Hole unit. I love those for my bigger brood rabbits. I bet they would be perfect for a 6-10lb rabbit?

For my HL, I built a 12-Hole unit that has 16 X 24 cages. I really like this size for the HL's. Not too large, not too small. I built a 6-Hole last week with that size of cage.

The ND's have12 X 24 cages built into a 12 hole.

When I went to build mine, I figured the cage size with the materials available. I used just the welded wire(not wooden), which comes in 24in and 36 in rolls here,..... I wanted the wire to work out and have the size I wanted.....


----------



## waynesgarden (Sep 11, 2009)

I moved a doe from her 30x30 cage three days before kindling. I'm getting all the does into 30x36 cages and this was the last one in the smaller size. When I went to put the nest box in, I found that the smaller cages also have slightly smaller doors, so the nests I've been making for the larger cages wouldn't fit through.

Tracey Doe (first time mom) didn't seem to mind the move, sniffed around a bit, checked out the food and water locations and got right into nest building.

Wayne


----------



## Lil Chickie Mama (Sep 11, 2009)

The Encyclopedia of Country Living said:
			
		

> MATERNITY CAGE: When does aren't bred, they can room together.  But a doe who is expecting needs separate quarters in a pen that provides her with a nesting box and plenty of room for the growing litter: 7 to 8 square feet, minimum...


Okay I don't know how accurate this is, I just read it last night and keep in mind that I don't have rabbits yet.  I read an article (can't find it now) online last night that said 1 sq ft per pound of rabbit which seems ridiculously large to me, but what do I know.

Edited to hide my stupidity...oops.


----------



## waynesgarden (Sep 11, 2009)

Nope, a 30" x 30" cage is 6.25 square feet.  (2.5 feet times 2.5 feet.  Or, 30 times 30 divided by 144.)

I wouldn't go any smaller than 36" x 30" for the larger meat breed does. Once I put a 15"x22" nest box in that space, there isn't a whole lot of extra room for the mom and her kits, especially once they start hopping out of the nest to devil Mom during the day.

Even though I'll take the nest box out sooner, the mom is going to have to live with her litter climbing all over her for at least 5 weeks before weaning time. She'll be glad to have that little extra space. And as I said earlier, the door on the smaller cage is also smaller than the 36" wide and I really don't want to make the nest boxes smaller than they already are, especially for the NZs. (They're big.)

Wayne


----------

