# could she be pregnant? mating induced...



## missy_cbell21 (Jul 28, 2010)

I had a NZ doe that was 34 days due so I put her in with the buck, he mounted and fell off 2 times. She was very willing if you get what I mean. So I assumed she was not pregnant, well she had 10 kits that night, now she is 2 weeks out and I tried to breed her and she chased one buck around and mounted him, he did not want to mate. I put her with another buck and she would not let him mate. I have tried a few times throughout the day and she wants nothing to do with him. So I'm wondering if she may be pregnant from the "induction mating?" Is it possible for her to hold that breeding while delivering the other litter?


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## Bunnylady (Jul 29, 2010)

Interesting question! And I'm afraid my answer is - I don't know. :/

Rabbits are induced ovulators. What that means, is that they ripen eggs as part of a roughly monthly hormonal cycle, but don't automatically release them. It is a hormonal response to the act of being mated that causes them to release the eggs. Obviously, sperm would have to survive for some time in the female's reproductive tract for it to be viable when the eggs finally get there, but just how long that would be I don't know.  A doe hits her highest possible hormonal peak when she kindles; if a buck has access to her, she often will breed (and conceive a pretty big litter) immediately after kindling. 

I have often seen bucks show extreme interest in a doe just before kindling, and it doesn't surprise me that she reciprocated. Whether she could have done the hormonal dance that results in ovulation even before kindling, that part I'm not sure about. I have known does to conceive only on one side at a time, and wind up carrying two different litters with two different due dates at the same time, so I know that they can do some pretty funky things hormonally. IMO, a litter of 10 makes it pretty likely that she "fired" on both sides when she conceived her current litter. 

To me, it does seem possible that her disinterest means that she is already pregnant. It also may be that she is at such a low point in her cycle, she just isn't fertile at this time. It is also possible that the stress of delivering and nursing a litter of 10 kits (I assume she still has them; you didn't say otherwise) has put her body into a state where it just isn't cycling normally right now.


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