15% vs 18% Feed

[CDC]

There is a show in Anderson on 2/22. It would be a fantastic opportunity to meet some rabbit people and ask lots of questions from people who have been at this a while. Let me know if you want more info. There will also be one in Carthage later in the spring I believe...can't remember exactly when that club show is.

Sounds good. I Will put it on my calendar and see if I can make it. Where exactly in Anderson does it take place? I am not really sure what to expect from an ARBA show but would be interesting to attend.

 

[Hens and Roos]

Thanks for the added info jhough, I tried again today on the doe that is now 17 days along and on another that is 10 days, still no luck. I am going to keep trying everyday on the one 10 days along and see if I can get this done. Will try and get closer to her spine tomorrow. She doesn't seem to mind much, a little concerned while I am doing it but immediately forgotten when I turn her loose.

Do you take the rabbits out of the cage or leave them in their cage so they are more comfortable? We are at day 33 for both does and no babies yet. The one doe is much more okay with me touching her compared to the other one but I don't want to stress her out. Guess we are waiting to see what the next few days bring.

 

[P.O. in MO]

You sound like me Hens and Roos, I leave them in the cage so they are more comfortable. I can get my shoulders thru the door on a 30 inch deep cage so I can hold her by the scruff with one hand and probe with the other. I tried again today and still no luck, the one that is 18 days along now is probably at the point where they are harder to feel. The other one is 11 days along which is about right but a couple more days might make it easier. From the info provided by jhough and CDC I have tried to feel up closer to the spine. I have butchered a lot of rabbits and I am pretty familiar with their anatomy and I can feel the meat that is along the spine behind the rib cage, but I can't feel any marbles or grapes up around there. I started behind the rib cage and back to where the legs attach but still nothing. Maybe it will be a few more days or perhaps she isn't pregnant. At least they are getting a little more accustomed to the deep tissue massage I have been giving them everyday. Will probably quit on the doe farther along and just keep trying on the other. I would really like to figure this out. I would imagine that once you know what it feels like and where it's located it will be much easier from then on. I think you were involved in the other thread where my doe kindled on day 38 and I had pulled the nest box at day 35 or 36. I hope you have some new kits soon.

 

[Hens and Roos]

It will probably get easier once we are able to figure out what we are feeling for....both does have nests started and the Cali has even pulled fur. At this point, we will wait and see. I do have friends who raises rabbits and will talk to them about teaching us but not this close to the 2 hopefully kindling.

Last week we had someone stop by to talk to us and they saw the rabbits and asked about them and were looking them; our FA doe had her ears pinned back and was laying flat to the crate and our FA buck who just loves attention had his back turned toward the person-not even acknowledging that they were there- we had never seen that behavior from either rabbit before.

We do have a younger doe who was breed by our new buck on Jan 22nd so she is 14 days along hopefully...she is probably somewhere in the middle of tolerating being touched- some days okay with it and others days not.

Wondering if we should check her with the buck or just leave her be?

 

[P.O. in MO]

Tough call, I am kind of at the point that I don't care if they like it or not. As long as they don't struggle so much they might hurt themselves. If I keep a firm grip on the scruff they will hold still while I feel around. Am going to try again later when I go out to feed. Everything I have read says that you won't hurt them doing this so I am going to give it a good try this time, thoroughly probing where I think they are supposed to be. I have read that you can feel the rabbit feces(pellets) which I haven't been able so I must not be doing something right. If I recall I think the breeding date was 1/25, so will be 12 full days as of right now, which is within the window where they are supposed to be easiest to identify. This is the one that's pretty good about forgetting about it as soon as I'm done and back to the front of the cage waiting for her food and a little attention. I am sure they wish I would get it figured out too, so I will quit bothering them with my attempts.

 

[Hens and Roos]

I've noticed that after we breed a doe, she develops an attitude/gives us the cold shoulder once returned to her cage- it takes an hour or so before she forgets and comes to the front of her cage

 

[P.O. in MO]

Mine are the same way, they look at me like "how could you do that to me". I tried again, this time I took her out and put her on my exam table. I worked on her for 5 minutes and not sure if I felt anything. Did find one pellet sized lump but only one so I wouldn't think that was feces because when I butcher they are all lined up down the intestinal track. Maybe she isn't pregnant, will give her a day off tomorrow and then try again. Storey's book says 10 to 14 days is the best time and that will be day 14. She was not too upset with me, which is good.

 

[jhough42]

Sounds good. I Will put it on my calendar and see if I can make it. Where exactly in Anderson does it take place? I am not really sure what to expect from an ARBA show but would be interesting to attend.

Here's the show bill. The Missouri State Rabbit Producer's Association website will have all of our in-state shows. http://msrpa2011.weebly.com/ ARBA.net has all sanctioned shows.

 

[P.O. in MO]

One last post on the off topic palpating discussion. I did try again on day 14 and think I could feel some lumps in the described location. They did feel about like pellets but they were on both sides so I don't think it was all poop. Time will tell. I can only say at this point that they are very indistinct. Hopefully I have learned something. I am going to keep at this on the next doe I breed and see if I can get the hang of this.

 

[Hens and Roos]

Glad to hear that...keep us posted on what results you get. We have only the 1 doe now that we are watching.

I was talking with my friend about what we have going on with our does, we are thinking that us mixing 15% pellets in with 17% pellets might have created a nutrition deficiency so the one Cali couldn't maintain pregnancy. We did put the other Cali doe back on the 17% that we were using before so we will see what happens.