Doe bred ONCE, but kindles TWICE in 6 weeks (...then does it again!)

[shanzu farms]

{{PLEASE note: I have updated this thread title on 8 FEB, because the story is still unfolding. Starting with this post below, where my Doe kindled at 6 weeks overdue, to the latest post, where she has now had several miracle births. She has now, on two separate occasions, been bred, delivered, then delivered again. Bred twice: 4 full litters. Read on...and please advise?}}

All-

Novice rabbit raiser here in Kenya actually.

Bought a buck and two does (NZ, California, California mix) and the seller said the Californian (doe #1) was bred on June 7th (by another buck owned by the seller). We bought on the 13th. Followed the routine process, nest box at 29 days and waited and waited. At 35 days i figured it was phantom. Pulled the nest box out. Bred the doe #2. Shes at 33 days now, nothing. But - this morning i noticed the doe #1 (supposedly bred on 7 June) frantically pulling fur. Shes basically exactly one month overdue, so i thought she must be having another phantom pregnancy, on a kind of monthly cycle. Meanwhile, I'm watching the other doe hoping she'll start nesting (she isn't). Go to work, come home. The Californian (doe 1, remember, bred on 7 June supposedly), has a litter. We bought her on the 13th June and never ever has she been with the buck. I'm the only one that handles them (or so i think...??).

Is this possible? Or has someone been sneaking in behind my back breeding my rabbits????

Thanks for any collective knowledge on this.

Note: all three rabbits are youngish. They have all just come of age (all between 7-9 months), and this is their first time to breed.

 

[shanzu farms]

Oh yeah - and obviously there's no nest box in with the delivered doe. I have a kind of lean to that's always in there and she created a hay nest (with fur too) to do the trick...

Should I put a nest box in and move the kindle in there? or just leave it...?

 

[shanzu farms]

Just found this online for anyone else out there curious about this (i see 28 people have viewed my post today):

"Miracle births"
Cases of "miracle births" have been observed. This takes place when a doe produces young when it is absolutely certain that she has not been to the buck. Some does who will not accept the buck may already be pregnant even though they have not been with a buck. It has also been recorded that a doe that is in kit is sometimes able to retain sperm from a different covering, to produce another litter later."

Found it at: infonet-biovision DOT org/default/ct/275/livestockSpecies

Anyway, i have six squirming bunnies looking healthy. She seems a good mother and I'm just pleased to have my first ever kindling, however mysterious it came about.

 

[animalmom]

Six kits! Congrats on becoming a rabbit rancher. What did you decide to do about the nesting box? Did you put it back in the cage and put her nest in it, or not?

Good luck with your rabbits, may your nest boxes always be full. Keep us posted as to how the kits, the mom and you are doing.

And, welcome to BackYardHerds!

 

[woodsie]

Crazy! but congrats notheless! I have no idea, nothing like that has ever happened to me but very interesting. Someone was asking about retained sperm, I guess your experience proves this can and does happen. Wow!

 

[Bunnylady]

I haven't a whole lot of confidence in your source, shanzu farms. I didn't read their whole entry, but just scanning through it I saw several glaring errors ( for example: holding a rabbit by its ears will NOT keep it from struggling; if it does struggle, it may slip from your other hand, leaving you holding onto the rabbit only by its ears - the very thing that they tell you not to do! Another example - rabbit meat is not fat and cholesterol free. It is reputed to have the lowest fat content of domestic animals, but I believe it is impossible for the muscle of any animal to be completely fat-free.) BTW - most people will advise you against free-feeding a pregnant doe, it's after the kits come that she needs all the extra feed.

Personally, I have my doubts about does retaining sperm. Sperm expend a lot of energy swimming around; they generally run out of gas in a matter of a couple of days. Even with all of the extenders, etc. that are used to prepare sperm for Artificial Insemination, the window is still only a day or two once the sample has thawed out. I really doubt that a doe could provide an environment with enough "food" for sperm to keep them healthy and lively for any significant period of time at a rabbit's body temperature. (Yes, I know that chickens do it, but that's a bird. This is a mammal we are talking about).

I have heard that rabbits are capable of delayed implantation - holding fertilized eggs, and having them implant at a later date. Some may have their doubts about that, but an embryo that isn't growing doesn't use a lot of energy, so it wouldn't need a lot of feeding.

Also, rabbits are capable of breeding through the wire. It's not really common, but if a doe is caged beside a buck, it can happen.


Lots of does don't know what a nest box is for, at least the first time out. If I have live babies in a nest outside of the nest box, I put as much of the doe's nest material in the box as I can into the box with whatever fur she pulled on top, and put the babies in the box. I then put the box in the corner where she made her nest. Some of my does have taken it from there without a hitch, some have had to be taught to get in and feed their babies. Keep an eye on the kits to make sure she's feeding them.

Congrats on live babies!

 

[VickieB]

Do your two does look much alike?

 

[shanzu farms]

Hi All -

Thanks for those encouraging comments. I'm happy to have this litter.

As for the mystery: All I can say is that

a) they were not bred through the cage (the buck is a few feet away in a totally separate cage)

and b) the other doe doesn't look anything like the one with kits (one is pure californian, the other has brown spots all over), and they are in separate cages.

Perhaps the source I posted below isn't great- but it was the only thing I could find on my situation.

Thanks everyone

 

[VickieB]

Well, congratulations on the kits!

 

[shanzu farms]

Dear all -

I realize my credibility will be questioned at this point - but it's too interesting not to post:

The same rabbit as noted above in my original post (Golding is her name, shes one of my two does, a Californian; the other doe, Cascade is a brown/spotted Californian/Flemish cross - can't mix them up) has been a wonderful mother of the 6 bunnies. They have been thoroughly enjoying the outdoor pen I made. Three days ago, she started being a bit aggressive to the litter, so I put her back in her normal cage. The next morning she delivered a kindling of eight (8)!!!!

1) No she has not been put to the buck. (He is a NZ and has been with the CA/Flemish cross twice now, and NOTHING).
2) the cages are separated by several feet!
3) her 'sons' from the first miracle are exactly 6 weeks old. Couldn't have done this at 2 weeks!

Note: the breeder I purchased her from told me originally that she was bred on 7 June. We bought on 13 June. Nothing happened a month later. She was more than a month overdue when the first litter of 6 came. Now more than 2 months overdue she has a second litter of 8. Please, someone tell me this type of thing has happened to them? I am going to call the original seller/breeder and tell him whichever buck of his bred Golding (the doe) on 7 June has super sperm. Survives for months and produces multiple litters. I mean REALLY??

Anyone....?

Swear to goodness