brentr
Ridin' The Range
***I really need some help. 
***
I need some long-distance diagnosing help from you all. I have a doe that is pulling hair and carrying hay around in her mouth and clearly nesting. What's the problem, you ask? The problem is I'm not sure if she is pregnant, or if so, how far along she is. I am really at a loss as to what to do. I've included all the info I can, and would welcome any advice or input folks have.
Here is her breeding timeline:
*Bred September 16, 2011
*palpated September 28, 2011 - determined to be open (I'm a novice), test mating with buck she lifted and was serviced multiple times.
*considered Bred September 28
*palpated Oct 9 & 10 - palpation inconclusive, test mated again, she was receptive and bred multiple times. This is the doe I reference in my breeding post (http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=14204) about being receptive and then not being receptive 24 hours later.
*considered bred October 9
Here is her feeding regimen:
She eats well, but doesn't act starving when I feed her pellets once a day. She gets 5 oz of pellets every late afternoon and a small clump of grass hay every morning. I'm concerned because I've never upped her feed to free choice since I didn't think she was pregnant. I'm also worried about nutrition for a litter in the womb if she is accidentally not getting enough to eat. I follow the counsel in Storey's Guide to Raising Rabbits so I don't up my does' feed until about day 17-18 of a pregnancy.
Here is what is happening currently:
Friday (Oct 14) I noticed she took her daily serving of grass hay into her nest box. She was doing the whole gather all she could in her mouth, hop around, then carry it into her box. When I checked on her after work at the end of the day it was gone - I'm pretty sure she ate it. Yesterday, she did the same thing, but I noticed she had pulled a small amount of fur in the box. At the end of the day the grass was still in the nest. Today (10/16), when I gave her grass in the AM she promptly dug into it, stuffed it in her mouth and carried into the box. More fur too. Not a HUGE amount, but significant.
Here's some additional info:
*she is caged right next to a doe confirmed pregnant and due to kindle very soon (Oct 16 is day 30 for her). That doe started nesting 4-5 days ago.
So, what might I have here? I COULD have a rabbit that is 7 days pregnant - and I think that is most likely - or I could have a rabbit that is 3 weeks along, or I could have a rabbit that will kindle in the next couple days. Anyone see any problems if I just take the easy route and give her a bunch of straw and let her nest and see what happens? I guess if she doesn't litter in the next few days and the behavior dies down I could always remove it. If she doesn't soil it I could just leave it until she does kindle - ideally in about 25 days.
Thanks for your help.
***I need some long-distance diagnosing help from you all. I have a doe that is pulling hair and carrying hay around in her mouth and clearly nesting. What's the problem, you ask? The problem is I'm not sure if she is pregnant, or if so, how far along she is. I am really at a loss as to what to do. I've included all the info I can, and would welcome any advice or input folks have.
Here is her breeding timeline:
*Bred September 16, 2011
*palpated September 28, 2011 - determined to be open (I'm a novice), test mating with buck she lifted and was serviced multiple times.
*considered Bred September 28
*palpated Oct 9 & 10 - palpation inconclusive, test mated again, she was receptive and bred multiple times. This is the doe I reference in my breeding post (http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=14204) about being receptive and then not being receptive 24 hours later.
*considered bred October 9
Here is her feeding regimen:
She eats well, but doesn't act starving when I feed her pellets once a day. She gets 5 oz of pellets every late afternoon and a small clump of grass hay every morning. I'm concerned because I've never upped her feed to free choice since I didn't think she was pregnant. I'm also worried about nutrition for a litter in the womb if she is accidentally not getting enough to eat. I follow the counsel in Storey's Guide to Raising Rabbits so I don't up my does' feed until about day 17-18 of a pregnancy.
Here is what is happening currently:
Friday (Oct 14) I noticed she took her daily serving of grass hay into her nest box. She was doing the whole gather all she could in her mouth, hop around, then carry it into her box. When I checked on her after work at the end of the day it was gone - I'm pretty sure she ate it. Yesterday, she did the same thing, but I noticed she had pulled a small amount of fur in the box. At the end of the day the grass was still in the nest. Today (10/16), when I gave her grass in the AM she promptly dug into it, stuffed it in her mouth and carried into the box. More fur too. Not a HUGE amount, but significant.
Here's some additional info:
*she is caged right next to a doe confirmed pregnant and due to kindle very soon (Oct 16 is day 30 for her). That doe started nesting 4-5 days ago.
So, what might I have here? I COULD have a rabbit that is 7 days pregnant - and I think that is most likely - or I could have a rabbit that is 3 weeks along, or I could have a rabbit that will kindle in the next couple days. Anyone see any problems if I just take the easy route and give her a bunch of straw and let her nest and see what happens? I guess if she doesn't litter in the next few days and the behavior dies down I could always remove it. If she doesn't soil it I could just leave it until she does kindle - ideally in about 25 days.
Thanks for your help.
