what should i be looking for to tell if a doe is pregnant

[samanthaj]

well if our doe is pregnant,she should be due around the 11th. what should i be looking for,we tried feeling her belly tonight,but where afraid of pushing to hard. also she is in a large cage with a solid bottom,i plan on giving her a nest box,but when should i do that,and what should i put in it. right now there is hay in the cage,i was thinking i should put some bunnie bedding and then put straw/hay into the nest box or vice versa. we where hoping for a trail litter now since my daughter needs a litter for 4h later this summer!

 

[DianeS]

I give nest boxes around the 28th day of pregnancy. If there were multiple possible breedings, I give it around the *first possible* 28th day. But I do say "around", because if the doe starts nesting elsewhere in the hutch before day 28 I give it whenever that happens so she doesn't decide to give birth in a corner instead of the box.

I fill the nest box with as much bedding/straw as it will hold. The doe will move it around and pack it into a nice nest if she knows shat she's doing.

As far as signs, I have one doe that gives NO signs whatsoever. She didn't "feel" pregnant although i could tell on two other does. And she didn't have a personality change, although one other doe of mine gets mean when she's pregnant. And she didn't look larger, or start eating less, although two other does do so. She doesn't get angry at the buck, although two other does do so. She doesn't pull fur, she doesn't move straw around, she doesn't dig. Etc.

So - I just listed all the things I've been told to look for as "maybe" signs of pregnancy. But none are definates, and pregnant does don't always do them. Hope it helps anyway!

 

[txcarl1258]

I just had a doe lose a litter and I didn't even know she was pregnant. I tried breeding her and she always fought with the buck. I palpated her two days before she delivered and never felt the babies and she had 6 full size babies. I always give the box at 28 days and leave it until day 35 just to be sure. Better safe than sorry.

 

[samanthaj]

thanks! i quess i will justgive her a nest on day 28 and wait and see. this will be our first time with baby bunnies,except for when i was a kid,so we are new to it!

 

[tortoise]

You don't need to be afraid of palpating too hard. Squeeze your belly. You can do it pretty hard before it feels uncomfortable, right?

Palpating in the last week of pregnancy is really easy. The kits are very obvious. There is nothing "south" of the ribcage that large or firm.

This won't be helpful right now, but to learn to palpate for future breedings, start palpating non-pregnant does to know what they feel like. You *might* feel a bladder if you are really good. The uterus is V-shaped and about the size of intestines, so you wouldn't be able to identify it. You should be able to feel individual poops. Roll a poop in between your fingers (while palpating). When a fetus is that size, it doesn't feel like a solid poop. It feels like "and egg yolk in a ziploc bag."

Another helpful guide to teach yourself if to dissect when you butcher. Look at the structures and feel them. Then go back to a likve rabbit and try to visualize them while you palpate.

 

[rabbitgeek]

I have never been good at palpating. So I depend on the calendar.

Nest box goes in on day 28 and box comes out on day 34 if no litter.

Re-breed on day 35.

Have a good day!
Franco Rios