[laughaha]

Hi,

I guess Cindy Lu wasn't as good at saying "NO" as I thought. I went out to give rabbits the afternoon water and there is a dead baby on the wire. This is her first litter and she didn't even look pregnant. No sign of a nest, no hair pulling, and she was eating. It was bigger than I had expected for an infant rabbit, although she is a flemish giant. She had cleaned the sack off of it, chewed off the umbilical cord at an appropriate length, and cleaned it up fairly well. No sign of an afterbirth and she doesn't appear to be in labor, begging for treats as usual.

It's been 1/2 an hour and I went back out and she is still acting like her usual self, no nest, begging, no sign of another baby, no signs of distress, etc. How long should it be between births, and should I just chalk all of this up to her inexperience? What are the odds that she was only pregnant with one baby?

 

[MaggieJ]

It's hard to say for sure what is happening... but if she were mine, I'd pop a nest box of some kind in there, just in case there are more on the way.

 

[laughaha]

There is a nestbox in there, as I only have one rabbit, I've just left it in there for the last 3 months. Was this a mistake?

No more babies, and she is still acting like her old self.

 

[MaggieJ]

Not a mistake, unless she is soiling it, although it is not "standard operating procedure." Most people give the doe the box on Day 28 of pregnancy. There's never any guarantee that a doe will use the box, especially if it is her first litter.

I think you will just have to watch her for a day or two before you can truly consider her "finished", but at the same time it is doubtful she will have any more.

 

[Jesse L]

Ya, if she is acting very normal then i would dought she will have any more. You can papulate her just to make sure. If you feel any little grape kind of things then there are more on the way, dont be afraid to give a litte bit of pressure.

I would re-breed her in a day or so.

Jesse
www.freewebs.com/jessescritters

 

[laughaha]

You can papulate her just to make sure. If you feel any little grape kind of things then there are more on the way

The one she had was more like the size of 2-3 adult mice. Is this normal?

 

[MaggieJ]

That sounds large, but if there was only one then it would be very large because the nutrients available to it that would normally be shared out among several. Such very large kits often do not survive since they have a harder birth due to the size and often suffocate en route.

 

[laughaha]

Now I feel really bad for Cindy Lu. Her first baby and it's a giant!! She looks okay today. My Cousin is coming down today to go hunting tomorrow. He raises meat rabbits and has agreed to check her out when he gets here. I'll let you know what he says.