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how do i know my doe is bread?

3K views 30 replies 10 participants last post by  LoveChrist 
#1 ·
I think one of my does is bread but this is my first time, how can I be for sure?
 
#2 · (Edited)
Bred.

Well....you can palpate the belly after a few weeks and feel some individual "marbles" in there. Chances are if she's old enough and was with a buck, she's bred. Put a nesting box with hay in there around day 27. She will pull hair for the nest a day or 2 before she has babies. My 2 does just delivered.
 
#7 ·
Nest box placement depends on the rabbit. I had one that built a nest one week after breeding. Some does will use the nest box a litterpan if it is put in too early. If your doe is not peeing in the nest box and is nesting in it then you put it in at the right time.
 
#14 ·
OMG!!! You guys will NOT believe this! My doe deliver sometime in the last hour and she has 9 babies! Yes, 9! We had to bring them inside because they were cold and since it's below freezing and it's her first time we are going to keep her in here till it warms up 😁. as of right now all 9 are warm and kicking😁.
 
#18 ·
The mom doesn't stay on them and keep them warm. She makes a nest and the babies snuggle together to keep warm. She feeds the babies twice a day and ignores them the rest of the time.

Did the doe make a nest in the nest box? Did she pull fur to fill the nest box? Did she cover the babies with fur? Are you disturbing the nest by constantly checking the babies?
 
#19 ·
she made a nest, pulled some fur (not a lot though) when we went out to their cage there was 3 or 4 near the front and then the rest near the back mom was in the middle. I was concerned that they weren't in a ball like you said. I think we did stress her out moving her. Once kits and mom were reunited inside she moved them back to that position. I learned lots of good lessons this time that I will be able to use latter ;)
 
#20 ·
Are you using a nest box? Sometimes the kits hang on when the doe is done nursing and they get pulled out when she jumps out. In their wild state, rabbits dig burrows and kits are born in the underground burrows. The kits don't have enough strength to crawl out of the burrows until about the time they open their eyes.
 
#21 ·
The babies need lots of fur to keep warm.
Babies in 2 separate spots I call a split nest. If I find
that happens, I put them all in one spot.

Mother rabbits are not like dog or cat moms.
She gets in the box to feed them and when she is done,
they snuggle back down in the fur.

I keep nest boxes in with the doe year round.
 
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