Don't know when kits are due :(

[Misscherry15]

So one of my Does had a false pregnancy not so long ago. However i then allowed her opportunity to mate with my black otter buck for the first time.
i allowed them to mate over a 48hour period. and it seems she is pregnant.
I can feel kits, she is much larger then she was with her first litter. she has nested and then destroyed her nest 3 times now over the last 2weeks.
The issue i have is like an ***** and for the first time i didnt note down her mating dates.
I have absolutely no idea when she is due or if she goes overdue.
I really dont want to take her to the vets for them to work out a gestation and her get too stressed.
but i want to ensure she doesnt have the kits in my garden and has them in her hutch like before. But she also needs her excercise. What should i do? should i keep her in her hutch for now until the kits come? or should i risk letting her into the garden to run around?
and is there anyway i can guess her gestation based on her size or the size of the kits i can feel? x

 

[Rachele]

When mine had babies every time I could feel them it was with in a week of delivery but if you put her up at evenings night and early mornings she should have her babies at that time and just let her out during the day

 

[Rachele]

But if your really unsure it won't hurt her to spend a week in the hutch just in case

 

[Thumperina]

to see if she already had kits in the garden, watch what she is doing in the early morning. She is supposed to go feed them if they are elsewhere, not in the hutch

 

[Thumperina]

When mine had babies every time I could feel them it was with in a week of delivery but if you put her up at evenings night and early mornings she should have her babies at that time and just let her out during the day

if she already had them and its not in the hutch, then locking her up with leave kits die of hunger

 

[Thumperina]

keep her locked in the hutch at night, let her out during the day and WATCH HER. I am not sure how you can miss her making a burrow - this is where they have kits in the wild.

 

[Misscherry15]

She hasnt had them out of her hutch as i have only allowed her in her run in the last few weeks x

 

[Rachele]

She hasnt had them out of her hutch as i have only allowed her in her run in the last few weeks x

They will feed the babies at dawn and dusk so just watch her to see where she goes

 

[Misscherry15]

Sorry i obviously havent explained myself well.
My doe is pregnant. It isnt her forst litter. However inbetween this one and her last she has had a false pregnancy.
She has gained alot of weight and has already built her nest in her hutch. My rabbits are allowed free roam of my garden one at a time( this is to prevent fights between my bucks and mating)

 

[Misscherry15]

She hasnt had full roam of the garden for the last few weeks and only been allowed into her run on the grass so that i could prevent her from building an burrow. My garden is not safe enough for her kits to be in a burrow outside as we have foxes in the area. I do however sfay outside with my rabbifs if they are out.

My issue is i cant remember when i mated to work out when she is due.
Im trying to find out if there is anyway of knowing without taking her vets.
I cant palpate her as this could cause damage to the kits as its been more than 2 weeks since she would have concieved.
I have however lightly placed my hand on her belly and felt movement from the kits x

 

[JimJam]

is there fluff in the nest yet or just made of hay/bedding? she will make a nest layout without fluff on approx day 28 although mine usually do this a bit earlier along the pregnancy. then 5 days later, or when she fills it with fluff, she should have babies.

 

[Misscherry15]

Im hoping today is the day. She has turned her nest into a full sized burrow inside her hutch. She has pulled some fur but not much. No kits yet but am observing from afar xx
And jimjam yes she did that last time i didnt think about that

 

[JimJam]

Good luck! Keep us posted! One of does had her first litter 10 weeks ago, and when I looked I couldn’t see any nest or fluff. Nothing. I was 100% positive she had given birth though because she was a lot skinner and exhausted. Turns out she had completely buried the nest and 8 kits under lots of hay so I couldn’t see anything haha until I felt a kit wiggling around. surprise!

 

[Misscherry15]

Still no babies yet x i dont want to mess up her nest looking at the moment though xx

 

[woahlookitsme]

When you see fur in her nest that was usually my sign that babies were there. You should have the box to where you can easily see the inside. I would check if there’s hair and if there was you only have to stand there and watch for a few minutes and you’ll see the nest moving. You do need to check in the nest every once in awhile just in case there are any that passed away or need medical attention. 14-16 days are the best for palpating so you’re just playing a waiting game right now.

 

[Misscherry15]

im starting to wonder it she having a false pregnancy or i have really messed up dates and she isnt due this week lol xx

 

[JimJam]

Naaaaaw that sucks... when rabbits believe that they are pregnant they usually make a full on nest but never have babies. I’ve had it happen once and it was confusing as I thought she was pregnant. Will you try rebreed her again?

 

[Misscherry15]

Naaaaaw that sucks... when rabbits believe that they are pregnant they usually make a full on nest but never have babies. I’ve had it happen once and it was confusing as I thought she was pregnant. Will you try rebreed her again?

If she doesnt have kits i wont rebreed her as this would be the second false pregnancy and i dont think its fair on her xx

I will wait till one of my other does are ready.

At the moment though i think she really is pregnant as when she lies down you can occasionally see them kick x

 

[majorv]

We would usually give our does 3 chances to have a litter before giving up. If they aren’t bred as often or if they’re older then you would get more ‘misses’.

 

[Misscherry15]

Sadly she had the kits but none of them made it x
She will just be kept as a non breeder. X

She is only almost a year old but i would rather not put her through the stress of rebreeding x