no babies for jazz

[lemonaxis]

well its time!!



over the last few days, Jazz has been driving me nuts with the noise shehas been making at night. She has been shuffling things around, pushing objects across the floor and tearing up any material or paper she finds. Shehas been digging and scratching away like a little mad thing.

Now if you recall, I had her at the vets and after a quick physical, it seemed we were not to expect any kits. Jazz has since put on a bit moreweight and with her behaviour, I am assuming that there is a possibility there will be babies.

Jazz has been friendly and happy and eating lots and drinking well too. Tomorrow she will be 28 days along if she is expecting.
She is normally a house bun with no particular place that she rests in, althouh she has an open hutch she prefers to snuggle up in her favourite corner for naps and most of her nights. So the challenge was to find a place for her to feel comfortable in to have her litter.

I moved her hutch out of traffic and set in up behind my bookcase under an overhang that is secluded and hard to get to if you are not a sleek bunny.

She LOVES it. Her levels of agitation have completely vanished. The cage door is left open and all she wants to do is relax in her new little hidey hole!

I padded the shelter bit of the little hutch with newspaper and loads of fresh bedding hay. While I was setting this all up, Jazz seemed to know exactly what was going on, she kept nuzzling my feet while I spoke to her and was so cute! She inspected her new home every step of the way.

 

[TinysMom]

Well, it is great that if she's pregnant she's giving you some signs and a warning so you can be prepared.

We'll be here with you through this...

Peg

 

[lemonaxis]

Well I am not sure what other signs there are but Jazz is rubbing her face against everything, as if she is marking her territory?

She is quite peaceful and if she is not expecting kits then she is probably wondering what all the fuss is about.

How many does kinder on the 28th day I wonder? Is day 29/30/31 more likely?
It will be at night do doubt,her new nesting hutch is at the bottom of my bed but still a couple of metres away so I do not disturb her too much.

Whatever happens, we are as prepard as we can be at this time. The vet is aware that there MAY be a litter on the way.

Are there ANY other signs I wonder. I mean if poop was anything to go by then somethingn is defiantely up!!!!! There is enough bun poop around for 3 buns here!! Jazz is pooping everywhere, not just in her litter box which is kinda strange.

 

[BlueGiants]

The majority of my does kindle on day 31, especially the smaller Mini Rex. (You can almost set a clock by them!) The Flemish Giants go between 31 and 33 days. Some of my girls get quiet and content, some get aggressive and protective. All's you can do is wait and see...

Good Job giving her a quiet place to be.

I have a nest box ready, am giving her extra food
Do not over feed her too much. Give her only slightly more than the regular portions of food from now through the first 2 days after kindling. You want her milk to come in gradually, not in a flood, and it should increase as demand increases(as the babies nurse).

 

[grumpybabies]

I have had 3 litters, all on day 31, it doesn't sound like there's something going on in her! Good luck, hope all goes well.

 

[lemonaxis]

Unfortunately I have had to start doing a major clean up in the house. As we have all been sick for a while, it is way overdue and with the Christmas Holidays coming up, I just could no longer live with the kitchen being in a state.

I hope this does not unsettle Jazz. Although she seems to love all the boxes and toys everywhere. We are gettign rid of loads of books and toys and she is frolicking around like a happy toddler in all the mess. The job will take most of the week and while I am prepared to stop as upstairs is her home, she DOES seem very curious and enlivened by the goings on.

She is right now darting around the place, binkies and even slows down for tiny kisses on my feet. She started doing that a couple of weeks ago and its really cute. I hand feed her sometimes but she is not a very affectionate or cuddly rabbit. Which is fine, its just I miss BK because he was so cuddly. He loved his cuddles.

Anyway Jazz has settled into her hutch now and all is quiet again. Man she is a NOISY rabbit.
Just full of it. She hardly ever stay squiet at night and even jumps from great heights which scares the hell out of me. ts hard to know what to do when she will jump a metre to get up onto the kitchen table!!!!

I am so worried for her safety. She even tries to scale the benches and they are 1.3 metres high!
She is horribly curious and mischieveous and I wory that if she is pregnant that she could be harming her babies will all her activity.

 

[lemonaxis]

Welcome! You have entered [RO Rabbit Chat] at 10:44 am
[RO Rabbit Chat]: lemonaxis has entered at 10:44 am
[lemonaxis] 10:47 am: If there is someone in here soon, I thought I might ask about my possibly pregnant bun Jazz at the 28 day mark. Today she
jumped off the kitchen table and that would be about 1.2metres at the angle she jumped. The floor is softer varnished wood and she seems okay of
course...munching some salad and seems happy. Could she have harmed her kits?
[lemonaxis] 10:49 am: might have to go soon...am hot and baby awake soon and need to cage Jazz for a bit so I can get a break form the noise!
[lemonaxis] 10:50 am: not sure if anyone will be able to read my messages as will be offline soonish....thats okay as I willl post them too

 

[grumpybabies]

My pregnant french lop was free in the garden until the last week of her pregnancy, and she ran and binkied like she wasn't pregnant, so she prob is ok, unless she gets it wrong and falls. Is there any way of restricting her jumping at all? I would personally if at all possible, but i know it is hard!

 

[lemonaxis]

She's in her cage, rattling the bars as she is not used to being locked up but right now I am heading out and can't risk an injury. She is being so silly.

 

[ghostbusterbunny]

Personally, i would let Jazz out, as she's just going to get stressed out being cooped up indoors. I know you dont want her to hurt herself, but letting her get out and have a run, she can chill out and she will be less stressed. I let my doe out during the day, even up to the night she had them. She seemed thankful for the excersise and when she got back in her hutch, she could just lie down and chill.

I would suggest letting her out, but keep an eye on her and if she jumps up somewhere, pick her up and put her back on the floor. Even an hour or so will do her good, and let her stretch out for a bit.

The fact that she is rattling the bars means that she isnt happy, so when you have time, let her out. She'll love you even more for it!

Hope everything goes well with her!

 

[TinysMom]

If she's at day 28....she's probably 3 days away from delivery as most does deliver on day 31....

why lock her up? She will know what she can and can't handle...

Peg

lemonaxis wrote:

She's in her cage, rattling the bars as she is not used to being locked up but right now I am heading out and can't risk an injury. She is being so silly.

 

[lemonaxis]

yeah she lasted 5 mins in her cage...lol I just hardly ever lock them up and she hates it but right when I did I was moving a heavy shelf and was glad to have her safely away.
Her whole area is now freshly laid out, clean, secure and quiet. She looks happy

 

[gentle giants]

I wouldn't suggest locking her up or really changing her normal routine much. If she feels good enough to run around like normal, then everything is fine. If she is pregant, she has made it this far and most likely will be fine. After all, wild rabbits don't change their activity level, they can't if they want to eat. Just keep an eye out, and let her go about her business. Most likely if she has kits, she will have them during the night or early am. They like the dark and the quiet for having babies, when no one is around.

 

[lemonaxis]

This is all seeming very wrong. I was just on a website about the difficulties raising/breeding rabbits and my confidence and assurity is at a low.

Why is it constantly mentioned that pregnany/birth/lactation is so especially hard on rabbits?
Are rabbits so fragile that even this natural process puts them at such risk? Is it the breeding of them into specialised breeds that produces such possible difficultes and of course the age old question , why breed?

Well I guess I defiantely do not see myself as a breeder but soon I MAY have a litter to care for and help Jazz care for. Its a daunting task and frankly I am in two minds...one is that the responsibility is mine, I did this and if she has babies it will be exciting and challenging. I have the stomach for it and can do it but if she does not have babies I will be ever so relieved, will get her fixed and try rescue a little friend for her, neuter him and go from there.

I read this link : http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/care/breedingrabbits.asp and of course its excellently written and very true.

I am up for the task and cannot live in doubt and regret, after all I thought it was best for Jazz to have a litter.
I am mindful of my mistakes and this will hopefully not be one of them.

In my defense I have homes for all the litter, am prepared for the difficulties of rasing a litter and have a rabbit savvy vet at hand.

I am so swamped in my own personal life.
My baby is 9months old and still has colic! Its horrible for her and there is not much that can be done. She is adorable and also there is my older two children, the lights of my life. I AM a dedicated bunny owner but since I lost BK, I am so saddened. Its only fair to Jazz that I try my best to be a good Bun Mum for her but ultimately I may be letting her down.

Worried (normal) and trying to see the light side, which is of course that all is well and most likely will continue to be.

 

[NZminilops]

It'll be ok, really. I think that the bad things can and do happen, but not to let them bog you down with worry. To be honest, I'd be much more scared of a cat or dog giving birth than a rabbit, I've seen far more go wrong with them than any rabbit birth. I've seen birds get stuck eggs and that was awefull. I've had two rabbit births from an older bunny that hadn't had babies before, and had a bad previous life and she was fine.

Whatever happens you know you've always done your best for Jazz and that's all you can ask of yourself.

 

[lemonaxis]

Thanks Michelle, I know its all going to be okay, just a got a case of the guilts as technically this is a casual breeding of a pet and totally unnecessary!
Much to learn ...much to learn!:?

 

[BlueGiants]

Stop beating yourself up and wait to see what happens. What's done is done, you can't take it back...

The VAST majority of rabbit kindles go without a hitch. And that's what you have to keep telling yourself. You've gotten lots of very good information, now you just need to be prepared to deal with anything that comes up.

Keep the vets number handy (and let the vet know you may call/come in if anything develops). Most kindles take place at night or early AM. Most does don't make any sounds or let you know what's going on. If you do see her in the box, don't disturb her. She will hop out when she is done and start cleaning herself. Give her a few minutes (10-15 minutes is good) to make sure she is done. Then you can lift the nest box out and check the babies.

You need to stay calm, especially around her. She can sense your stress and that will transfer to her, and she won't know why...

If she doesn't deliver by Saturday, remove the nestbox and nesting materials. The breeding didn't "take", time to move on to plan 2.

 

[lemonaxis]

yep all army ready

You have been a huge support! All of you , thank you.
I am actually just fine, I just need to relax, but Jazz means so much to me:biggrin2:
Its funny today and over the last few days she really has started bonding with me.
Its terribly cute.

She used to simply walk around sniffing the floor if her pellets had run out, now she comes up and pushes her bowl into my foot.
So cute.

The main thing at the moment is that she seems so tranquil and even happy to be petted a lot.

I AM being practical here too even though I have my moments of OMG...I mean if there are babies then there are babies! Its what is meant to be for now. Luckily I end up sleeping about 4 hours a night with a colicky baby so I will be around a lot to make sure Jazz is okay.

 

[lemonaxis]

ooo0000ooo countdown time, will she or won't she.
I must confess I have been horribly emotional over BK today because every time I see Jazz I think of him. This grief is very hard and sometimes out of no where I find myself crying for him.

Poor BK.
I love you BK, I know Jazz is well loved, and that you are looking out for her. Good little man!

 

[countrybunnyholly]

I so sympathize with you, Lemon! My third baby woke up 5 or 6 times a night until she was almost 18 months old, and I still had the other two to care for, one of whom I called my "rooster" because he came to my bed at 5:00 am like clockwork every day. I was never soexhausted in my life!

Fortunately, rabbits are a whole lot easier than human babies! And despite your previous experience with Jazz, I think you are much better prepared this time, and you should expect a much better outcome. Really, we've had 5 litters with our rabbits, and it amazes me how nature just takes care of everything! Try to relax and just trust your bunny and her instincts.

By the way, we have a pair of neutered rabbits living together ( a boy and a girl). They are siblings, but not from the same litter, and they could not be happier together. Our rabbits live outside, and even when it is 100 degrees, they are snuggled up together! They are adorable! I don't know what will happen when we lose one of them - the other will probably die of a broken heart!

We'll all wait anxiously to hear your news. Tomorrow, isn't it? :goodluck