Possible pregnant doe...dont know what to do

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mistyjr

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My black dutch baby is pregnant. her belly is betting bigger and bigger each day.

On Jan 10th we caught my buch humping so then i took her out my put her i my spare bedroom, We didnt know the buck was a boy. He was supposed to be a girl. But anyways she's getting bigger and i really dont know what to do. She is a indoor bunny. She is about 16 weeks old, dont know for sure until i get her papers in the mail.

Help me,

Thanks, Misty
 
Hmm, usually their bellies don't actually get very big. I never noticed big bellies on any pregnant does I've had here. That is why a lot of people don't know their rabbits are pregnant until they give birth, cause they don't get ''baby bellies'' :)

I wonder if there is something else going on with her? Parasites or something causing her belly to bloat?
 
mistyjr wrote:
I felt something in her belly last night though.

Ya you should be able to start feeling them wiggle soon, it's usually really wiggly around a week before :p

I guess the best thing to do is start preparing for delivering, asap, as she could be due any day. He may have gotten her before the 10th.
 
But also she could have gotten pregnant before the 10th... Thats the day i saw them do it... They could have done it before then..
 
Here is a box that i had in there for her. It haves a red fleece blanket in there until i figure what i need to put in there...
Thanks, Misty
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Put newspaper in the bottom of the box with timothy hay on top of the newspaper. Mama rabbit will do the rest by lining the nest with her fur. Also if she eats the timothy hay, or whatever hay you have, then keep replenishing it into the nestbox.
 
Can she be a good mom if she is young?
I am so worried about her, My hubby told if me she disowns them he will just take them out back. She is the only female that we have. No back up mommy yet until we get our taxes to buy more bun bun's.
 
How old is she exactly?
Don't have your husband just "take them out back". You may be able to find a breeder in your area (or your aunt?) who has a doe who can foster them, or you could try handfeeding. And she may not disown them... ;)

Emily
 
BlueSkyAcresRabbitry wrote:
How old is she exactly?
Don't have your husband just "take them out back". You may be able to find a breeder in your area (or your aunt?) who has a doe who can foster them, or you could try handfeeding. And she may not disown them... ;)

Emily
I got her on Dec 5th and she was 6 weeks old. Well, see my hubby brung home some wild bunnies and they died on me. My aunt lives 6-8 hrs away from me so she wont be no help. But maybe I can find somebody close by.
 
The box is ok but it's a bit big. You'll need to make her free roam are smaller. Can you put a piece of wood make the box smaller. It only needs to big enough so the doe can hop in and turn around.
You don't want the babies moving around that much or they'll get cold and lost. Rabbits wont pick there babies up if they lost from the group/nest.
 
You want a box that is a little bit bigger than the doe herself, about two inches longer and wider. Just big enough for her to get in and turn around in.

I have used a shoe box in the past and that has worked well. Or something from wood would work too.

Put some bunny safe shavings or other soft litter in the bottom (about 1-2 inches) and then fill the rest with hay. Mom should start rearranging the hay closer to her due date or possibly as she starts to get labour pains (some buns procrastinate). If she doesn't build a nest, you can make a fist sized hole in the middle of the hay and put the babies with any fur that mom pulled in after they are born.

If she starts to build a nest somewhere else, move the box there and put her nest in it. Keep doing that till she gets the idea or has them and you move them into the box.

Check at least twice a day from now on because you don't know the exact due date. Make sure there are no hidden areas she can go in to have babies that you wouldn't be able to access the babies in.

For now, make sure she has lots of hay or straw to build a nest if she so desires. And just be prepared to move the babies into a nest if she doesn't figure that out on her own.

If she has not fed them after 24 hours, you can put her on the nest while giving her a treat. This will allow the babies to suckle from below her (rabbits nurse by standing over the babies), and this will also stimulate her to produce milk. Do that twice a day for at least 5 minutes, and she should start getting the hang of it as her milk production increases from the increase stimulation.

You need to sort through the babies as soon as you see any. Take out any that are dead, warm up any that are cold and check to see if they have been fed. If you post pictures of the babies, we should be able to tell you if they have been fed or not.

Good luck!

-Dawn
 

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