Pregnant bunny hasn't had babies yet!!

[iLuvMyLilBuns]

As some of you might know, I bred my lil Holland lop bunnies on August 31st. It's October 1st today wich is 31 days from August 31st and Lila hasn't had her babies yet But when they say that the rabbit has the babies on the 31st day do they mean in the morning of the 31st or like the night of the 31st?

Lila hasn't started nesting. She does seem to be shedding a lot and very aggressive, she tries to bite me all the time. She's also eating alot. Her weight gain hasnt been very much only a few ounces. I don't know for sure cause my scale kinda sucks but she doesn't look very big and her dewlap is an average size. Also when I bred them, Charlie (he is 8 months) only fell off of Lila once so I don't know if the breeding took place?

Is this normal? This is Lila's first litter and she's currently 18 months. Do you think she's pregnant? Was she too old to breed? Do rabbits usually stay pregnant for more then 31 days?? I'm really worried cause I was looking forward to baby bunnies

Any suggestions would be great

 

[JBun]

She could still be pregnant. I think people wait til 35 days. I would keep a nesting box in there just in case the babies come along. You can try placing your hands around her belly area and see if you can feel any little kicking babies. I could with my doe. Just don't get bit

 

[Imbrium]

normal gestation is 28-32 days, iirc. they usually don't nest until a few hours before they give birth. I believe they start eating less for the 1-3 days before they give birth, but I'm not 100% sure on that.

18 months is a bit old for the first litter... did he make any noise when he fell off of her? it's possible she isn't pregnant.

 

[iLuvMyLilBuns]

Yes he grunted when he fell off. She was 17 months when I bred her, I thought that was young enough?

 

[ldoerr]

I have had a doe that would give birth 2 weeks late. She did this every time I breed her. There is a good chance that she is NOT pregnant. I normally make sure that my bucks fall off 3-5 times minimum. I would leave the nest box in for a few weeks just in case.

 

[iLuvMyLilBuns]

2 weeks late? Omg that's going to be hard waiting, I didn't know that was possible! I thought that it only takes one time for the buck to fall off. This is just what I've heard but maybe it's not true?

 

[ldoerr]

I did not think that it was posible either.

 

[iLuvMyLilBuns]

Do any of you know if it's possible for a rabbit to get pregnant when the buck falls off only once? The reason the buck only fell off once is this:

It was the buck's and the doe's first time ever breeding so they were both unexperienced and the doe wasn't accepting the buck so I took them out and put them together an hour later. Then the doe accepted and the buck fell off. A few hours later I put them together again and the doe was getting upset and running away. So that's why he only fell off once. Is she pregnant? I'm new at this! Any help is well appreciated

 

[JBun]

Sometimes one time is all it takes. With her not accepting the buck after that then there's a good chance she is pregnant. Is she more aggressive or grumpier than she usually is? That can also be a sign too. My doe was super grumpy when she wae pregnant, and then she had her babies and was a total sweetheart. Just wait and be ready.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

Holland Lops (and any other small breeds) should be bred for the first time at 6 months old. If the doe is on the larger side, some people will even start them at 5 months old. The first time doesn't always go perfectly, but the important thing is that you get them started. Waiting until 18 months will not only make it more difficult to get your doe bred, but it increases the possibility of complications either in conceiving a litter or kindling the litter.

When I breed my does, I typically take them back to the buck 3 times. It is just as possible that they will "take" on the first breeding. But since rabbits are induced ovulators, breeding them about 3 times within a 12-hour time period gives you the best chances of the doe conceiving.

The gestation period is 28-31. 98% of my does kindle on the 31st day. Occasionally, they will kindle on the 32nd. I have never heard of them delivering successfully before beyond Day 35 when the breeder's math is correct.

If it is Day 31 and your doe is eating a lot and not nesting, she is probably not pregnant. I'd rebreed her at this point. If you ever do have a doe that nests but is late with her litter, it may be that she's having trouble kindling and the babies will come late, possibly stillborn. So then, I would leave the nest in the full 35 days.

BEFORE you rebreed though, carefully consider whether or not you want to take the chance. Like I said, starting a doe this late can cause troubles. On one hand, she may just never conceive. That wouldn't really be a problem, just a little disappointing. On the other hand, some of us learn the hard way that does can actually pass away from kindling complications. In my younger years of breeding, I lost a pet doe that was VERY special to me because I didn't know they should be bred for the first time so early. She passed away from complications late in the pregnancy. That's when I started more aggressively researching the ins and outs of raising rabbits and learned that things may have turned out differently, had I known. There is also the chance that it could've happened even if she were bred earlier on- you never know. But in any case, breeding rabbits is a risk. I'm not saying this to scare you, only because I don't want you to lose a rabbit that is very special to you. It's one thing to lose a "herd doe" (still sad, disappointing), but it is devastating to lose a pet.

If you do try again, good luck! And be sure to let him breed her several times. I usually try once, then again 15 minutes later. And again 30 or so minutes after that.

 

[ldoerr]

My doe that gave birth 2 weeks late always hade live healthy kits. I was never able to raise the babies because I had thought that she was not pregnant, so took the nest box away. She normally had the kits a few days after that. I always breed in the fall so it was cold out. I know that the babies were born alive because I found them all over the cage and in the next cage over. I am pretty sure that they had died because they had gotten cold. They were always very pretty normal sized babies. I know that my calculations on when they were supposed to be born were correct. (I checked it against 3-4 things). I have no explenation as to why she gave birth 2 weeks late, but she did a couple of times. I have never herd of this before or since. The mother was always fine. Her name was Sweet Pea.

 

[majorv]

Guess you'll just need to wait a few days and see if she has anything. I agree that 18 months is prettyold for a doe to have her first litter. If the buck only bred her once then that's a double strike, IMO, given her age. I hope she is, but won't be at all surprised if she isn't.

 

[iLuvMyLilBuns]

The babies were born this morning!! I'm soo happy Thanks soo much everyone for the advice! It's really early right now but i'll go back out and check on them later and then I will tell you all how many there is and post a pic

 

[Nancy McClelland]

:yahoo: It's picture time!

 

[iLuvMyLilBuns]

Two babies!! One kit was born in the nestbox before 6 am, the kit is warm, big, and has a round belly. The second kit was born between 9-11 am and it was born on the wire. The kit is cold and skinnier then the firstborn kit. I put it in the nestbox with the other kit. Hopefully they survive Pics will be posted tonight!

 

[washbellykeldon]

I am having a little problem with my doe I bred her the 22 of February 2020. Today is the 23 March and she hasn't give birth.
The next problem I give her breakfast and she didn't eat it normally she would eat and want more

 

[Hollandblaze03]

I am having a little problem with my doe I bred her the 22 of February 2020. Today is the 23 March and she hasn't give birth.
The next problem I give her breakfast and she didn't eat it normally she would eat and want more

Just wait a few more days. If you get to 25 day’s and she doesn’t give birth, palpate her or take her to the vet to see if she is pregnant. If not, you can rebreed her.

 

[washbellykeldon]

Just wait a few more days. If you get to 25 day’s and she doesn’t give birth, palpate her or take her to the vet to see if she is pregnant. If not, you can rebreed her.

Thank you my friend but she gave birth last night about 11:30- 11:45

 

[Hollandblaze03]

That’s good to hear!

 

[washbellykeldon]

I'm so happy she delivered 6 beautiful kits