Pregnant Does...

[Rattiemattiesrattery]

Wow ok I went from 5 buns to soon to be more, thanks to my stupid friend.
*Males are due to be snipped in about 3 days, girls after the babies are weaned.*

ANYWAY lol

My girls on the other hand are due to have babies soon. if judging by the time we found them... They are due about the 30th.

Now, how much food should they be eating, they have been on free feed, so I switch this to something? None of the 5 are over weight.

Should I separate the two girls from each other? If so when?

Do I need to double up on their Veggie intake?

Should they be in a small cage or a big one? They are used to a 5x4x2 grided cage which equals to BIG lol. It's over 6ft x 5ft.

Thank you for your help and time.

 

[GorbyJobRabbits]

I can't answer any of the cage questions. I just had breeder huts. Yours are a lot different.

Seperate the does IMMEDIATELY. They will fight. And if stressed chances of babies surviving are not very high.


I personally always fed my rabbits on a self feeder. That way they didnt just pig out at once. They nibbled throughout the day. I would feed the does what they will eat while pregnant, and while nursing at least. You'll get a wide variety of opinions on that.

 

[polly]

If thats the htches the girls are used to then its probably ok to leave them like that.

I feed the usual amount up until they have had the litter then they get free fed while nursing as they will need more energy. As for vegetables you don't need to up the intake just keep giving them what they are used to and lots of hay

 

[Rattiemattiesrattery]

polly wrote:

If thats the htches the girls are used to then its probably ok to leave them like that.

I feed the usual amount up until they have had the litter then they get free fed while nursing as they will need more energy. As for vegetables you don't need to up the intake just keep giving them what they are used to and lots of hay

Well they aren't in a hutch, it's a NIC cage.
With both of them being Pregnant then I guess the keeping them together isn't really a good idea, there is still about 2 weeks left so I am gonna leave them together until next week, and dismantle their cage and redo it so they can have side by side cages, while they are waiting to kindle and their kits grow.

They have been on free feed since I got them ^_^
I put a flake of hay in every day, and just scoop up and pile up what they leave behind, until the weekend when I let them just chow on that come Monday morning away goes the hay and in comes the new flake.

Well right now they also get a small amount of veggies in the morning, then ALOT right after I eat breakfast. Then I give them a LARGE amount before I eat lunch, a LARGE amount in the evening before Dinner, and then more when I go to bed.

They each get about 3x their body size in greens a day.

 

[GorbyJobRabbits]

Move them immediately. It is not good for pregnant does to be together. They can and generally will get aggressive. If you're already moving them there isn't any sense in waiting.

 

[polly]

I would move them too. I think my only thought is that don't NIC cages have quite big holes? as in the mesh is wide sorry I cant get my words out tonight anyway what I mean is I would be worrying about the babies getting out through the wire.

 

[Rattiemattiesrattery]

Well part of the reason I don't want to separate them yet is because they are so close right now, Gordy and Belladonna *yes Gordy is a she* eat, drink, sleep and play together, they are never more then 4 inches away from each other.
And I am having to wait for the store to get more zip ties, but I can do without that part.

As for the NIC cages, I have .5x.5 wire over 90& of the cage right now, and will after it's remade, because Gordy is small and like to try and stick her head through the grids. Those are like an 1x1.
However I was planning on for the babies cages, to have the whole bottom portion covered with the wire so there is no escape, and hopefully they won't be able to get out of the nest boxes I am making.

 

[GorbyJobRabbits]

they may act like buddies now, but if oen turns, then you have to hussle to get them moved. If you keep them seperated they have more time to get used to being moved and preparing for their litter.

Think if you were pregnant. And suddenly you have to move. You would prefer to get it done a month before you have your child, then waiting and doing it say a week before you have it.

I'm not meaning to sound mean, just want your bunnies to be relaxed and have those healthy babies

 

[Rattiemattiesrattery]

Good point....
I will get them moved around today, but I will keep their cages near each other.

 

[aurora369]

I think that is a good idea. Moving them apart, but right next to each other so they can still see and interact a bit but have their own space. Keeping them right next to each other should make it easier to bond them back together after the babies and a spay, if that is what you want to do.

The wire around the cage is a good idea. I used NIC cages when I was fostering litters and I used cardboard around the bottom of the cage or took two grids and overlapped them to make the holes smaller. Babies can fit through the NIC grids with out any trouble at all, so putting the mesh up will make sure they stay in the cages

-Dawn

 

[Rattiemattiesrattery]

Yeah I figured the wire would be the best thing.

Yes I do plan on spaying, these buns weren't supposed to have babies, and I just barely had gotten them, when my Goddaughter's mom had put them together...

 

[GorbyJobRabbits]

I hope you post pics and things of the little ones as they grow =)

 

[Rattiemattiesrattery]

AndersonsRabbits wrote:

I hope you post pics and things of the little ones as they grow =)

Oh you KNOW I WILL! lol :biggrin2: