Pregnancy Hormones... What are ya gonna do?

Rabbit Talk  Forum

Help Support Rabbit Talk Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

ButtonsPalace

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 4, 2014
Messages
1,106
Reaction score
14
Location
North Carolina
So, my youngest doe is a first timer and she's nearing her last few days.. Today is day 30... Her mom and grandma stay pretty chill as I remember but I could be wrong.. But she's a bit more pushy about her new attitude. The cage she is in has a feed bowl, her nest box, and a hanging waterer on the outside. She *HAD* and I mean HAD a small pile of grass which she tried to turn into a second nest >~< So that was VERY carefully removed... She's not bit me yet but the way she's acting says push me and I'll do it.. I try to leave her alone other than feeding her right now.. But she'll occasionally hop down from atop her stoop on the top of the nest box and she'll grunt and lunge at me while I feed her. I'm not scared of her obviously or she'd be without food probably because I wouldn't stick my hand in there. Sometimes I feel like I'm sticking my hand into a king cobra infested tank to put food in and it and hoping I won't get hit lol... Now onto my point! I thought it'd be fun for everyone to post their pregnant doe horror stories like mine ^^.. It's a thought but lets see if we can get it going! Some people are bound to have some good stories! :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn:
 
last time my doe had a litter:

She was very by the book. Anyways, I had to take her out of her cage so I could fix part of it 2 days before she gave birth. I tried to get her out but she was growling and almost bit me. She finally jumped into the nest box and I lifted her out that way. Then she was fine to put back in. She had been scary though! She also bit my sisters buck who she was holding nearby.

This time:
My doe was on day 20, haystaching like crazy. Her cage had a little house/box/sleeping area thingy. She was using that so I switched her cage. She was fine then and seemed to calm down until....on day 25 she was back at it. I put the nest box, it was all nice with lots of hay. I came back a little while later and all of the hay was in the corner of the cage, not in the nestbox. I put it back. 15 minutes later I checked on her, and what do you know! it was back out. I was getting pretty frustrated. I moved her cage around, changed nestbox positions, and finally he has made her nest in there. However, she has added to it by tearing up the newspaper in her toilet corner and putting it in. I actually think she is trying to be irritating :roll: :wall:

now to just wait for some popples in a few days!!!! :bunnyhop: :pinkbunny: :bananadance: :cheer1: :runaround: :wr_power:
 
Must be nice having does who go by the book. My oldest doe that I've had the longest is acting pregnant, she's being really shy and backing up in her corner. She looks like a big litter is incoming and I really hope I'm right.. The other doe mentioned in the previous post actually had 9. One was on the wire and I happened to catch it before he was froze. We brought it in put it in a pot with a pillowcase on low on the stove... We warmed him up and made sure he was all good before setting him back outside with mom. Although I do feel pretty special since I got to pet her/see her while she was having the babies.
 
I'm dealing with a hormonal little doe right now.

She's on day 27/31, and has begun to claw me every time I enter the cage, and occasionally growling as well. It used to be, a week and a half back, that she would only snarl and claw if something struck her the wrong way. It happened every 4-7 days that she'd just be cantankerous. But she's now a continual snarling grumpus.

I don't HAVE to enter the cage to feed her: Her hay, water, and pellets can be filled from the outside. But if she wants her extra grains, or any fresh fodder or apple sticks to chew on, I have to get in there. But I will need access to manage the nest-box fairly soon, I assume...

I was kinda wondering, being that this is my first-time keeping rabbits, and first rabbit pregnancy, where this falls on the spectrum of hormonal doe behavior? Did someone else ever have a really sweet doe? Or a holy terror doe?

Do most people find that their does go back to normal after kindling?

(I am REALLY hoping this resolves by then, otherwise I won't be able to handle/manage the kits. I would consider her acting like this ALL the time to be a strong recommendation to freezer camp, but I lack the experience to know if this is really all that bad. It may be that my perception is skewed too. My buck is a sweetheart who likes head pats and cuddles. And my other doe is smaller (not ready to breed yet - thus not hormonal), and also just a little more shy and retiring in personality to start with. She's actually the easiest one for me to handle, and doesn't mind chilling out on my lap or chest with me.)
 
Well sometimes, my does aren't even pregnant they just think they are and they act like that. My one doe a few weeks ago would've tore me up had it not been for my robe, she decided to surprise me with a prank and never had any babies.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top