Had some babies

[digitaloutlaw]

well i was getting worried as this was this does first litter and she didnt pull fur until about 1 min before she had 11 babies one was still born but the other 10 look healthy

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Sheesh- if she'd started pulling any earlier, she'd be bald! :x

Congrats- what a nice litter, and a beautiful nest!

 

[skysthelimit]

Very nice!!

 

[digitaloutlaw]

The funny thing is she doesnt look like she is missing any hair at all its like she pulled it out of thin air

 

[greeleyfarm]

I've got a feeling my most recently kindled doe pulled from behind her front legs and not from her muff...

 

[Miss M]

Wow! :razz: What a massive explosion of fur! She did a great job!

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Congrats on the popples!

 

[digitaloutlaw]

Thanks all so far the 10 are doing great. I got one that keeps getting out the nest box and it is the fatest one I think he keeps hanging on the nipple.

 

[DanaYares]

I wanna curl up in that nest too.

 

[Cattle Cait]

Nice nest! Momma done good!

 

[avdpas77]

I've got a feeling my most recently kindled doe pulled from behind her front legs and not from her muff...

I think that the thing about rabbits pulling the fur from their "dewlap" may be mostly an urban legend. None of my rabbits do, they pull it from their underbelly, chest or the backs of their front legs. I have always heard that rabbit pull it from their "dewlap" and I am relatively sure I have read it in books, but since I started paying attention, I have never seen that.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I have never seen them pull from their dewlap either. Sides and belly here.

So... what is the function of the dewlap? Fat storage? A way to keep their breath warm to keep frost buildup from their nostrils?

 

[boundarybunnyco]

the dewlap must be a fat storage thing? seems like the larger, older does have way bigger dewlaps.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Maybe they use it as a reserve to produce milk if they don't have access to enough feed... otherwise you would think bucks would have them too.

 

[Cattle Cait]

I was always told in 4-H that the dewlap is where the momma pulls fur from. Then again, they tell us a lot of silly things in 4-H.

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

A freind of mone noticed a long time ago- the bigger the dewlap-- the more hormonal the does were--and dewlaps use energy---a large dewlap on a doe- lower milk production-- but- that was her experience--

 

[digitaloutlaw]

1 died today. I have been having a problem with one staying latched on the nipple well today the mother drug him to death.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Oh no! I am so sorry to hear it!

Was it one of the biggest? We have been discussing that it is often the big greedy ones that stay latched on and get pulled out of the nest.

Some people put a lip on the nestbox so the kits get scraped off when the doe jumps out. That might be something you want to do to prevent this happening again.

 

[digitaloutlaw]

yea it was my little fat one. I thought about adding a lip or making the front a little taller

 

[SterlingSatin]

my does pull from their groin and belly area (at least thats where I see the thin patches after they kindle). I've never really seen missing fur from the dewlap.