About to kindle?

[trinityoaks]

Branwyn, one of our Zil does, is due today. This is her second litter. Her first litter was kindled on the wire, no fur pulled, didn't feed them, stomped on several.

All day long today she's been stuffing whatever hay I give her into her nest box. Some of the time, she's in her nest box, practically buried in hay, scratching at the bottom of the box for all she's worth. (It's a clear plastic box that I'm using as a makeshift nest box, so I can watch what she's doing.) The rest of the time, she lays on her side in her cage, panting. DH said that while she was laying down this afternoon, he saw kits moving around in her belly. She hasn't pulled any fur at all yet.

Does this sound like nesting behavior to you? I'm a little concerned about the panting. Is that normal, or is that a sign that she may have a rough time of it? The sire of this litter is a purebred Cal, somewhat bigger than she is.

 

[lyndseyrk]

Yep, sounds like you'll have babies by this morning. The "panting" isn't from labor pains like people or dogs do. It's from all the fuss she's making digging in her box. Let us know how it goes!

 

[MaggieJ]

Sounds perfectly normal to me. Many does do not pull fur until they are in labour or even after the babies arrive. I'm a little concerned about the nest box. If it is lightweight, it might be a good idea to anchor it to the side of the cage to prevent tipping. This can be done by drilling, melting or punching a few holes in the side and then wiring it to the cage wire. A few long metal chip-bag holders would do the job in a pinch.

 

[Anntann]

Mama-san does EXACTLY the same thing. A few days before kindling she crams every bit of stuff from the cage into her nest box. Then she lays around looking happy. When she starts labor, the fur starts flying.

My three angora does, currently waiting for the labor pains to start, have done the same. Tons of hay and straw in the nest box, no fur. The first day they'd lay there panting. Now it's back to normal behaviour...just SLOWER as they lumber around. :rotfl: They're used to jumping from the tunnel to the tub...now none of them can haul themselves up onto the tub. It's pretty funny. (I really shouldn't laugh at the poor pregnant things..but geez they're funny )

 

[trinityoaks]

@ Maggie: Oh, yes! It's well-anchored on two sides to the corner of the cage. She's not moving that thing anywhere! All the other does, on the other hand, who have regular metal nest boxes, have been shoving theirs all over (but not tipping them, thank God!).

Now another Zil doe, Dot, is feverishly rearranging her hay, and Branwyn is just sitting there with a look on her face that says, "What?" No fur or babies yet for Bran.