bred dutch and lionhead does questions.. help anyone?

ohiogoatgirl · May 9, 2012

so i bred my lionhead does on april 16 so they are due about may 16... and i bred my dutch doe

on april 22 so she is due about may 22.

well i have tried to palpate them all a couple of times in the last few days... and i dont feel

anything...

of course last time they kindled fine with more babies then usual for the

breeds and just fine. but at least then i could tell they had big full bellies. this time i'm

not feelin anything...

today will be day 22 for the lionhead does and day 16 for the dutch doe. i also just realized

that because the does did not want to be handled i only got to try and palpate the dutch doe

last time.. and not until late in the pregnancy, like day 25 i wanna say.

but i would think i would be able to feel any in the lionheads by day 22, if not in the dutch

doe this early. also note that i'm a newbie and dont have anyone to show me how to palpate but

am learning by reading and online videos.

also i dont know ages on one of the lionhead does but i know that one of the two is like 4 anda

half yrs old and the other doe is the same size as her. and they are bred to two different

bucks. they were bred 25 days after kindling. i know it is usually longer for the lionheads but

they seem in good health after the last litter, which i weaned at 4wks as they seemed off of

mom anyhow. this is their first litter since i have had them. i got them on feb 7 2012.

the dutch doe i got her on feb 5, 2012 with a litter of 5 2wk old kits, one was a runt and

died in a few days. she was bred on feb 16 which would be about 24 days after last kindling.

she kindled on day 30 (or the night before after midnight at my last check). and now this is

her being bred again, day 26 after kindling. i was gonna wait a little longer to let her put

some weight back on because she had slimmed down a bit but she was goin completely nutzo so i

gave in and bred her back. she isnt skinny though, i would rather have a crazy doe then a

skinny pregnant doe and risk her health. she just isnt as round as she was before.

i'm wondering if maybe it is just too soon? its barely gone to 80*F yet so i wasnt thinkin that

it would be the heat. i free feed everyone and adjust by eye. skinny doe is gettin some

sunflower seeds every few days (as i know they are fatty and i dont want her to just put on fat

and get overheated) and i feed alot of hay and greens and adjust those if they get really wet

poops or anything.

thanks guys

hope i didnt overkill with all the info. i just want to find out if i am missing

something here.

ladysown · May 9, 2012

oh.. sorry...but what's with the double spacing and lack of capitalization? I found that made it really hard to follow.

The best days to palpate are days 10-11 and thereafter to wait until they are closer to kindle. By day 25 I can usually see babies move if I'm quiet enough and just watch my does sides.

At this point in their pregnancy, just waiting it out hurts nothing.

Doesn't matter on the size or breed of the doe as to when you rebreed them. One should always rebreed based on the condition of the doe. (and the needs of the owner of course)

not sure if I missed anything...if I did, just ask again and I'll get to it if I can.

curlysue · May 9, 2012

I like to wait two weeks and see if the doe will breed again.saves time if she isnt bred i havent lost time.

OneAcreFarm · May 9, 2012

curlysue":3gkq0jgb said:
I like to wait two weeks and see if the doe will breed again.saves time if she isnt bred i havent lost time.

Test breeding is not really suggested as a standard practice. Lots of does will breed when already bred or not breed when not bred. Also, you run the risk of two litters at multiple ages of gestation. This can be a risk to both litters and the doe herself. Learning to palpate is a skill that will pay huge dividends in the long run.

Here is a link to an excellent article that give a very good explanation:

http://arba.net/PDFs/palpation.pdf

Just my two cents... :hiding:

ohiogoatgirl · May 9, 2012

i double space if i do lengthy posts because it seems easier to read to most people.

i am goin to wait, after reading about does gettin rebred and ending up with a litter in each horn of the uterus and all that i'd rather wait then chance it.

thanks for that link

Stormy · May 9, 2012

OMIGOD I had no idea rabbits can be rebred and have two different aged litters? That is crazy. I've never heard of an animal doing that... anyone have personal experience with this happening? I didn't think a mammal would continue to release eggs if pregnant. I re-bred my doe after one week, as she seemed more in heat than before, when it was questionable whether she was. I hope I have not jeopardized her or her litter...
So you really just let them do it once and that is it? When I raised rabbits many years ago, I think I did the 2-week rebreed check, and never had litter problems.
thanks!