discouraged

[cmabb]

I'm feeling a bit discouraged today. I bred my doe twice and I'm just hoping she is pregnant and due by Aug 21st. I tryed to palpitate her underside but I only felt hardness not soft marbles the book describes when feeling for babies. Either I didnt do it right or she's not preggo. I do notice she been eating all her pellets when I go to refill. Sorry for my complaining. Has anyone else felt discouraged there first time for there first liter? Is there any other "tests" I can do? If not then I'll just have to wait and see. :bunnyhop:

 

[akane]

Palpating won't tell you much until you get experience and even then some people just never can feel anything. All you can do is wait. All my first ones were misses due to the heat making the bucks sterile. It was 3 months before we got our first litter and then the doe was over 2 years old before being bred so she had some problems and ended up too swollen and in pain to feed the kits. We had to get her some pain killers and anti inflammatories.

 

[fuzzy9]

I'm not knowledgeable enough yet to help you out with anything technical or medical, but I can tell you that we also had a very rough start when we first got into rabbits in february. It took us a while to get things figured out, but everything kind of fell into place, and worked out. Just took us a while, and we also went through a frustration period. Hang in there, and just be patient, it all works out eventually.

 

[HoneyTree]

Cmabb, I have no words of wisdom, but I wanted to thank you for posting. I haven't even gotten my rabbits yet, but much of what I have read focuses on how easy and low-maintenance rabbits are. I appreciate your perspective, too, about how there can be frustrations, as it makes for a much richer mental soup of what-could-be with rabbits! So, thank you.

 

[cmabb]

thanks all and yes it is frustrating. Just wish it was easier but oh well. Just got to wait.

 

[MaggieJ]

Hey, guys, it's only a month you have to wait. Breed the doe, then focus on other things. The kits will be there before you know it.

 

[ottersatin]

We all have had our ups and downs
when we started, in fact we still have ups and downs
throughout the year. When you least expect, EXPECT IT!
That's just Murphy's LAW! If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.
Each thing that we enjoy comes along with a few parts which just don't
happen to be so enjoyable. It all comes out in the wash.
We all learn as we go along, time will prove the value
of the things we go through.
Ottersatin. ldtimer:

 

[SatinsRule]

Cmabb, this time of year it is not at all uncommon for a doe not to take. I can only imagine that it's especially true in AZ, where the temperatures are hot for much longer in the year, short of having some kind of temperature-controlled facility.

Don't give up. The best black satin I ever raised came about after such a struggle, and like Otter said, when you least expect it, EXPECT IT!!!

 

[cmabb]

Thanks guys!

 

[eco2pia]

Also a new young doe is always the hardest for me to palpate. They tense up and you can't feel through their muscles. I think maggie's right, just wait it out.

 

[Davidsherwood]

There are a few things you can do to improve your success rate. Commercially they inject the Doe with hormones but research has shown that adjusting the photoperiod (day-length) is just as effective. When you have a young Doe keep her under a short photoperiod (8 hours light/16 hours dark) for a few months before she is ready to breed. At this time give her a low energy rabbit food or supplement pellets (restricted feeding with pellets) with free choice grass hay (all she can eat). This will bulk up her digestive system but prevent her from getting too fat. Then one week before breeding her move her into a long-day photoperiod (16 hours light/8 hours dark) and give her free choice pellets. This will stimulate fertility just before you breed her. Then keep her in the long-day photoperiod throughout pregnancy and nursing. ANYTHING YOU CAN DO TO KEEP YOUR RABBITS COOL WILL HELP!!!!! If you have further questions feel free to ask me or check out http://www.naturalrabbitfood.com for more information.

 

[BoxerMom]

I have had 3 litters, and one on the way. I still have yet to be able feel the marble-like kits inside. The only way I knew for sure was when they started getting fat! Good luck with your doe, one of mine is due on the same day as yours,so we'll both be waiting with our fingers crossed =)

 

[akane]

Once you get things going the misses and occasional losses don't seem so great. Given how often rabbits are bred and how often something goes wrong the odds are actually really low compared to breeding most any other animal.

 

[MaggieJ]

Commercially they inject the Doe with hormones

Davidsherwood, who are "they"?

I've known a number of commercial breeders from other forums over the years and I am willing to bet they do not inject their does with hormones. Are you saying that this is a common practice, here in North America?

 

[cmabb]

thats cool Boxermom, I hope both our does have babies. I will be happy if she just has one!

 

[Davidsherwood]

The hormone used commercially is "Pregnant Mare Serum Gonadotrophin (PMSG)." You can read about it from this published article:
Luis Quintela, Ana Peña, Mónica Barrio, Maria Dolores Vega, Roberto Diaz, Francisco Maseda, Pedro Garcia 2001. Reproductive performance of multiparous rabbit lactating does: effect of lighting programs and PMSG use. Reprod. Nutr. Dev. 41: 247–257

Of course that was 10 years ago... but the principles are the same. Most commercial breeders I have met have only been raising rabbits for less than 5 years and are still trying to figure things out... as we all are!

 

[MaggieJ]

That article is from Spain and it does not say that hormones were used routinely in commercial rabbitries. It certainly does not suggest that this is common practice in commercial rabbitries in North America. It seems to me that your initial statement is misleading. The commercial breeders I was referring to were in the business for many, many years and were well respected. I think they would be horrified by the suggestion that this is common practice. Unless you have documentation that this is the case, I think it would be best to edit your original post.

http://rnd.edpsciences.org/index.php?op ... ntela.html

 

[akane]

I'm not sure I actually see the harm in using hormones of this type. We use hormones all the time to bring multiple mares in to heat at the same time so we can haul both to the same stallion and we only have to take turns checking on them throughout the night for at most a month (I had one mare always go 3 weeks late). It has no bad effects on the foals and if I were using them as meat animals I'd see no problem with it. When I think negative hormones I think about things intended to increase growth speed or muscling which have negative impacts on the health of the animal and are used directly on the animal you are eating. Aside from making the food source less healthy residual amounts might also have a negative effect on humans. Using hormones like the ones that bring animals in to breeding condition are usually gone from the system by the time pregnancy kicks in and aren't passed to the offspring which are the ones you are eating. Maybe it's not healthy for the doe and natural methods are more ideal but it shouldn't be entering your actual food supply.

 

[MaggieJ]

Akane, there may be no harm at all in using these hormones. I am not saying that. What I am disputing is the suggestion that this is common practice in North American commercial rabbitries. I wonder what people like Pat Lamar and Linda Welch would have to say about this topic. I cannot imagine that in all the years they have been posting on the HT rabbit forum that this topic would not have come up at least once if hormones were routinely used. I would like Davidsherwood to either substantiate or edit his remarks.

 

[ottersatin]

If I have to give my rabbits a bunch or Hormones
to get them to breed/raise kits, I think that I would
send them to the processor and start all over with
some rabbit that know what a rabbit is supposed to do.
There are too many good rabbits to be had than having
to resort to chemicals just to get your rabbits to produce.
As always, JMPO. We all must do what we feel is best
for the members of our herd.
Ottersatin. ldtimer: