Doe building nest , not due for two weeks

[Ramjet]

So yesterday when I went to check on my rabbits in the afternoon , I observed one of my does acting as if she was nest building with the small amount of hay that was in her cage to eat.

I watched her for quite a while and that's exactly what she was doing , thing is she's not due for two weeks from today .... She was bred on 8-28-14 , due 9-27-14 and missed , which is ~18 days ago. So I rebred her on 9-29-14 , putting her due date ~10-29-14.

Well , after watching what she was doing and being convinced she was nest building , I put a nest box & plenty of hay in her cage and sure enough , she built a nest , and even pulled fur ..... but no kits.

I figure she is pregnant as her appetite has increased significantly , she eats every pellet I put in and begs for more and her nipples are a bit swollen and furless tho she doesn't appear to have put on much if any weight.

This is the 3rd time she's been bred and has yet to deliver (mainly because I believe my buck is or was heat sterile) .... Just kinda threw me for a loop that she would build a nest that early.

After not having a litter since January , I'd like to take this as a good sign , but I also wonder if maybe its a false pregnancy because of the timing of it all .... Two weeks early is a long time , almost half of a full term.


Rabbits are the strangest critters , once you think you have them all figured out , they throw you a curveball.

 

[Ptbunny8087]

Sounds like she is pregnant! Some does make their nest second before they have their kits, some make their nests days before they are due. It sounds normal to me, so their isn't anything to worry about

 

[Zass]

Let me refer you to: games-bunnies-play-t1122.html

There are a few versions of "Are there buns in my oven?"

But, I think rabbits dislike being considered predictable...so...they are always putting their own spin on things. It's a good thing it only takes 31 days to find out, else we might all just go crazy. :lol:

 

[grumpy]

If a does is false-pregnant, they'll usually begin nesting behavior around day
17 or 18. Odds are she's missed.
Grumpy

 

[Easy Ears]

My does first litter, she started building her nest 2 weeks or even 3 weeks before hand! Haha, and a few weeks later she had 8 babies in the litter. I wouldn't worry. Odds are she could definitely be prego! Just have to wait and see! Or you could always palpate her!

 

[Miss M]

Our first litter, the doe didn't pull fur until she was kindling! :shock:

Other times, we've had does start building nests two weeks ahead of kindling, and they have indeed kindled litters.

 

[Dood]

:yeahthat: It depends on the doe :shrug:

Most of mine get ansy 3 to 5 days before kindling, two don't show signs or pull fur until AFTER the kits are born and one doe, who has never had a false pregnancy, starts nest building 2 weeks after being bred then stops then starts again a couple days before giving birth.

 

[Ramjet]

I just thought it was odd behavior .... being two weeks early in the process. My initial thought was / is a false pregnancy.

The nest box is still in her pen , she's not pooping in it .... very nice nest with lots of fur. I'll leave it for the time being , until and if she starts using it as a litter box , then it comes out.

Really want a litter from this doe , guess I'll try to palpate her and if I feel nothing rebreed her , or just wait a while and see if she shows further signs of pregnancy ..... waiting only sets me back two weeks and I can breed a different doe between now & then since I had planned two other breedings next week anyhow (I have to stagger litters because of cage space).

The fact that my buck is / was obviously heat sterile leaves so many questions ..... I hate this Texas heat.

 

[Zass]

I've had does do both too. Sometimes early nest builders aren't pregnant. Once, I took the nice early nest away, and gave it back on day 29. She rewarded me with a nest full of kits! Twice I've had does build a nest and pull hair on day 31 and....no kits.
Feel free to rebreed her, but she might take the buck even if she is pregnant. I would remember her original due date and have a nestbox ready, just in case.

 

[grumpy]

I've got a very reliable doe that DEMANDS a nest-box five days early. :x :x

If she doesn't get what she wants...she'll pluck herself bald-butt naked!!!
After her second or third litter, I "finally" got the message. Once the box
is in place, she'll fuss and putter over it daily until it's her time. She'll
re-arrange her nesting material a half-dozen times before it's all said
and done and pull a very good nest of hair the day before she's due.
She's ready .....she's content .........and very, very, plump.

I'd have to check, but I think her upcoming litter is #11. She'll have 8-12
kits each time. I DO know for a fact that through it all, she's lost only one kit.
She's a dandy, for sure. Several of her daughters live in cages alongside
their Mama. They're pretty darned good does as well.

 

[Ramjet]

Well , I palpated her and felt nothing. (not that my palpating skills should be trusted) So I decided to put her in with my buck and see what happened. Generally if I put a pregnant doe in with him he'll completely ignore her and if she was pregnant she likely wouldn't be receptive ....

They played bunny tag for a while , he mounted her and she lifted .... left them for ~half hour in which they bred multiple times. After being returned to her own pen , she was rather irritable , very unhappy with me. Wouldn't even take a treat!

I assume this nest building episode was a false pregnancy as it fits the timeline that Grumpy described earlier in the thread.
Just in case I'll put her nest box back in on her original due date .... don't want kits on the wire.

I also bred another doe today , put them together three different times over the course of the day in which he bred her a total of 14 times. Normally I wouldn't ask him to work so hard but I wanted to try and get him to shoot out all those blanks he had been shooting recently due to the heat .... hopefully these two does take this time as the temps have declined quite a bit over the last month. If not , we'll do it again .... until we get it right.

 

[katiebear]

Ramjet, I wouldn't remove the nest box...as I posted under "heat sterility" I re bread a "test" doe and got three dead kitts the next day. Had no idea she had took.apparently not all of them were blanks
Better safe than sorry.So I put a nest box in with the other doe . The doe with a box gave us three live ones.no re bread for her she just jumped in the box built the nest and pulled fur an hour later they were born.
Both tested the same day...

 

[Ramjet]

Ramjet, I wouldn't remove the nest box...as I posted under "heat sterility" I re bread a "test" doe and got three dead kitts the next day. Had no idea she had took.apparently not all of them were blanks
Better safe than sorry.So I put a nest box in with the other doe . The doe with a box gave us three live ones.no re bread for her she just jumped in the box built the nest and pulled fur an hour later they were born.
Both tested the same day...

Maybe I should put it back in .... she wasn't using it as a toilet or sofa. No harm in leaving it under those conditions.

 

[Easy Ears]

Anyone ever had a doe pull fur weeks before, and the next litter, days before?

 

[Ramjet]

Anyone ever had a doe pull fur weeks before, and the next litter, days before?

This doe did pull fur a full two weeks early .... and is still "tending" the nest.

 

[Easy Ears]

This doe did pull fur a full two weeks early .... and is still "tending" the nest.

Well I mean, pulled fur weeks early in one litter, and then in the next litter (A whole different litter) pulled fur days before, or hours before.....anyone ever had a doe do that??? I'm just curious, because my doe pulled fur two weeks early in one litter, and I think she is prego now...but she's not pulling fur, and her due date is in 3 days.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

if she was pregnant she likely wouldn't be receptive ....

Actually, more often than not a pregnant doe will accept the buck in the latter half of pregnancy, so it isn't a reliable indicator.

In most mammals the progesterone secreted during gestation inhibits oestrus and the pregnant female refuses to mate, but a pregnant doe may accept mating throughout the gestation period. Indeed, in the second half of pregnancy this is the most common behaviour (Figure 10).

A breeder cannot therefore use the sexual behaviour of does as an indication of pregnancy. Mating occurring during gestation has no dire consequences for the embryos. Unlike the phenomenon observed in the female hare, superfoetation (two simultaneous pregnancies at two different stages of development) never occurs in rabbits.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/t1690E/t1690e05.htm

Well I mean, pulled fur weeks early in one litter, and then in the next litter (A whole different litter) pulled fur days before, or hours before.....anyone ever had a doe do that???

Not exactly, but when I first started raising rabbits, I thought it would be a good idea to note each doe's behavior so I could better predict when they would deliver. Unfortunately, they seem to like to keep us guessing, and often change their behavior from one kindling to the next.

 

[Ramjet]

if she was pregnant she likely wouldn't be receptive ....

Actually, more often than not a pregnant doe will accept the buck in the latter half of pregnancy, so it isn't a reliable indicator.

In most mammals the progesterone secreted during gestation inhibits oestrus and the pregnant female refuses to mate, but a pregnant doe may accept mating throughout the gestation period. Indeed, in the second half of pregnancy this is the most common behaviour (Figure 10).

A breeder cannot therefore use the sexual behaviour of does as an indication of pregnancy. Mating occurring during gestation has no dire consequences for the embryos. Unlike the phenomenon observed in the female hare, superfoetation (two simultaneous pregnancies at two different stages of development) never occurs in rabbits.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/t1690E/t1690e05.htm

Learn something new every day .... opcorn:

Her original due date is the 29th , all I can do is wait 9 more days. I've left the nest box in her cage ... She doesn't lounge in it or use it as a potty so I don't see any harm in leaving it in place. She got fussy when I took it out.

This has been a frustrating year with my buck going heat sterile , that's for sure. Wish I had a backup buck!.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Learn something new every day .... opcorn:

Yeah! And isn't that just the most wonderful thing?!? Life would be so-o-o boring otherwise.

I've left the nest box in her cage ... She doesn't lounge in it or use it as a potty so I don't see any harm in leaving it in place. She got fussy when I took it out.

I think that is a good idea. Better safe than sorry, and since she is being a good girl about it, I don't see any harm.

Hopefully she is pregnant and you will get a nice surprise before too long! :clover:

 

[christinegodbour60@gmail.]

Sounds like she is pregnant! Some does make their nest second before they have their kits, some make their nests days before they are due. It sounds normal to me, so their isn't anything to worry about

My rabbit built her nest on day 19 is that false or is she pregnant