False Pregnancy?

[jrpieper]

I bred one of our does, Scarlett, 30 days ago but would have bet the farm that there would be no babies. I supervised the whole "date" and saw zero fall offs and wrote it off to still being in the heart of winter here and severely lacking much daylight. However, lo and behold today she's pulling fur and stashing hay in her nest box. I've read about false pregnancy when the does make a nest really early, but just out of curiosity, is it common to build a nest ON the due date for a false pregnancy? (and yes, I know I'll have my answer to her situation shortly, but I'm just curious!)

 

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

My Does' false pregnancies are usually two weeks in

 

[Alaska Satin]

I bred one of our does, Scarlett, 30 days ago but would have bet the farm that there would be no babies. I supervised the whole "date" and saw zero fall offs and wrote it off to still being in the heart of winter here and severely lacking much daylight. However, lo and behold today she's pulling fur and stashing hay in her nest box. I've read about false pregnancy when the does make a nest really early, but just out of curiosity, is it common to build a nest ON the due date for a false pregnancy? (and yes, I know I'll have my answer to her situation shortly, but I'm just curious!)

Usually does with a false pregnancy in my barn build at about 18 days. I have had does make a nest at the right time when they were not pregnant, but it's only happened twice in about 20yrs, and they were both older does (3-4 yrs old) that had been bred. I'd definitely make sure your doe has a ready box and everything else she needs just in case, so you don't have a tragedy on your hands!

 

[jrpieper]

Usually does with a false pregnancy in my barn build at about 18 days. I have had does make a nest at the right time when they were not pregnant, but it's only happened twice in about 20yrs, and they were both older does (3-4 yrs old) that had been bred. I'd definitely make sure your doe has a ready box and everything else she needs just in case, so you don't have a tragedy on your hands!

Confession: I was so convinced the breeding didn't take I didn't have a nest box in with her until my daughter came in from feeding her this afternoon and said she was pulling fur. I put the box in and 4 hours later we went out to check and there are babies squirming around! HUGE lesson learned for me and I'm SO thankful my 10 year old daughter was paying attention and noticed the fur. Very thankful I didn't have to learn the hard way, but I've definitely learned!

 

[jrpieper]

My Does' false pregnancies are usually two weeks in

This same doe had a false pregnancy at two weeks in, so I went ahead and bred her, having read that does are pretty fertile right after a false pregnancy. And it appears to be true because there are babies in the nest box tonight! I was just coming down with that terrible flu going around when I bred her, so I must have been more out of it than I thought and missed some of the action.

 

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

Confession: I was so convinced the breeding didn't take I didn't have a nest box in with her until my daughter came in from feeding her this afternoon and said she was pulling fur. I put the box in and 4 hours later we went out to check and there are babies squirming around! HUGE lesson learned for me and I'm SO thankful my 10 year old daughter was paying attention and noticed the fur. Very thankful I didn't have to learn the hard way, but I've definitely learned!

Congrats!!!

 

[Alaska Satin]

This same doe had a false pregnancy at two weeks in, so I went ahead and bred her, having read that does are pretty fertile right after a false pregnancy. And it appears to be true because there are babies in the nest box tonight! I was just coming down with that terrible flu going around when I bred her, so I must have been more out of it than I thought and missed some of the action.

Yay!

Don't you love it when you realize your kid has really learned, and built up those observation skills and ability to follow them to their conclusion? Good job, Mom! And nice job, daughter!

I can no longer count how many bunnies (and chickens, quail, goats, and yaks) have survived and thrived due to my kids knowing what they're looking at, and knowing when they should alert me (or do something themselves)! It's one of the reasons I am in such favor of putting kids and bunnies together!

But I have to admit, I've learned the hard way - more than once - to give a doe a box 28 days after any time they've been with a buck, no matter how long or if I've seen them breeding (even when they got out of their cages and I found the buck at one end of the barn and the doe at the other...)!

Congratulations on the nice "catch," and here's hoping they grow up beautifully for you.

 

[dlynn]

I bred one of our does, Scarlett, 30 days ago but would have bet the farm that there would be no babies. I supervised the whole "date" and saw zero fall offs and wrote it off to still being in the heart of winter here and severely lacking much daylight. However, lo and behold today she's pulling fur and stashing hay in her nest box. I've read about false pregnancy when the does make a nest really early, but just out of curiosity, is it common to build a nest ON the due date for a false pregnancy? (and yes, I know I'll have my answer to her situation shortly, but I'm just curious!)

My bucks live with their family in group housing and free access to their yards. They control their own breeding. I have seen many matings, her accommodating and lifting. Him working it. And lots of babies. I have never seen theNM "fall off and playing dead" people talk about. My silver fox bucks will often sidle up to his intended and sing a little love song in her ear before making an attempt. Glad to hear you have new babies.

 

[jrpieper]

My bucks live with their family in group housing and free access to their yards. They control their own breeding. I have seen many matings, her accommodating and lifting. Him working it. And lots of babies. I have never seen theNM "fall off and playing dead" people talk about. My silver fox bucks will often sidle up to his intended and sing a little love song in her ear before making an attempt. Glad to hear you have new babies.

That's the question this situation has raised for me: is there ALWAYS a fall off?? I'm no expert at this process, this is only our fourth round of babies, but I have seen obvious fall offs and did not witness that at all when breeding this doe. So what you mention here is very interesting!

 

[Alaska Satin]

That's the question this situation has raised for me: is there ALWAYS a fall off?? I'm no expert at this process, this is only our fourth round of babies, but I have seen obvious fall offs and did not witness that at all when breeding this doe. So what you mention here is very interesting!

In my experience, no, there is not always a perceptible fall-off. Usually you can see/hear it, but not always (never say never, haha!). Sometimes just the act of mounting, no falloff, has resulted in baby bunnies in our barn.

That's why I said that in my barn, if a doe has been exposed to a buck, at all, for any amount of time, she gets a box 28 days later!

 

[Robochelle]

In my experience, no, there is not always a perceptible fall-off. Usually you can see/hear it, but not always (never say never, haha!). Sometimes just the act of mounting, no falloff, has resulted in baby bunnies in our barn.

That's why I said that in my barn, if a doe has been exposed to a buck, at all, for any amount of time, she gets a box 28 days later!

Yup, consider the messaging we give teenagers. If you don't want babies, Abstinence is the only guarantee. But if you want babies, 'doing it like rabbits' is also not a guarantee. I just recently had a reminder of that.

One would not expect a doe to conceive in an unheated barn with weeks of -40 degree weather. Let alone two of them!