I purchased a doe a buck recently and was told that the doe might be pregnant. She is much chunkier than the other rabbits and had not been separate from the bucks. I have the 2 rabbits together currently and they have been living in harmony until today. I noticed the doe whimpering and went over to check out what's going on. The buck is trying to mount her and she is not interested at all. She has kept her butt in the corner despite his persistence and he had even been yanking at her tail to get her to move. I was reading that her denying him is sometimes a sign of pregnancy but it isn't full proof. I'm going to move her into her own area and see if she makes a nest, if nothing else she will at least get some peace. How long would you wait to try to bring them back together if she isn't pregnant? Also, I have seen how to check if a female is ready to breed by the color/swelling of her genitals, does anything change about them during pregnancy? I have palpated her stomach and possibly felt something, but it wasn't obviously a kit. Any suggestions?
Having trouble figuring out if my doe is pregnant.
- Thread starter adwian
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Not all of us are good at palpating. It's safest to just assume she is pregnant.
And yes, it is true that denying the buck is not reliable. Some will "test breed" their rabbits two weeks after breeding... but the thing is, a pregnant doe won't necessarily refuse a buck, and a doe that does refuse isn't necessarily pregnant.
I read somewhere on here that someone noticed the female's genitals were red and swollen right near the time she kindled. I wouldn't hang my hat on that, either, though.
You do definitely want to separate her from the buck. Does are frequently ready and willing to breed as soon as they kindle, and sometimes the buck will try to breed the doe while she is kindling. After this, it would probably be good to keep them apart, as the buck could be perceived as a threat while there are babies around, and does have ...um... sterilized bucks in the past. Kindling every 30 days would be very hard on a doe that is willing, too.
Welcome to RabbitTalk! :welcomewagon:
And yes, it is true that denying the buck is not reliable. Some will "test breed" their rabbits two weeks after breeding... but the thing is, a pregnant doe won't necessarily refuse a buck, and a doe that does refuse isn't necessarily pregnant.
I read somewhere on here that someone noticed the female's genitals were red and swollen right near the time she kindled. I wouldn't hang my hat on that, either, though.
You do definitely want to separate her from the buck. Does are frequently ready and willing to breed as soon as they kindle, and sometimes the buck will try to breed the doe while she is kindling. After this, it would probably be good to keep them apart, as the buck could be perceived as a threat while there are babies around, and does have ...um... sterilized bucks in the past. Kindling every 30 days would be very hard on a doe that is willing, too.
Welcome to RabbitTalk! :welcomewagon:
