HELP! did she lose her babies?! D:

[ohiogoatgirl]

my dutch doe is due on march 17. i have been feeling her tummy every day. yesterday it was a nice big baby belly just as it has been growing all along. but today i went out to feed and water everyone and her belly was all little :/ nothing like it was. i am absolutely sure that she was bred on feb 15. her kits are still in with her because i am working on getting another cage for them. there are only 4 but they are 6 wks old and going on 2 lbs. could she have lost them? any thoughts would be much appreciated. thanks!

 

[Peach]

So she already has kits and you rebred her? Back to back breeding is rough on them and dries up the milk for the current liter. It's possible she could of lost them. Give her a month break before rebreeding your does. Making milk for kits is a tiring process. I've have several few day old kits attack my lip thinking it was their mom and it hurts a bit. They have those front teeth that clamp down and suck. I'm sure they are pretty sore after 8 weeks! Surprised my mom the other day.

I recommend wait to see if she delivers, give her a good month to recoup, and then try again

 

[OneAcreFarm]

So she already has kits and you rebred her? Back to back breeding is rough on them and dries up the milk for the current liter. It's possible she could of lost them. Give her a month break before rebreeding your does. Making milk for kits is a tiring process. I've have several few day old kits attack my lip thinking it was their mom and it hurts a bit. They have those front teeth that clamp down and suck. I'm sure they are pretty sore after 8 weeks! Surprised my mom the other day.

I recommend wait to see if she delivers, give her a good month to recoup, and then try again

I am going to politely disagree... ...depending on the rabbit, a 14 day breed back should not be an issue. The natural rhythm for rabbits is breed right after kindling, but few domestic rabbits can handle this accelerated schedule. I bred mine back at 14 days unless they are looking thin, which most of them do not. I have one that needs an additional week to be in tip top shape, but the rest do just fine.

She may have lost them, she also may still be pregnant. I would treat her as such until you hit day 35. She may just surprise you.

 

[MaggieJ]

I agree with One Acre... There is nothing unusual or wrong about a 14 day breed back as long as the doe has maintained good condition. Yes, the doe may wean the first litter at about 4 weeks, but that works fine if appropriate solid foods, including grass hay, are made available to the kits. They will be 7 weeks old when the next litter arrives and independent.

As for the possibility of a miscarriage, Ohiogoatgirl, I think you should just wait and see. If there are no new kits by Day 36, you can rebreed her then.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

okay her belly is big again now. i am the worst at waiting... haha i think i just scared myself. she is seeming fine now. i am going to find something to cage the kits in so that momma can have a break from them. they are getting big now and she isnt nursing them i dont think. her nipples dont feel like she's still nursing. i mean thats from my experience of feeling cats tummies when they nurse/stop nursing kittens. which is the closest thing i can compare that to. i feel her nipples but not the milk veins swollen up like they would be if she was nursing and they were full of milk.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Removing the kits to give her a break is a good idea. I would feed them some oats and grain as well as the foods Maggie mentioned.

 

[Peach]

I dont disagree with you guys I know many of the meat breeders have more to demand out of their does than I do. I would over flow myself with liters of I need back to back and I don't eat my mini lops lol (considering dutch cross NZW). I know someone here has a doe that has to be red back to back or she is mean as ever xD know your doe well and you will know what she can take I breed according to what I can handle and cage space

 

[MaggieJ]

You sounded pretty judgmental in your first post on the subject, Peach. It may not have been intended, but if I were new to rabbits and someone said that to me, I'd have been thinking I had done something terrible by rebreeding the doe... and that is simply not the case.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

thanks y'all. i am definitely giving her a break before i breed her again.

 

[Peach]

Sorry if it sounded that way not what I intended at all! Sorry Ohiogoatgirl and other fellow RTers!

 

[MaggieJ]

No harm done, Peach. Tone of voice often gets lost or misinterpreted on forums. I was pretty sure that was what happened.