TheLittleBunny10
Well-known member
my doe I think was bred 2 days ago and I'm just wondering how to palpate her and when?
could you post pics? (if possible)
Thanks
could you post pics? (if possible)
Thanks
How to Palpate a Doe?
- Thread starter TheLittleBunny10
- Start date
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You should be able to feel bulges in her belly at around 2 weeks.
First feel a male or female who your sure is not pregnant to practice on and to compare with.
Place them on a table, hold them with your left(non dominant) hand with their heads pointing at your belly button.
Cup their abdomen/bellies/guts with the palm of your right hand and feel around. You can't damage a buck or non pregnant doe unless you pinch something tight. You will mostly feel intestines and maybe their bladder, you won't feel the liver, it is up under the ribs, or the kidneys, these are glued to last ribs close to the spine and are not floating around.
Practice being gentle and keeping the rabbit relaxed, you dont want a pregnant doe to wiggle or be so tense you can't feel anything or may apply too much pressure.
Now in a pregnant doe the uterus will have little grapes (size depends on the breed) that feel like tumors in her belly. Don't squish them or handle them roughly as they can be damaged.
Later in pregnancy her belly feels tight, as she is running out of room th there and you cannot squish her intestines at all.
Further reading
http://www.hlrsc.com/Articles/palpation.html
First feel a male or female who your sure is not pregnant to practice on and to compare with.
Place them on a table, hold them with your left(non dominant) hand with their heads pointing at your belly button.
Cup their abdomen/bellies/guts with the palm of your right hand and feel around. You can't damage a buck or non pregnant doe unless you pinch something tight. You will mostly feel intestines and maybe their bladder, you won't feel the liver, it is up under the ribs, or the kidneys, these are glued to last ribs close to the spine and are not floating around.
Practice being gentle and keeping the rabbit relaxed, you dont want a pregnant doe to wiggle or be so tense you can't feel anything or may apply too much pressure.
Now in a pregnant doe the uterus will have little grapes (size depends on the breed) that feel like tumors in her belly. Don't squish them or handle them roughly as they can be damaged.
Later in pregnancy her belly feels tight, as she is running out of room th there and you cannot squish her intestines at all.
Further reading
http://www.hlrsc.com/Articles/palpation.html
BroodCoop
Well-known member
I don't palpate the way the books say to. I think it is intrusive and destructive. I palpate lightly on day 28 or so when I am putting in a nest box. I do a surface feel for lumps. It is very gentle and superficial. Now I go more by the way the does act anyways. Be friends with your bunnies and they will let you know.
grumpy
Well-known member
Done correctly, palpating a doe is quite safe. It takes a great deal of practice and a generous helping of patience to be successful.
10-14 days is the period I palpate my does. I used to do it on a regular basis. However, I got away from the practice through sheer laziness. I took it up once again last spring and have had good success with it since then.
There are vids on u-tube that could provide a much better description than the written word.
grumpy.
10-14 days is the period I palpate my does. I used to do it on a regular basis. However, I got away from the practice through sheer laziness. I took it up once again last spring and have had good success with it since then.
There are vids on u-tube that could provide a much better description than the written word.
grumpy.
OneAcreFarm
Well-known member
OAF, that is what I had seen too! Very good resource. If you wait til day 28 to palpate and find that your doe didn't take you've wasted at least 2 weeks. I can palpate at 10 or 12 days and determine at that point if she needs rebred.
TheLittleBunny10
Well-known member
ok thanks,
SashaMolly
Member
Okay, I can generally tell at about 1 week on my Dutch does. You should be able to feel marbles and 1 week. I can never guess how many, but nevertheless, there should be a couple. =)
TheLittleBunny10
Well-known member
are the kits smaller (meaning harder to feel) inside a dwarf doe (comparing to a large doe)
do you do it a different days on a dwarf and large doe?
do you do it a different days on a dwarf and large doe?
