Is she actually pregnant?

[Jim S]

I bought a proven NZ doe earlier this month, and had to bring her home in the car, which took about 90 minutes.

I've been staggered by how little she seems to eat, drink, and move. I'm not skilled enough to check for pregnancy myself, by palpating her abdomen, and it's probably a little late for that by now, anyway.

Do some does not increase their intake much, when pregnant? Of course, having just bought her, I'm not able to really compare what she'd typically eat before she was pregnant, but comparing her against my other rabbits, which are rexes, it does seem like she eats the least - does this sound like she didn't take, when she was bred?

 

[michaels4gardens]

you can't tell if she is pregnant or not, from feed intake... Make sure she has a nest box at day 28...

 

[hotzcatz]

Rabbits don't seem to all eat the same amount. I've got a line of angoras that are total pigs when it comes to feed intake. They will eat twice as much as the others and yet not be fat or gain all that much weight. I'm factoring that into which ones to breed, but that's pretty low in the selection process at the moment. Fiber quality is way more important than feed intake for the bunnies here.

FWIW, pregnant rabbits seem to lay around more than others, so perhaps she is pregnant. Just assume she is and set up her nesting area so if she is it will be ready.

 

[Jim S]

She's certainly doing plenty of lounging!

She's due two weeks today - I was thinking of giving her free choice pellets (she's already on free choice hay, and she's very erratic in how she chooses to eat that, day to day) - is that too soon?

 

[dfr1973]

I don't increase pellet ration until she's actually kindled live kits. I've had some VERY convincing false pregnancies, to the point she'd do everything but deliver.
opcorn:

 

[Jim S]

So, it turns out she was indeed pregnant, and she kindled, on day 34, just as her previous owner said she would.

This is apparently her fourth litter, the previous ones being five, and then two of nine each. This time, however, her litter is of TWO...

This is a New Zealand white, and nothing I've read leads me to any conclusion other than this is a poor result. I'm wondering what might have caused it? I have a few theories.

1) She is coming to the end of her reproductive life? Obviously, her previous owner decided to get rid of her for a reason, but I was told she was under two years old.

2) The stress of the car journey (over an hour, undertaken when she was a week pregnant) and / or the gradual changeover to a new brand of pellet / new source of hay upset things somewhat.

Does anybody have any further ideas? My initial plan, assuming a decent litter size was to keep back one of the does, but in a litter size of two, is this advisable?

 

[michaels4gardens]

those reasons mentioned, are a possibility.
I have a 3 strikes rule,
If she fails to measure up after 3 tries,
then, she would be recycled...
This is "obviously" your choice,
- i don't know what your investment was.
and for me, upkeep is not very much.
"I would" maybe hold on to a doe kit,[if you have one] and and let her grow, while you decide if mom is a keeper or not,
If your doe does well next round , you will already have a replacement/ broodstock doe, on the way.
- if she does not do well, the growing doe, will still be usable for other purposes...

 

[dfr1973]

It could be a time-of-year thing. My girl Lacey had a single last month, after three litters of six, six, and eight. I noticed last year that the girls aren't as into the breeding idea until just after new year's. Not sure where you are located, but I do know latitude matters this half of the year in regards to how much daylight they are getting.

 

[Jim S]

I hadn't considered the time of year thing at all - I'm in northern England, so we're into the very short day season now.

At the moment, the temperatures are above freezing at night, and the rabbits are kept in a shed - would you anticipate any problems keeping such a small litter warm, under those circumstances?

 

[michaels4gardens]

I hadn't considered the time of year thing at all - I'm in northern England, so we're into the very short day season now.

At the moment, the temperatures are above freezing at night, and the rabbits are kept in a shed - would you anticipate any problems keeping such a small litter warm, under those circumstances?

It could be a problem,[sometimes, they get uncovered] ] .. i would either bring them in at night for the first week, and/ or make sure they have a lot of fluffy ,dry nesting material, and plenty of fur covering......

 

[Jim S]

You wouldn't expect any issues in terms of getting the doe to feed them, if they're not there, during the night?

 

[dfr1973]

If you have raspberry canes still alive there, I would give her raspberry leaves. I do that here, but keeping the canes alive over what counts for as Florida winter is not difficult at all. I just had another single born this morning, from a first-time mom whose mother had small litters for me, but her daughters from last year all started off well (Lacey had a six-pack, and MaryAnn had seven). Thankfully, I have a second-timer who kindled yesterday morning, three live and one in pieces (got stuck?) so after I warmed the baby up - tucked in my bra for over two hours - I put the latest single in with her small litter. That reminds me: I need to give her another side sprig of leaves to encourage more milk production (works on most mammals, including humans).

 

[michaels4gardens]

You wouldn't expect any issues in terms of getting the doe to feed them, if they're not there, during the night?

I would not expect that to be a problem, Does only feed once, or some twice a day.. she will feed them when you bring them back, and she is alone... if in doubt, check their tummy and see if it is full... since she is not a first time mom, she should feed them without issues .