Palpated our does - any opinions on whether they took?

[Comet007]

I don't feel any degree of certainty since this is our first breeding, but I palpated both of our does two days ago (13 days after breeding), and I felt several grape shaped squishy things - I HOPE that they are babies!!

I had palpated them earlier, I think around day 7 or 8, just to see what they felt like without embryos. I didn't feel anything then that resembled a grape, just something little and hard, likely a bunny berry? This time around I felt some little squishes that were somewhat in a row with some space in between. Is that what the embryos feel like?

One thing that made me doubt what I felt is that the "grapes" were smaller than I expected. I was picturing a big plump grape like Costco sells, and what I felt when palpating was smaller and slightly oblong. Maybe more like a large Jelly Belly, but squishy? What do you guys think, does this sound like I felt embryos?

Daphne is still eating most of her hay every day, and we have her up to 9 oz of pellets a day. Velma is up to 9 oz, since she wiped clean her feeder the last two days, and is going through her hay rack every second day. We stuff the feeders VERY full, so that is a lot of hay! Shaggy is still only emptying his hay rack every 4th day, with some in the ceiling, and I believe is still on 5 oz a day (actually 6, I checked). The girls are definitely eating more than Shaggy, but I do know they are still growing. That said, it was several days after we bred them that the girls hay consumption increased by about double, so I hope that's a sign that we had a successful breeding!

I know the only way to know for sure is to wait until roughly May 17th, but any opinions on whether that might have been babies?

**edited for clarity - what a jumbled mess before!

 

[mystang89]

Don't feel bad. I've been palpating for over a year now and I still get them wrong all the time. The grapes grow very quickly though. Normally I read to palpate at day 15 so maybe wait until then and see if they feel any bigger.

And someone please correct me if I'm wrong but if you bred her now and was already pregnant there isn't any harm done since she won't have double pregnancies at the same time. That's what I've done anyway and I've never had double pregnancies.

 

[Comet007]

I feel as sure as a first timer can feel that I felt some little peeps in there, but I guess we'll have to wait it out to see if I got it right. And really, they could still be pregnant even if what I thought were embryos were actually just regular rabbit parts I suppose! Almost everything I've read said that test breeding at two weeks doesn't really mean anything, because some pregnant does will accept the buck, and some non-pregnant does will refuse him. Contrary critters!

-- Sat May 03, 2014 1:35 am --

Does anyone have an opinion on whether what I felt at palpation were embryos or not based on my description in the original post?

Daphne wiped out her hay again today, and Velma half of hers. They both licked their feeders clean of the 9 oz of pellets we gave them yesterday, so we bumped them to 10 today - I think we will hold there even if they eat it all. I know they are growing, but I doubt they are 10 pounds yet, since we just weighed them recently, and I don't want them to get fat! I felt both of their spines again today (and every day lol), and they feel good so far. There is definitely a continued and marked difference in how much they eat. Daph has burned through her hay rack every single day for about 10 days now, and Velma every two days for the same time period.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

I feel as sure as a first timer can feel that I felt some little peeps in there, but I guess we'll have to wait it out to see if I got it right. And really, they could still be pregnant even if what I thought were embryos were actually just regular rabbit parts I suppose! Almost everything I've read said that test breeding at two weeks doesn't really mean anything, because some pregnant does will accept the buck, and some non-pregnant does will refuse him. Contrary critters!

-- Sat May 03, 2014 1:35 am --

Does anyone have an opinion on whether what I felt at palpation were embryos or not based on my description in the original post?

Daphne wiped out her hay again today, and Velma half of hers. They both licked their feeders clean of the 9 oz of pellets we gave them yesterday, so we bumped them to 10 today - I think we will hold there even if they eat it all. I know they are growing, but I doubt they are 10 pounds yet, since we just weighed them recently, and I don't want them to get fat! I felt both of their spines again today (and every day lol), and they feel good so far. There is definitely a continued and marked difference in how much they eat. Daph has burned through her hay rack every single day for about 10 days now, and Velma every two days for the same time period.

Sounds like they could be...bunny berries usually feel hard. Palpate them again, they should be the size of kumquats now, or larger.

 

[Comet007]

Hmmm, wish that I had read this thirty minutes ago, we had Daph out of her cage because there was blood spray in there and we had to check it out. It was just a small cut from a teeny tiny sliver of metal on one of the J clips - we couldn't even find any blood or a wound anywhere. Anyway, we could have palpated - but then, I thought you shouldn't palpate past 14 days as it gets riskier when they are further along? They would be 18 days along now if they are preggers. Both ate all their 10 oz of pellets again, but we don't want to increase past that point.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Hmmm, wish that I had read this thirty minutes ago, we had Daph out of her cage because there was blood spray in there and we had to check it out. It was just a small cut from a teeny tiny sliver of metal on one of the J clips - we couldn't even find any blood or a wound anywhere. Anyway, we could have palpated - but then, I thought you shouldn't palpate past 14 days as it gets riskier when they are further along? They would be 18 days along now if they are preggers. Both ate all their 10 oz of pellets again, but we don't want to increase past that point.

I don't think it is so much that you "shouldn't" palpate past 14 days, just that it gets harder to feel individual embryos, the larger they get. I palpate mine right up till birth and never had any issues.

 

[SilverDesertRabbitry]

I normally wait until 1 to 2 weeks before the doe is due and then I feel if her belly is firm. If her belly is firm, she is pregnant. I also notice that their belly gets massive about a week before the kindle date. I also watch their behavior. About a week or two before they are due, they start digging and chewing on their dewlap (if they have one) or their sides and belly.

~SDR

 

[Comet007]

Thanks! I've been keeping an eagle eye on their bellies lol, trying to see if I can tell a difference. They are both much bigger now, completely finishing their 10 oz of pellets every day, as well as mowing through their hay. It's hard to know if it's a growth spurt (coincidental that it started just several days after being bred) or if they have popples for us in there! I can still feel a bumpy spine on both, and both of their bellies do feel firm from the side, but then they did before too, I think. Maybe because they're young!

Saturday will be a week before they are due - I'm going to start trying to hold my hand on their bellies then to see if I can feel anything moving in there! Plus Saturday is when they get their feed increase and start getting their Mommy Mix of herbs!