Pregnancy questions

[CalicoPrairie]

My daughter bred her mini lop last month and today is day 35 and she still hasn't kindled. This is her (our) first time, and the person who bred Michelle (we left her with a friend) says that Michelle (the rabbit) was very receptive to the process, yet I'm really not sure she is pregnant. A few things come to mind that I wanted to ask about.

-Is it possible that she spontaneously aborted? A few weeks back there was something in her cage that looked like poop, but it was about 4-6x larger than one of her regular pellets, and there was just one. I don't remember what week it would have been, maybe 2 or 3? It was before mid-July (she was bred 4x, the last being on the June 28). If she did, that might account for Michelle's active nature of late (lots of jumping in and out of the nesting box, on top of it, running around the cage, etc.--or do they do that when they are pregnant?), and the issue of not nesting/pulling fur and kindling.

-Is it possible she was never pregnant in the first place? My daughter said that she palpated her and felt the "marbles", yet here we are. I understand palpation is something that isn't easy when you've not done it before, so I'm thinking she could have made a mistake, but she's pretty sure.

-Is it possible that the heat could have caused her to abort? Back when the "big poop" happened, we had very occasional 100 degree temps, but mostly high 80s/low 90s. We have misters, a strong fan, frozen water bottles and have even used wet towels with the fan (swamp cooler kind of thing) that we use and the goal is to keep it below 85, but since this is our first summer raising rabbits, it's been somewhat of a learning curve and we could have messed up by not keeping it cool enough.

Any kind information you can share would be great. Thanks.

 

[skysthelimit]

Rabbits can abort, and they can reabsorb. I have does go past day 31 regularly. If it's the Rexes, it means nothing, if it's the hollands, I'm not going to have live kits.

It's possible she was never pregnant as well, could have been a miss. I'm getting pretty good at palpating, but I was very sure my holland was pregnant, and she was not at all.

It's possible heat could cause problems as well.

All of these things are possible, and it's possible she is still pregnant and will have kits.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

A few weeks back there was something in her cage that looked like poop, but it was about 4-6x larger than one of her regular pellets, and there was just one.

That sounds like a cecal pellet. They usually eat them, so you don't often see them.

It sounds to me that she missed. The buck may have been sterile due to the heat, especially if he was older. The younger bucks purportedly do not suffer from heat sterility as much as the more mature bucks do.

 

[CalicoPrairie]

THanks Mama. I'm not sure if this is cecal pellets, I thought I was pretty familiar with those and could recognize them well (my rabbit had GI stasis a while back so I had to learn how to "read" rabbit droppings). This is something that looks entirely different, not like a little black cluster of grapes, but like a large clump of poop. Not round or anything, not defined like regular pellets. Do they look that way sometimes?

I have heard about rabbits becoming sterile in the heat, and it's very possible this was an older rabbit. We've only known this person for a year (she's my daughter's 4H leader), and I'm not sure how long she has had him.

Sky---thank you for your input as well.

 

[Disney]

I have seen a aborted fetus one time.. it looked like a undeveloped kit with a sack around it. You would know if you saw one, so i don't think your rabbit had an abortion. I wouldn't worry too much, if she behaves normally then she is fine and probably not pregnant.
You could put her in with a buck if you have one and see how she reacts, try not to let them actually breed but see how if she accepts him or refuses him.
Some of my doe's will just keep running away from him without a huss, and flap their ears in a annoyed way.
Another doe will grunt loudly and scratch his face if he comes near her.
Not a clear pregnancy test but it helps.

 

[AnnClaire]

Calico,

Actually, when my does are pregnant, they will often have a "super poop" that can be quite startling. I generally cut back on the pellets for 24-48 hours and make sure there is plenty of hay, then start back with the pellets at a smaller ration.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

they will often have a "super poop" that can be quite startling

Yes, I have seen that too- a long cylinder that appears to have a higher moisture content. But I have never cut back on their food. :?

 

[AnnClaire]

I do as I think the super poop is evidence of more feed than needed. The particular doe in question seems to think she should go on free-feed as soon as she is done with the buck LOL I put up with her foilables because she is such a great mom and great breeder. I also try to provide as many changes in their environment as I can just to give them enrichment. I am only able to do this because I don't have a big herd as of yet and don't have to work outside the home ... if any of that were to change, BAM, they would all be on a daily schedule with very little deviation LOL