She's Nesting...

[Bad Habit]

I'm going to kill some children. They are officially banished from my room. I am investing in a lock for my door, and they will NEVER see the rabbits again. EVER.

My dad babysits my nieces. That's all well and good, except he brings them around the house fairly regularly and obviously doesn't watch the brats. I've caught them coming into my room before, thinking that I wasn't here.

Lily has started nesting. Caught her with a mouthful of hay a few minutes ago. She gave me a dirty look, and started piling the hay where her nest box normally goes. So, I gave her a nest box, and we wait and see. It's 29 days since she last kindled. For what it's worth, I don't FEEL any babies in her, and normally this far along I can feel them in there.

I really can't deal with this. I'm very tempted to pull the babies out if she does give birth and get rid of them all somehow. I mean, Lily is still in good condition(maybe even a bit fat), but it feels like too much. I know she doesn't mind, but enough is enough. I feel like a rabbit-mill making excuses, or like I am single handedly causing a rabbit overpopulation in my area.

I just don't know what to do anymore

 

[Miss M]

The actions of your irresponsible nieces don't make you a rabbit mill. Stuff happens. More than one member of this forum has had a surprise litter to deal with.

Hopefully, Lily's hormones are just getting the better of her. If not, and she really is pregnant, it won't do any harm to let her raise the kits. Maybe just give her some BOSS every day or so to help her get the nutrients she needs. There's a reason we have the saying, "multiplies like rabbits"... they are quite capable normally of handling two back-to-back pregnancies. Asking her to produce a litter every month will eventually take its toll, but one "oops" litter should be okay.

 

[Bad Habit]

Well, it's the 2nd litter that I believe the children have caused. I had a talk with my dad, and told him my thoughts on the matter. The problem is, the girls have their own room upstairs, and can sneak into my room when they're up there. I have got his okay to put a lock on my door, though, and he's promised to lock it when the girls are here and I'm not. I also intend to threaten the children to be beaten within an inch of their life if they're found in my room. They love the rabbits very much, and I can excuse the 6 year old, as she doesn't really know what they're doing, or know any better. The almost 13 year old, though...

While I was in the bath, she took every strand of hay and put it in the nest box. Felt her tummy again, and though she's titchy about it, I still don't feel anything definite like I have in the past. Fingers crossed that it's just wishful thinking on her part. I can see why she might just assume she's going to have babies though, given the fact that that's about all she's done for the last few months.

She kindled June 15th, then busted out of her cage and bred again. That issue was rectified, and she then kindled July 15th. After that, she kindled August 29th, and got pregnant while I was away for the weekend(suspected children, as I doubt my dad would have handled them, unless they busted out of the cage again). Now this. She hasn't acted pregnant at all, just started building a nest this afternoon.

The scariest thing is that, if she is pregnant, she would have been bred when I had the big guy here. I never saw his testicles, but the idea scares the hell out of me. I doubt she'd be able to deliver kits by a buck three times her size.

 

[SelfFueled]

Dont get too worked up over it. Not too much, that you do something you will regret.
But 13 yrs should be old enough that they are teaching the 6 yr old good manners and acts.

I think the easy way out and the best thing to do is put a lock on the door.
This will make it 100% safe.

If you do, just make sure to have an emergency key where your father knows the place.


Good luck with the outcome.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Hopefully, it is just a false pregnancy. If not, that is ok too...the only time size would be a real issue is if she only had one or two kits...IF she got pregnant by him and IF it is a normal sized litter, she should be fine. Here's hoping for a false alarm! (that feels very strange to say, btw! LOL)

 

[Demamma]

A six year old is old enough to know to keep out. I would set them down and explain how this is dangerous and bad for your doe. Stretch the dangers a little. Let them know if any vet bills arrive they will pay with(fill in the blank). As a 12 year old is proubably the ringleader is there some yucky chore like cleaning cages she can do for meddling with your stuff? Let them know since they like rabbits so much here is part of the care. I think a lock is a great idea.

 

[Bad Habit]

She looks very uncomfortable at the moment. Glaring at me like it's all my fault ... But with her, everything is my fault, lol.

I do intend to talk to them, especially the (almost)13 year old. I think that what's most likely happening is she's egging on the younger, so she can blame it all on her. I've seen the behaviour before in them, not that I'm fond of it, but you can't hardly blame the older. The younger gets away with a LOT of stuff that she shouldn't.

The lock will only be locked when the girls are here, and I'm going to explain to them why, and if Lily kindles, they will be "suspended" from seeing that litter at all. The problem, I think, is that they love the baby bunnies and are sad when they sell, so solution is to make more whenever they're here.

No fur pulling yet, so I am really praying this is just hormones, or she figures it's routine. I'm not worried about not selling the babies, since the litter I just weaned is already spoken for in entirety, and I didn't have to advertise.

Oh well, I'll go give Lily her breakfast boss and see if I can feel anything. Kinda sucks to start feeding her boss again, as she's frigging addicted to the stuff and I've only just weaned her off it.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

It sounds like Lily is aspiring to produce as well as "the big boys" :flex: - the commercial meat breeds!

As long as she hasn't lost a lot of condition, she should be just fine. Rabbits will be rabbits, after all! :mrgreen:

Remember- in a colony setting, if a doe feels she needs a break, she wont breed. So if Lily did lift for the buck, she obviously felt in good enough condition to support another litter.

Here's hoping for a couple more "Winkies" in the nestbox! opcorn:

 

[Miss M]

Maybe it isn't your room that needs the lock, so much as the rabbits. You can't be sure your father will remember to put the lock on your door when they come and you're not there, since they'll have him distracted.

If you buy a small key or combination lock and put it on Lily's cage, they can't take her out or put a buck in. I'd keep it on there all the time, so you're in the habit of it being there and you don't forget to put it on.

 

[garden lady]

They might be the most beautiful kits in the world! Not your fault. Life gives you lemons, make popples, or something. It will be okay. I was kind of made at everybody when trying to catch the rabbits. I had some of them in this little pen eating oat meal and 3 others trying to get in. Everybody was gone off doing things instead of helping to catch rabbits. It might be the day Lulu did get bred and now have 5 pretty popples to raise. My brother instead of saying nice, says what are you going to do with them? My best friend said, what are you going to do with them? Nobody cared if they were running loose, going to get run over or killed, have a million popples, so I do not know what people expected me to do. I got a fish net and caught them. I am going to have a healthy garden and raise worms. Make the most of what you have. Once I did not have a garden in a trailer park where I lived and by the time summer was over I had 3 4 x 10 boxes and had a canner, gathered maybe 13 doz. jars, bought food at fruit stand and makde applesauce, jelly, made relish from things in my garden. I still look back and wonder how it all happened. Can't wait to see pictures.

 

[Bad Habit]

Sigh. I thought I'd only have to worry about locking up my rabbits after I moved them out to the shed. I didn't think I'd have to lock them up from my own family.

I've got a couple of small key locks, and I think the safest bet at this time is to lock up Dobby, rather than both the does. His cage also lends itself more readily to being locked than the one I have Lily(and eventually the new doe) in. It'll be a PITA, but worth it if I can finally give Lily the break I think she needs.

Still no fur pulling though. Still can't feel any babies in her. Hopefully her hormones are just all out of whack and it's a false alarm.

 

[ZRabbits]

Fingers crossed for a false alarm. Put a small lock on Dobby's crate. Can't have kits without the boy. And stress the importance of not touching your rabbits to the your nieces and your Father. You have no idea how they are handling them when you are not there.

Karen

 

[Bad Habit]

Started using the lock on Dobby's cage. Luckily he's fairly clean with his water, and the cage he's in now has a J feeder, so it's not too much of a hassle. The best part? For quarantine purposes, he's currently in the girls' room. It's going to drive them nuts.

Day 31. Still no kits, no hair pulling. After the one frantic day of nest building, she's been ignoring the nest. 5 days left.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

For quarantine purposes, he's currently in the girls' room. It's going to drive them nuts.

:rotfl:

Revenge!!! :twisted:

 

[Miss M]

For quarantine purposes, he's currently in the girls' room. It's going to drive them nuts.

:rotfl:

Revenge!!! :twisted:

Indeed! That's hilarious!!! ancake: :lol:

 

[ladysown]

lock the bunny cages, not your bed room door THOUGH good manners dictates that a closed bedroom door means DO NOT enter it.

 

[Bad Habit]

7u7yu8i7yuyui8yuijuy7u8i8u8y7u7y876 <--- that's what me bashign my head against a keyboard repeatedly looks like.

7 times. for the SEVEN(!!!) babies in Lily's nest.

 

[ZRabbits]

Seven babies? Wow. Hoping Lily is doing well and all those seven, unplanned babies are doing well.

Karen

 

[Bad Habit]

Lily looks self satisfied. I gave her extra in her morning boss dish.

The babies... They're tiny. Like, smaller than small. I guess that's why I didn't feel them, and probably happened because I had no idea and wasn't feeding her extra, and she had 5 boisterous kits to feed as well. It's right chilly this morning, so I just had a quick check and count.

Someone needs to have a talk with Lily, and tell her the average litter size for a dwarf breed is 3-4. She seems to have missed that memo.

 

[ZRabbits]

Lily looks self satisfied. I gave her extra in her morning boss dish.

The babies... They're tiny. Like, smaller than small. I guess that's why I didn't feel them, and probably happened because I had no idea and wasn't feeding her extra, and she had 5 boisterous kits to feed as well. It's right chilly this morning, so I just had a quick check and count.

Someone needs to have a talk with Lily, and tell her the average litter size for a dwarf breed is 3-4. She seems to have missed that memo.

Maybe she did get the memo, but is just an overachiever. lol.

Seriously though, hoping the tiny ones do well.

Karen