When do they pull fur??

[swaggymama]

When do does pull fur?

Yesterday afternoon when I got home from work, I noticed that all 3 does have a stash of fur at the far end of their hutch. Not just a fluff... a fairly large amount.

I thought they only did this when they`re about ready to give birth.... they were only bread on the 18th, which didn`t likely work, and again on the 22nd...

But... I did get the does on October 9th, was assured they`d been kept away from the males... they could have gotten preggers in the ride over, couldn't they have... through cages...

 

[shazza]

My does typically only pull fur as they are going into labour, so if I catch them doing this I know kits are coming within the hour. Some people have said their does pull as early as a day before kindling, it really varies. Ultimately though, if she's pulling, you can expect babies very soon.

However - a doe will also pull fur if she's experiencing a false pregnancy. You generally know you've got a falsie if she starts nesting before day 20 or so, and if she builds the nest, pulls fur, then seems to completely lose interest in it. The good news is from what I understand, right after a false pregnancy is a great time to breed.

Depending on the type of travel cages you used, it is a possibility. Since you are seeing fur, I would put in a nestbox and some hay and move the fur to the box. Even if it's a falsie, rather waste a little bit of hay than to lose an entire litter because timelines didn't line up. I've nearly lost two litters that way and it was only a miracle that I managed to catch them kindling on the wire both times and was able to make a nest and move the kits into it.

 

[akane]

Mine nearly always pulled fur several days ahead of time. Occasionally they'd start a week early and end up pulling themselves practically bald or building multiple nests if they had a floor instead of wire. A few wouldn't until the day they were giving birth and they often pulled more when they gave birth even if they had enough of a nest already. I had a couple I couldn't breed too close just because they'd run out of fur. I've never had one that wouldn't pull any before starting labor. All those just failed to build a nest at all.

The false pregnancies I dealt with were at about 2 weeks from breeding. If they start nesting after only 2 weeks they never produced kits without rebreeding. I also saw more arguments in colony and behavioral changes at about that point in pregnancy so it seems there is some shift in hormones at that spacing whether they bred or not.

 

[ladysown]

my does vary on the pulling fur.

Some ask for a nest box 10 days before kindling (Carrying hay) MOST get a box four days ahead and immediately start fussing around. Others ignore the box until day of kindling.

If they get a box and poop in it... they aren't bred.

Fur happens anytime 10 days before to 1 hour post birth.