Getting Ready For Kits
(c) Gryph- if you repost this article, please post with a link back to my website.
Taking care of your pregnant doe is fairly straightforward. Odds are good that if your doe and buck have rendezvoused, a litter will likely follow. Begin increasing your doe’s food ration if you don’t free feed. By the time she kindles, she should have unlimited access to hay, feed and water. Determining a pregnancy in a rabbit is very difficult because they don’t often get noticeably larger in the belly like some animals do. On day 10-12, you can try to palpate your doe. Your doe’s behavior may tip you off to her being pregnant with her personality. Does often become very cranky and may often growl or dig in the corners of their cage. They may throw food dishes around and stomp a lot.
The only sure way to know if your doe is pregnant, aside from a pricey blood test, is to palpate her belly. As the kits grow, they form bulges along the two horns of the rabbit’s uterus. With practice, you can feel these bulges by the time a doe is 10 to 12 days along. Place the doe on a flat surface in front of you with her head closest to you. Secure her rump with one hand so she can’t back up and reach under her with your other hand palm up. The backbone line divides the abdomen into two halves and marks the inside boundary of both halves. Using your fingertips on one side and the tip of your thumb on the other, you can feel around (palpate) both halves of the lower abdomen at once. With enough pressure to lift the doe’s hind end partly off the table, move the tips of your fingers and thumb cautiously and gently along the length of her belly. You are feeling for grape-sized lumps. They won’t be along the center but rather will be toward both sides of the abdomen. Small, hard lumps along the center line of the rabbit’s belly are fecal pellets lined up single file on their way out of the rabbit. A tiny tangle of something that feels like soft spaghetti right in front of the pelvis is usually an empty uterus. Try palpating all of your does after breeding, but don’t palpate after 14 days, as you can dislodge the fetuses.
The only sure way to know if your doe is pregnant, aside from a pricey blood test, is to palpate her belly. As the kits grow, they form bulges along the two horns of the rabbit’s uterus. With practice, you can feel these bulges by the time a doe is 10 to 12 days along. Place the doe on a flat surface in front of you with her head closest to you. Secure her rump with one hand so she can’t back up and reach under her with your other hand palm up. The backbone line divides the abdomen into two halves and marks the inside boundary of both halves. Using your fingertips on one side and the tip of your thumb on the other, you can feel around (palpate) both halves of the lower abdomen at once. With enough pressure to lift the doe’s hind end partly off the table, move the tips of your fingers and thumb cautiously and gently along the length of her belly. You are feeling for grape-sized lumps. They won’t be along the center but rather will be toward both sides of the abdomen. Small, hard lumps along the center line of the rabbit’s belly are fecal pellets lined up single file on their way out of the rabbit. A tiny tangle of something that feels like soft spaghetti right in front of the pelvis is usually an empty uterus. Try palpating all of your does after breeding, but don’t palpate after 14 days, as you can dislodge the fetuses.
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On day 28 (4 days before the due date), offer your doe a nest box filled with hay and/or shavings. Don’t give it to her earlier than that, or she’s liable to just use it as a litter box. Some does will be interested immediately and will jump into the nest box to start rearranging things to their satisfaction. Other does won’t make a nest until right before they kindle. You may see your doe gathering up large mouthfuls of hay with it sticking out of both sides of her mouth like a mustache. This is called “haystaching.” For a video of a doe haystaching, click here. She will pull her own fur from her chest, belly and dewlap (the fold of skin beneath her chin) to line the nest and cover the babies. Pulling her belly fur also helps to expose her nipples for access for her kits. If your doe doesn’t pull her fur, you can gently pull some from her yourself; as the birth nears it comes out easily. I like to keep extra fur in case I need to change out a nest box or in case a doe doesn’t pull fur.
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Preparing for a new litter doesn’t require much work on your part, although the anticipation can drive you crazy. Watch for the haystache, and for your doe to pull fur. The birth most commonly happens on day 31 but can occur at 28-34 days (and even later sometimes). A day or so before kindling, your doe may lose interest in eating. She may dig in her nest box or the bottom of her cage. She also may try to have her babies somewhere other than the nest box. If you see her trying to make a nest somewhere else, you can try to put it in the box. If she still insists on having her nest outside the box, wait until the kits are born and then move everything into the box. There’s also a pesky, annoying little thing called a false pregnancy. This is when your rabbit fools you into thinking she might be pregnant. She might even build a wonderful nest. And then, unfortunately, nothing.
Baby rabbits, called kits, are born naked with their eyes and ears closed. They can’t regulate their own body temperatures, which is why the doe pulls fur to cover them. The kits also help keep each other warm when they snuggle together. Kits can be dragged out of the nest box by hanging onto a teat, so it’s important to check on your kits as often as possible in the first two weeks. If you discover a kit outside the nest box, put it back into the nest. If it is cold, gently warm it up and then return it to the nest box. The doe will never pick up or carry her babies. Kits born on the floor of the cage or wire will die if not put into the nest box. After the doe kindles, check the babies and remove any that are dead. Try not to remove the box from the cage while checking kits. If you find a baby that looks limp and lifeless, try warming it in your hands and rubbing it gently and vigorously with a fingertip to try to stimulate it to breathe. Some women will put cold kits in their bra to warm them- it works surprisingly well. I’ve even gone shopping after forgetting a kit is in my bra and was startled when it suddenly started wriggling. One tip- baby rabbits are not dead until they are warm and dead. Kits can appear to be completely dead, not even breathing, and then suddenly wake up after being warmed up. Don’t be surprised, though, if a first-time doe loses some or all of her babies; it’s common with first-time does. I wouldn't use a doe for breeding that has not successfully raised a litter after 3 tries. If she has them on the cage floor or refuses to feed them or eats them, she just isn't any good as a breeding doe and you don't want to pass these traits on. Poor mothering can be inherited. |
Mother rabbits only feed their babies once or twice a day, hovering over them for only a few moments. They do not lie down to feed their kits. Then they leave the nest box again. Well-fed kits have full, round bellies and sleep almost all the time. If you put your hand over them they will sense your body heat and will wiggle and squeak excitedly and bump your hand with their noses looking for something to eat. I call this age ‘popples’ because they pop up.
If a doe isn’t able or willing to care for her kits, it may be possible to foster them with another doe. Some people believe that you have to put something (like vanilla) on the doe’s nose to mask the smell of strange babies, but I’ve never had a problem popping young kits into the box with the others. It’s an old wives’ tale that you can’t touch your kits. A doe will not kill her litter simply because you touched them. I handle my kits from day one. Daily handling also helps socialize the kits.
If your doe loses her litter, then breed her back immediately. As soon as her kits are weaned, as long as she is in good condition and not too thin or exhibiting any health issues, breed her again. If she is in poor condition, then you should give her time to recover and get her weight back. Does that continually get into poor condition after kindling are not good quality breeders and should be culled and replaced with better stock.
If a doe isn’t able or willing to care for her kits, it may be possible to foster them with another doe. Some people believe that you have to put something (like vanilla) on the doe’s nose to mask the smell of strange babies, but I’ve never had a problem popping young kits into the box with the others. It’s an old wives’ tale that you can’t touch your kits. A doe will not kill her litter simply because you touched them. I handle my kits from day one. Daily handling also helps socialize the kits.
If your doe loses her litter, then breed her back immediately. As soon as her kits are weaned, as long as she is in good condition and not too thin or exhibiting any health issues, breed her again. If she is in poor condition, then you should give her time to recover and get her weight back. Does that continually get into poor condition after kindling are not good quality breeders and should be culled and replaced with better stock.
