Hi Yall! My name is Danielle and i am new to the board. I am a holland breeder in Southwest florida. I have a litter expected Thurdsay, tomorrow, and this is my first one. I am so EVERYTHING! Nervous, excited, scared! She is laying in her cage panting petty heavy right now. Im assuming that she is getting ready and is in labor. She made the most beautiful nest on Sunday and then she ate it all. so I keep putting hay in there and she keeps eating it and not really making a nest at all. She has pulled no fur and i have no fur to give her. I got 3 new bunnies on Dec 18th and the 4H club had just cleaned out every feed store and pet store of cages. I had to put them in rubbermade totes for a week. Well my buck got out of his 50 gal tote and jumped into the tote with the two females and gotr one pregnant. Now I have not bonded with this bunny at all much since she is pretty A. NEw, and very tempramental b/c she is PG. So I cant just reach in and pull for for her. I am hoiping right before she delivers she will do this. If not can I put cotton balls in or something. HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ASAPPPPPPPP!
Thanks!
And i really like this board by the way...its really nice!
Should pull fur right before she has them. I would not recommend cotton balls. I would get a pair of gloves and hold her and pull fur IF she doesn\'t pull it first. You only need the gloves if you feel that she will bite you. If she has the babies and she didn\'t pull fur, then go ahead and pull some. SHould come right loose near her chest and rear end.
Good luck and keep us posted!
Sharon
I understand your nervousness. If this is your Holland\'s first litter, she is undoubtedly nervous as well. In my 41 years of rabbit raising, I have seen does pull fur days before they kindle, just before, soon after, or not at all.
What I would recommend is that you continue to keep a watchful eye on the doe. Even with the relatively mild weather that you have in Florida compared to lots of other areas around the country, newborn kits become hypothermic very rapidly if they are not bedded down in a comfortable nest.
On does that I suspect may not use the nest box or pull enough fur, I try to check at least once per hour if a particular litter is extremely important to me. I recognize that we cannot always be there at the moment of kindling, but I have been able to save kits by doing this. Following is one of the tricks I have used when I just could not be there...
I have turned the entire cage into one big nest box. I affix cardboard underneath the cage floor (not in it). Next, I pile shavings (LOTS of shavings) all over the cage floor so that no wire is visible. Then I cram LOTS of grass hay inside the cage. If the doe has any maternal instincts at all, she will pick a corner and make her nest there. I have had good success with this method with a few stubborn does.
Alternately, I have been able to catch the doe as she kindled her young on the wire, pick them up as they are born (just put them in my coat pockets) and when she is finished kindling, make a nest for her in the box and shred cotton finely and layer it both under and over the kits. I have had does decide they want to be a mom afterall and add their own fur to the nest. You can pluck fur from the doe\'s belly and sides yourself, but I would do this only AFTER you know she has finished kindling.
Keep in mind that some does (particularly first-litter does) just do not successfully raise their kits. Often they get better with the second litter, so try not to get too discouraged if things don\'t go well.
Good luck.
Charlcie Gill
Zodiac Rabbitry
Astoria, OR
http://www.zodiacsatins.com