Good morning all. I have a goofy question for you. Can a pregnant doe hurt her babies by jumping about? I\'m asking because Midnight\'s cage is about 12 inches off the ground. When she is out playing, I always leave the door open. Last night I caught her jumping in and out every few minutes. I\'m sure she was just playing, but was concerned aobut the unborn kits. Hubby says she\'s a rabbit and rabbits jump, so don\'t worry. But you folks have more experience in this than I do.
The pic below is of Thumper (our buck) and Midnight (our soon to be mom) during the summer.
Thanks for any input!
I don\'t know a thing about the jumping question, but those pictures are great! What breed are your rabbits? My Petey is all black too except for a white-tipped nose, and his ears are not flops. Too cute!
When are Midnight\'s kits due? I wouldn\'t worry too much for the first 3 weeks, but I would rather err on the side of caution and not be letting her jump that high after that.
If she was jumping in and out of her cage, she might be in the \"nesting mode\". Be sure to provide her with a nestbox by the 28th day of her pregnancy.
Does Midnight have her own cage now? Just asking because she and Thumper were together in your picture.
Good luck!
Charlcie Gill
Zodiac Rabbitry
Astoria, OR
http://www.zodiacsatins.com
Yes, they have seperate cages now and have since August. That particular picture was taken the week we adopted them along with Thumper\'s sister.
I bred Midnight on February 1, so I\'m expecting kits about March 3rd. We put the nest box in this morning and she filled it with hay immediately. No fur pulling yet, though last time she only started pulling fur the day before she delivered.
We have 6 rabbits right now and all are dwarf lops. Thumper and his sister are brokens, Midnight and Cloud are solids and then we have two I can not describe properly. All have wonderful temperments.
I guess for the next week we\'ll keep her in her cage. It\'s a good size and built just for her. I worry about picking her up too much this close to her due date to get her in and out to play.
Thanks for the advice - and compliments.
If Midnight is used to being handled, you can continue to do so, just make sure to support her hindquarters really well as the ligaments tend to stretch as kindling draws closer.
Charlcie
Yes, she is used to being handled daily. Though when I picked her up last night she was anxious to get right back down. I think she is getting close. Plus she started pulling a little fur this morning from her neck. I\'ll keep you posted.
And thanks again Charlcie!
You\'re welcome.
I\'ll be anxious to hear when the \"big event\" arrives.
Charlcie