well so anyway one of my does who has been bred twice already both times she expirienced false pregnancies the first time she was bred she showed no signs of being pregnant until the 36 day when all she did was pull allittle fur and that was it (she didnt build a nest) the second time she was bred at 21 days she pulled alot of fur and made a good nest then on the 32 day she pulled allittle more fur and that was it now this is the third time shes being bred and this is the 31 day she started pulling allittle fur and making a nest before now but this morning i saw she had built a good nest with alot of fur BUT STILL NO BABIES!!!! and shes eating and acting normal and calm and not restless or anything... ive heard rabbits can go as long as 37 days before giving birth so im keeping my fingers crossed she will since it all seems ideal (the time and everything) my real question is why has it gone on like this for so long and what do you think will happen by the way this doe is about two years old and ive heard rabbits usually give birth on the 31 day so thats why im abit confused any answeres are very much appreciated (I apologize for the length).....

-- D. ENDO (benhar@aol.com), July 24, 2001

Answers

double check your dates,, just to amke sure,, then wait 40 days,, just to make sure. Then if still nothing,, eat her

-- Stan (sopal@net-port.com), July 24, 2001.

Is this doe fat? overweight does are very hard to get bred. My angoras always gave birth on the 32 day.good luck.

-- kathy h (ckhart55@earthlink.net), July 24, 2001.

Are your other does (if any) producing bunnies? If they are, then this doe is stew -- but if this is the only doe, the buck could also be the problem!

-- Anita Evangelista (ale368s@smsu.edu), July 24, 2001.

My does always deliver at 31 days - but I've read it can take a few days longer. If you're sure your buck is fertile, I'd say the gal is stew meat! If you're not sure about your buck, I would try breeding her again with another buck, and if she produces, great - it not, get out the knife and fork! Best of luck to you!

-- Cheryl in KS (cherylmccoy@rocketmail.com), July 24, 2001.

Okay .. my wife, Cheryl, is the REAL rabbit authority on our homestead, but there's something she didn't mention (and I remember reading it in another thread somewhere, too, I think).

First, as mentioned above - if you've been free-feeding the doe and she's fat/overweight, she's very likely not to produce or to produce badly.

Secondly, if the heat has been as big a factor in your area as it has in ours, your buck may be experiencing temporary sterility (unless, of course, there are other producing does bred to the same buck), or he could just be steril. On that note, how many times did the buck mate with the doe? We put our does in two or three times (morning, noon and night) and our buck does his thing two to three times each visit. Always have good litters that way!

Thirdly, unless she's a pet or very dear to someone's heart, after the second false labor, we'd have been having BBQ Bunny (and if the doe IS dear to someone's heart, disregard that last remark)!

Hope this sheds a little light on the subject.

-- Phil in KS (pemccoy@yahoo.com), July 25, 2001.

This particular doe is in fact a pet so she wont be eaten. And to be honest I really want to pass her genes on. She isint overweight shes at what I would call ideal weight, and is on free choice hay (timothy) with rationed pellets and other food. I know the buck is fertile because I bred him with another doe on the same day and she DELIVERED!!!!! So anyhow its the 33 day and still nothing Ill wait alittle longer and if its a false Ill wait for it to pass before trying again. I do have afew more questions though, like I said this doe is just abit older about 2 years and it is quite hot around here outdoors but like I said the buck was fertile when I bred him to her. So could all this have somthing to do with this, and finally is it possible this rabbit can never concieve for some reason cause that would be very disapointing for me ....THANKS GUYS.....

-- D. ENDO (benhar @aol.com), July 25, 2001.

Maybe the problem is that you bred more than one doe with the same buck on the same day. I've always tried to space out breeding different does by the same buck by at least 3-4 days, and preferably by a week. I'm not sure if that could be a factor or not. It's been my experience that if you have a doe that has two or more false pregnancies in a row, she's most likely not going to produce. You might give her one more chance, and make sure your buck hasn't done any breeding for a few days. Best of luck to you!

-- Cheryl in KS (cherylmccoy@rocketmail.com), July 25, 2001.

WORTH A TRY!

Animals have different breeding patterns and cycles and can not always be dependable. What I mean is they can change cycles often. But what I really wanted to suggest is a red light in the breeding chambers or pen. Then use a yellow light in her nesting pen. The red light affectes there sexual organs and increases fertility by 30% to 50%. The yellow helps relax them and reduce stress of any kind. Another thing is to herbal or aroma therapy aslo can help. Like I said it is worth a shot. Good Luck.

-- Sheri Landgraf (sheriann@telusplanet.net), July 25, 2001.

my rabbit used to do the same and we think it is because of the heat it could be moulting.But finally my rabbit had her first litter of 6 healthy babies

-- lisa (mer8maid@yahoo.com), February 02, 2002.