Er...Pregnancy in Young Rabbits

[helmstead]

I bought three Californians a couple weeks ago.  The man said they were 4 months old, altho they're small (they were emaciated).

Obviously he had them all penned together, I'm sure it was a whole litter just left together.

One of the does is getting fat awefully quickly.  Granted, I'm feeding them very well...but her belly is frankly rotund.  How early in a pregnancy can you palpate for kits?  What precautions do I need to take in case she IS bred?  Should I just put a nesting box in with her now, just in case?  Or is she too young and I don't need to worry?

[GoatTech]

Well at 4 months chances are she is not pregnant, HOWEVER, 4 months is when they can start to become sexually mature, so there is a possibility. Larger breeds tend to mature slower than my small breeds. I have left kits together until 3 1/2 months and at that time, the little bucks do not do anything, but there is always the exception to the rule. When my does are pregnant, you really can not tell a difference in size. They hide their babies very well. I'm sure if I weighed them, I may notice a small difference, but with your still growing, this may not tell anything.
Because gestation is just 30 days, I do not palpate, I just mark my calendar, but I can tell you how to try to do it:
As early as 10 days after service, feel the lower abdomen for little round objects about the size of a large ripe blueberry, slightly larger than a fecal pellet. At 10-14 days they grow to the size of a ripe olive. After 14 days it harder to do. At 26 days, you may be able to feel fetuses. Do not pick her up, do this by placing your hands around her in her cage.

My son swears he can feel something. I do not try, I just wait to see.

You place the nest box in there 5-3 days before the due date.
Mark your calendar from the day they were separated, so that you will know not to worry 35 days past.

For my does, I really do not do anything special when they are pregnant. I do give a little more feed during the last 7 days of gestation, but they are feed restricted compared to yours as full feed. I don't add any calf manna to the diet unless I had already had them on it before pregnancy. I give all rabbits a handful of grass hay every evening. I do NOT give alfalfa to any of my does, they process it differently than goats do. When they go to dig their nests, they will take their hay and place it in the box. So when I see that, I offer more hay, straw and newspapers for her to build with.

Rabbits are easy to deal with when pregnant, it is very rare to have dystocia or metabolic problems unless they freak out a day or so before giving birth. So I am sure to keep the barn calm when I have does due. We also do not handle pregnant does with the exception of placing her in a birthing cage 5 days before delivery.
They typically have them very early in the morning.
A day before delivering, they will "lay" about in their cage more than usual and typically do not eat all of their grain.

[helmstead]

Thanks for all the info!  I'll cross my fingers that she's just getting up to good condition.  I am not planning to breed until they're about 9 months - is that appropriate?

[GoatTech]

Yes, 9 months sounds about right for the larger breeds. Californians are a 6 class breed, off hand, they go into the adult class when 9 months? With dwarfs, they recommend breeding at 6 months(this is when they are considered adults). I wait until my does are about 9 months to allow for complete maturity. Mine are full sized at 6 months, but there is still some maturity to be desired. The goal for me is to wait for a more complete maturity, but not let them build on that extra fat. So 9 months works well for me when as I watch their growth. I have waited until 1 1/2 to breed with fine results(a lot of my does are shown, and after delivering, their show career can be over, so I sometimes wait to finish these does in the ring before breeding if I can), but waiting that long is typically not recommended.

One thing to consider is timing. Bucks loose fertility of sperm as temperatures raise above 80 degrees. If housed outdoors, most bucks need to be bred when it is cooler outside. I have bred in the middle of the summer before with good results, but it is trickier.