# Signs of Pregnancy?



## naturestee (Nov 8, 2007)

I was volunteering at the shelter today. There is a new blue dutch girl (very cute by the way!) that I am worried about. She was just brought in yesterday. I checked her over because she seemed to be lying down an awful lot, and if she sat up for a bit she'd soon lay back down. Stretched out on her belly.

She feels a bit thin, I can easily feel her ribs, spine and hips. But she has a big belly. And her nipples seem larger than on other girl bunnies I've handled. She made a soft whining sound a lot, like one of the noises you hear from hormonal girls. Oh, and her name is Mama!

So is it possible she's pregnant? The vet is supposed to check her tomorrow. I'm hoping not, or hopefully it's early enough that she can be spayed.


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## RAL Rabbitry (Nov 9, 2007)

Can you feel any babies in her? If she is on the thin side and she is far enough

along in her pregnancy you could feel the kits pretty easily.

As for lying down alot I don't think that's a good indication. Most of my girls

are active right up until they kindle. My sable point doe just kindled 11 and

I was shocked because she didn't seem enormous to me and she was very

active right up until she kindled.

She could have just had a litter and that's why her nipples are larger and she

is on the thin side.

Roger


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## Bo B Bunny (Nov 9, 2007)

If you go in today and there are little wiggly pink furless things...... that's a good sign 



Actually, could she be having a false pregnancy? if she's thin she might just be very quiet from lack of good food.


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## naturestee (Nov 9, 2007)

Yeah, I'm hoping that she just had a recent litter. She didn't look like she had pulled fur recently. Her poops looked normal and she didn't feel like she had gas. I didn't feel babies either but I've never palpated a pregnant doe so I could be wrong.

Any other reasons for her to have a big belly with no fat? She didn't look malnourished.

I'll be at the shelter again tomorrow, so I'll check and see what the vet said.

And Bo, pink wriggly things would be bad!!! They're full up as it is, stupid petstore cages that they have are stacked up on top of each other. Several stacks including ferrets and guinea pigs. The whole thing shakes if the top bunny hops around or thumps!:shock:


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## Bo B Bunny (Nov 9, 2007)

I hope she's not. There are too many unwanteds already I know 

I hope they find some homes for the ones who need them!


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## Leaf (Nov 9, 2007)

*Bo B Bunny wrote: *


> If you go in today and there are little wiggly pink furless things...... that's a good sign


rivateeyesA sign that she's not pregnant (anymore)anyhow.... LOL


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## TinysMom (Nov 11, 2007)

Just checking for an update on this doe?

Peg


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## naturestee (Nov 11, 2007)

The shelter worker didn't know it on Thursday, but the vet wasn't going to be in on Friday. So she'll be seen on Monday, and the vet assistant knows about her too. She also has fleas and may have mites. She has a severe lack of muscle- poor dear literally crawled into my lap, not much in the way of hopping. She might actually have nutritional problems too. I didn't realize it on Thursday but her fur has an unusual dappled color pattern, like splotches of faint color changes and very poor quality.

I had her out to play and IMO this bunny could really use a foster home. More so than any of the others. Severe lack of muscles and extremely afraid. I sat down in the play room with her on my lap, and she didn't even look around, just sat _shaking_ in my lap. I haven't had a bunny shake like that since Sprite, with her extreme fear of hands. After a while I gently slid her down onto the floor, because I was wondering if maybe she was used to being forcibly held in people's laps. She didn't move for a while, then only went a few steps away and sort of hid near the trash can. Then she came back and crawled up into my lap. Poor dear, she is a sweetie. But I never really saw a real hop, it was more like crawl/walking.

I don't have the time/space to foster her right now.

I did request that she get moved to a larger cage, and the person I talked to knows me from outside the shelter and will hopefully remember to do it. She planned on doing it today when the shelter wasn't open to the public today. Cages are given on a first-come, first-served basis and all the decent sized ones are full. Her cage is maybe 2 feet long? Barely room for her to move. There's a guinea pig with a larger cage, and several dwarf bunnies too. I'm hoping she'll be switched with the little Polish in the 36x36 wire cage. That's the biggest they have.

And if _anyone_ wants to get rid of some good-sized stacking breeder cages, please donate!!! I hadn't realized this before I started, but the wire cages they have don't have pull-out trays, they are just set on the trays. The whole thing has to be picked up to clean out the heavy metal trays underneath. Major pain. And I hate the tiny doors on the pet store cages. It's so hard to get a mid-sized bunny like a mini lop through them. I know a lot of rescue people are anti-wire floors but IMO stacking breeder cages would be the best option for the space, door size, and ease of cleaning.


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## TreasuredFriend (Nov 11, 2007)

*Bo B Bunny wrote: *


> I hope she's not. There are too many unwanteds already I know
> 
> I hope they find some homes for the ones who need them!


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## TreasuredFriend (Nov 11, 2007)

naturestee, I'm making a pickup hay run on November 20th. I have several empty units I could donate. Would this help? Dimension listed below.

Oh my. How it hurts to hear this. How's she doing? 

fyi: Our Cuddles rescue was thin and bulked up in the last 2-3 days prior to birth. (Cuddles was dumped on the streets of milwaukee, unspayed).
The vet who palpated couldn't feel kits inside 3 days prior as the 7 must've been too smooshed together. Too large to distinguish or Cuddles was a good magician at hiding her impending birth of seven. Onery in the last hours. OTOH, another vet in our area palpated a non-pregnant female and deduced that she had several inside -- with the ultrasound. -??- 
When Cuddles began to pull fur and take newspaper shreds into her hidey box, i knew it was time. 24 hrs. later, they arrived. Marietta panted extensively and built her nest in the towels and newspaper shreds provided a few hours prior to birthing.

Hang in there precious bluesy. Will watch for news. Hope your shelter does not terminate pregnant moms and babies as OVERPOPULATION of rabbits is a serious thing.
ray:ray:
Sending armloads of support and hugs. With a glimmer of hope that maybe our foster home network will expand....

Our hiberinating wire units are 37 x 24 (Thrifty But Nifty) I believe with a plastic pull-out litter tray. Flip up single door. Could SCHS use these?
Meanwhile, darn good thing you volunteer naturestee!


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## TreasuredFriend (Nov 11, 2007)

Does the shelter need a donation to help her? I'm turning in aluminum cans and non-played CDS and will donate to helping her mites and fleas be evacuated.

Hang in there bluesy.


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## naturestee (Nov 11, 2007)

There's another bunny volunteer too, but I haven't met her yet and I heard she hasn't been coming in much due to something going on at home.

Those wire cages sound great, let me check with the shelter before you bring them. Of course, you can come for a visit anyway!

This shelter does not euthanize pregnant animals, as far as I know. They spay/abort when possible, and they also have a quiet alcove attached to the vet office for cats and dogs to give birth in. They very rarely euthanize rabbits (and proud of it), last I heard of was one last year that was so aggressive she threw herself at the cage when anybody walked past and drew some serious blood on the vet assitant (my friend who is adored by my fussy Mocha!). They try to get animals with litters into foster homes so they are raised with more attention and handling. It's actually a rather good shelter despite the complaints I always hear, mostly about keeping the the cats in cages. IMO, that's much better than risking disease epidemics.

Flea and mite treatment is no problem. They have their own vet and get common meds fairly cheaply in bulk. Spay/neuter for rabbits is routine before adoption and they run a low cost spay/neuter clinic that includes rabbits too. None of her potential health problems should cause any financial hardship, although donations are always welcome of course. The biggest problem the shelter has right now is overpopulation, they seriously have no open cages for dogs or cats (and only teeny tiny cages left for rabbits) and that is with frequently moving animals to other local shelters and recent adoption fee reductions. Dogs are a real crisis right now, if you know anyone that wants to adopt. Saint Bernards to tiny terriers, ancient adults to 2 month old puppies. Come one, come all!


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## Starlight Rabbitry (Nov 11, 2007)

Naturestee - There are legs you can buy that attach to the cage and "lift" it off the tray...Then there are these bars that you buy that the tray sits on and can slide out. 

KW Cages has these: www.kwcages.com their catalog is here:

http://clover.forest.net/kwcages/RABBITCATALOGWEB.pdf Sorry, it is a PDF file so I will just give you the page #s to look at.

Page 48 of their catalog has what I am talking about and a diagram.... items #4130 & 4131 are the legs...just need to get the height of the cage. Items #4135, 4136, 4137 are the slides.

Hope this helps.

Sharon


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## naturestee (Nov 11, 2007)

Ohhh, look how cheap their books are! Francis Harcourt-Brown here I come! And Beware of Bunny signs, LOL!

I'll have to get measurements and see about the possibility of getting those parts. Thanks! I had no idea you could order separate pieces like that!


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## naturestee (Nov 12, 2007)

Um, guess who is trying to talk her hubby into letting her foster?:baghead

Oh, and the vet was too busy with surgeries to check her today. Hopefully tomorrow...:?


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## gentle giants (Nov 12, 2007)

I hope you are able to foster her, stories like that break my heart. Heck, if I weren't so far away, I would probably offer to foster her myself! I think that I am decent at that sort of case, when a bunny has been badly mistreated. I have two that were very fear aggresive when I got them, now can cuddle them no probelm.


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