# Pregnancy in netherland dwarfs



## rabbitlover95 (Aug 30, 2013)

So I have a 7/8 month old netherland dwarf bunny. She ended up getting accidently pregnant last month and had 5 still born babies. I believe that is one more than normal ? Anyways I believe she may be pregnant again she accidently got out around one of my male rabbits again and he was mounting her before i got there to stop it. He DiDnT fall over after because I stopped it but I'm pretty sure she will probably be pregnant again. My concern is isn't the second litter supposed to be double the first ? I don't think she can handle ten babies! I'm really concerned ...I'm attaching pictures of the dead kits from the last pregnancy 






She had them all over my bedroom and the last one she had hours later in the cage


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## RabbitGirl101 (Aug 30, 2013)

No the litter will not double, the amount of babies depends on the size of the rabbit, genetics, and how many times the buck bred her. One of the kits reminded me of a peanut. Also you need to provide a nestbox, if there is no nestbox the kits will get chilled and die. So i recommend switching her to a larger cage, and putting a box in at 28 days ( gestation period is anywhere from 28-32 day, never had a doe produce on the 28th day but I have had them produce on the 29th in the early morning) You can put shaving or the carefresh bedding on the bottom and then let her gather hay to put in the box and she will pull the fur to create a nest for them.

There is no "normal" for the amount of kits a rabbit has, it depends on the genetics. Do you know what her dam produced on average in her litters? What about her Grand Dam? The size of the rabbit also greatly affects this, I had a mother rabbit who always produced a litter of 5 but her daughter(much smaller) only produced a single kit that was a peanut. The breeding also affects how kits are born, the more times the doe is bred the more kits she will produce because there is a higher chance she will be fertilized.

Also if you plan on only having pets I would recommend spaying and neutering your rabbits, if you were interested in breeding you should invest in good stock to improve the breed.


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## rabbitlover95 (Aug 30, 2013)

Thanks for replying ! I wasn't sure If she was definitely pregnant before and I couldn't find a nest box anywhere so I didn't have one in time. I'm very close with my bunny and she waited until I got Home and had them within ten minutes after I got there then when she had the last one she waited until I got home again to have that one. I'm not sure how many her dam had unfortunately. I'm just hoping she doesn't have a bigger litter if she is pregnant. I am looking into neutering them just haven't had the money for it yet  she has a bigger cage than the one she was In but she wanted to be in my room when she was giving birth so I just brought the smaller cage in there and created a little nest for her.


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## RabbitGirl101 (Aug 30, 2013)

You don't want the cage to be huge though that can confuse the doe where to give birth, any type of small box should do, like a shoe box, do you have a small little tote or storage container? that could also work. Are you sure they were still-born? or where they just chilled? She shouldnt have a bigger litter than last time I find with my doe's they are repetitive in the amounts they have.


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## rabbitlover95 (Aug 30, 2013)

Right , and her other cage is much bigger. Good idea about the box ! Yeah I'm sure they were still born their faces were bruised and I tried to revive them (googled how) plus tried a heater and rubbing them everything it said online . The one with the placenta attached i think might have lived if I would have known she was supposed to eat that but I'm not sure i moved them into the cage once she had them and put fur and bedding around them. The last one she had I thought would survive too but it DiDnT she delivered the placenta after I guess it's supposed to come out with it . I have a lot of learning to do I'm hoping her second litter( If there is one ) lives.


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## OakRidgeRabbits (Aug 30, 2013)

Smaller dwarf breeds usually have litters of 2-4 kits, but they can have more. The size of the litter does not double in the second pregnancy. Usually they will have about the same number every time.

From the pictures, it appears as though your rabbit had a rough delivery. This isn't uncommon with first time moms, especially dwarf breeds, but I highly recommend having your rabbit spayed (or at least housed securely) to prevent more "accidents" from happening. Fortunately, she delivered them okay this time, but it's not worth risking her health over unwanted pregnancies.


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## RabbitGirl101 (Aug 30, 2013)

Hmm that is kinda odd how they were all stillborn but it makes sense if it was her first litter many first timers lose their litter (I've had great luck and all my first timers delievered live kits but some have had issues learning what to do) . The second litter should be live just make sure to put a box in this time, her natural instincts should kick and should be a good mother! If she delivers a litter I would try to start finding pet homes so you aren't weaning them and keeping them around for a long time.


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## rabbitlover95 (Aug 30, 2013)

That's another concern I have I don't want to risk her dieing trying to push kits out  I thought they were fairly big babies. Yes I will def look into homes soon if she starts showing signs of pregnancy now that I know how she acted last time. I really don't think I could handle her dieing pushing kits out . She is my only rabbit that gives me kisses constantly I love her !!


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## RabbitGirl101 (Aug 30, 2013)

The larger the litters the smaller the kits. You want her to have a bigger litter if she had a litter of 1-2 it may be a small litter but there is more risk of a stuck kit, or other problems.


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## rabbitlover95 (Aug 30, 2013)

Oh okay so it's a good thing she had 5?


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## RabbitGirl101 (Aug 30, 2013)

I would say 5 is better than 2, in her case it may have been a pro and a con. It looked like she had a rough delivery like OakRidge said, having a big litter made the kits easier to come out however the big litter drained her of energy. 

I would definitely cross your fingers and hope she isn't bred, she might have a harder time this kindling. If she doesn't kindle make sure to get her a more secure area for not only her but the buck as well, you dont want another accident occurring.


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## rabbitlover95 (Aug 30, 2013)

Okay thanks  


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## woahlookitsme (Aug 30, 2013)

If there's any way you can afford to pay for an emergency spay I would do it. Some vets might work with you on payment if you pay at least 50% of the price. You will have to buy more food for the babies and mom is going to have higher health care standards once she is lactating. If you are feeding a pet rabbit diet I would add some alfalfa into her diet to increase the protein and nutrition. A friend of mine breeds and shows dwarf hotots and she had quite a few does die from hypocalcemia. The babies do look very rough and it definitely doesn't look like it was easy for her. If you are not able to keep the buns separated or altered you may want to consider rehoming. Does can most certainly due from birthing complications and dwarfs are notorious for them. The babies do look really big for her. 

Again I suggest calling around for an abortion because the chance that she could die from complications or live is seriously 50/50. She could go either way.


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## OakRidgeRabbits (Aug 30, 2013)

RabbitGirl101 said:


> The larger the litters the smaller the kits. You want her to have a bigger litter if she had a litter of 1-2 it may be a small litter but there is more risk of a stuck kit, or other problems.



The size of the litter doesn't usually weigh heavily on the size of the kits. Five is a bit litter for a Netherland Dwarf, yet the kits all look large and stretched.

It's not common for rabbits to die while kindling, so I didn't mean to scare the original poster with that thought. However, kindling complications happen more frequently in dwarf breeds. It would be a shame for something to happen to someone's pet bunny...better to make sure that breeding is not possible.


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## RabbitGirl101 (Aug 30, 2013)

OakRidgeRabbits said:


> The size of the litter doesn't usually weigh heavily on the size of the kits. Five is a bit litter for a Netherland Dwarf, yet the kits all look large and stretched.
> 
> It's not common for rabbits to die while kindling, so I didn't mean to scare the original poster with that thought. However, kindling complications happen more frequently in dwarf breeds. It would be a shame for something to happen to someone's pet bunny...better to make sure that breeding is not possible.



I know it is a big litter for a Netherland but I was told by a breeder (whether true or not I've just stuck to it since they were a reputable breeder) that even in a small rabbit the bigger the litter lowers the risk of birthing problem. It is true that those kits look big, could it be because the sire is bigger?


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## OakRidgeRabbits (Aug 30, 2013)

It could be because the sire is bigger. I've heard people say that about babies being bigger in smaller litters, but haven't found that to be consistent. At birth, most kits are about the same size. Once they start nursing, single babies or smaller litters do tend to grow faster, it seems.

I haven't bred Netherland Dwarfs, so maybe there is more variance in them. I've worked with Holland Lops, Jersey Woolies, and Dwarf Hotots.


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## RabbitGirl101 (Aug 30, 2013)

I have Holland lops but only had two litters, a litter of 3 and 4 so there wasn't much difference in the two. I know in my lionheads they seemed to be smaller in a larger litter and bigger in a small litter not by much but there is still a difference. I heard that the reasoning is because the kits in smaller litters have more room to grow inside the mother. I think there is a difference although it probably isnt a huge difference, I think I worded the above post weirdly. (I was told my information by a breeder of Holland lops, netherland dwarfs and Mini rex)


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## woahlookitsme (Aug 30, 2013)

I don't know about size of kits and the correlation between number but I do know that just because babies are small does not mean the doe has a lesser chance of dying while giving birth. We had a nice black polish. Her first litter she died while giving birth. We didn't find any half stuck kits and the two that she did kindle were about the length of someone's pinky. They were super small. We did not open her up to check how many were left but mom is sure she had more in there.


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## rabbitlover95 (Aug 31, 2013)

You guys are scaring me ! I figured I she was able to get through the first litter than she would be able to get through another If there is a pregnancy. I cannot afford to go to an emergency clinic right now


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## woahlookitsme (Aug 31, 2013)

I think people underestimate the real concerns there can be when breeding rabbits. It really isn't as simple as just putting rabbits together. Which is why we try to tell pet owners to do anything you can to prevent unwanted and accidental litters. The risks of breeding are real and increase in dwarfs because they are notorious for them.

Like I said I think it could really go either way. There is a chance she could have a better time with the second litter (even though it really shouldn't have happened a second time) or she could have an even harder time and have complications


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## missyscove (Aug 31, 2013)

They're not suggesting an emergency clinic at this point (although if she is pregnant and has complications during kindling that's exactly what you'll have to do) but rather getting her spayed right away so she doesn't end up giving birth. It's something your regular rabbit vet would do. 


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## rabbitlover95 (Aug 31, 2013)

Well I guess the question is ... If the buck DiDnT fall over could she still be pregnant ? I stopped it but I'm not sure how long it was going on for because I was in the bathroom I do know I didn't see him fall over though 


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## majorv (Sep 1, 2013)

Well, it sure doesn't take long for them to mate...and they could've easily already mated before you caught them.You'll just have to wait and see if you can't get her spayed right now.


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## RabbitGirl101 (Sep 1, 2013)

Thats a good point he could have mated with her once and was going back for a second time. I know some of my bucks after mating have successfully bred the doe but they dont fall off, they look as if they pass out of the back of the doe and then try to breed them again.


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## rabbitlover95 (Sep 1, 2013)

Okay thank you I guess time will tell :/


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## rabbitlover95 (Sep 2, 2013)

Today she had pulled out hair and left it in her cage .... I don't get it .. They only possibly mated a few days ago


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