DELIVERY

Normal Delivery:

Somewhere between 28 and 32 days’ gestation, the doe will be ready to deliver her litter.  Our experience with this breed is that does almost always deliver on day 32.  Just the same, we place a nest box with her on day 28 to day 30, just to be on the safe side.

Interestingly (although I haven’t actually kept records for research), it seems that the phase of the moon may actually have some effect on when does deliver, particularly a full moon.  I know it sounds strange, but we’ve had cases of all the does which were due delivering a couple days early when a full moon was in effect.  Old farmers’ lore or actual fact?  Hmmmmm….

Just before delivery, you may notice a few things in regard to the doe.  She may go off her feed for a day before, or eat very little.  She’ll be very busy about making a nest.  She’ll begin to pull fur from her legs, chest, belly and sides and use it to line her nest.  Often a doe will have a soft bowel movement (not diarrhea) within hours of giving birth and you may find this on the cage floor.

The actual delivery takes place very quickly, often within fifteen minutes or so.  You’ll see the doe in her box, facing the back, and you may see her having an occasional contraction.  She’ll reach down between her hind legs and pull or clean the kits as they are delivered, as well as eat some of the afterbirth.  After all the kits are delivered and she has cleaned them to her satisfaction, she’ll hop out of the box and probably flop on the floor of the cage to rest.  She may not go back to feed the litter until hours later or even the next day.

Once she’s left the box and calmed down, you can quietly check the nest to remove any dead kits or leftover afterbirth.  Check the kits briefly to make sure that all are in one piece and healthy.  After that, we check each litter on a daily basis to see that they’re getting along well and that the nest isn’t getting soiled and needing to be replaced.

Problems with Delivery

Prolonged Labor:  If you’ve actually been witnessing the doe having contractions for a few hours or more, then you’re possibly dealing with a very large fetus which is stuck in the birth canal.  (This is more often a problem with small “show does”, and is one good argument for using non-dwarf brood does for production.)  If you’re very gentle, you can palpate and feel the fetus right down in the birth canal.  Often you can tell by the size of the head whether you feel the doe has a chance to pass it or not.

If she’s been contracting for a very long time and is getting exhausted, and is showing blood from the vent, I’d get to a vet for a C-section right away.  Otherwise the uterus may rupture.  Some breeders feel that eventually the fetal head will be squeezed enough to narrow and pass through the birth canal, but I get too nervous to chance it.  We’ve had one C-section here.  It is expensive – expect a bill from around $200 to $300.  It’s a good bet in this situation that all the babies have expired from the trauma of prolonged contractions and will be born dead.

Partially Expelled Fetus:  The doe will be contracting for a long period, as above.  She may hop in and out of the box and may grunt and appear upset.  When you check her you may find that she has a baby partly expelled but stuck in the birth canal.  You may want to get her to a vet at this point.  If you choose to tackle this yourself, you need to hold her securely in a position so that you can take hold of the fetus and pull gently but firmly WITH EACH CONTRACTION.  I cradle the doe, belly up, firmly between my left arm and side and apply traction at a 90-degree angle from the vent.  Some breeders of Netherlands are not unfamiliar with this problem and suggest placing the doe’s bottom in a bucket or bowl of warm water, but I’ve never tried this method.  I’ve assisted with a Netherland, a Polish, and one Jersey with this problem.  If you’ve caught it early enough, chances are that the rest of the litter may make it alive.

Retained Placenta or Fetus:  Several hours after a doe delivers, I usually check her to make sure that she has “cleaned”, or passed all the babies and all the placentas.  By palpating gently, you can feel the uterus to be like a firm rope, kind of curled up again toward the back of the abdominal cavity.  If you feel a fetal skull and body or a lump about the size of an acorn or bigger, she may need a shot of oxytocin to go ahead and deliver the baby or retained placenta.  Unless you’re very experienced, leave this to the vet to check and take care of.  If not addressed, this situation could lead to infection, or mummification, either of which could leave the doe sterile and unable to breed.

Baby Born in Amniotic Sac:  You may find a baby which is still enclosed inside its transparent amniotic sac, if the doe failed to break it and remove it during birth.  If you catch it immediately after birth, you may be able to revive the baby by removing the membrane.  Then, hold the baby upside-down and gently thump it on either side of the rib cage to help drain any fluids from its mouth and nose.  Dry it’s face and nose and stroke it’s body gently as if the doe were licking it.  With any luck, you may see some movement and succeed in bringing it around.

Cannibalism:  Sometimes a doe may get very excited or be having trouble with delivery and may accidentally chew off some extremities or partially consume a baby.  This occurs more often in first-time does and very nervous does.  It could also happen because the doe was very frightened of something during delivery, for instance a dog in the rabbitry or lots of commotion.  When the doe has the next litter, be sure to keep her in a quiet area, undisturbed, and she’ll probably do just fine.