She might have given birth

Question
QUESTION: My doe was expecting.  I thought she still had time because she didn't build a nest in her hutch.  She spends the day in a community pen where she had dug a den.  When I placed her in the pen today she was nesting by mouthfuls of grass into the den.  She then spent a few minutes in there and came out smaller and her rump a little bloody.  She then closed the entrance to the den with tailings.

I hope that's normal and she's just hiding the entrance and not burying her kits.

I really wanted her to give birth in the hutch so I could see the kits but I miscalculated.  Guess if she did give birth I'll just have to wait till the kits come out of the den.

ANSWER: Dear Tom,

It's normal for her to plug the entrance of her burrow with debris to keep predators such as snakes from entering.  But you'll have to leave her in the pen now, so that she can feed her babies exactly when she needs to do so.  I hope it's predator proofed!

I hope this will help, even though you can't get to the babies:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/surpriselitter.html

Please also read:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/breeding.html

Hope that helps.

Dana

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QUESTION: Today she open the entrance for a while to feed the kits.  She also pulled fur from her chest.  She then seal the entrance again.  

Should I take the pen down?  I figure she won't run away since her kits are in the ground.
ANSWER: Dear Tom,

I really can't say whether you should take the pen down, since I can't see your entire setup.  You must be sure the pen is predator-proof so that she's not in danger when you're not watching.  If the pen protects her, or if your yard is unfenced, I would definitely NOT take down the pen.

On the other hand, if predators have access to the pen, then she will be *trapped* if something dangerous comes around.  If you describe your complete setup in more detail, I'll be better able to advise you.  The key issue, though, is to keep predators *away* from the area, no matter what.  Night and day.

Dana

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I have a fenced yard but opossums and raccoons came and go.  There are no birds of prey. I feel it's quite safe and have a couple rabbits free range 24/7.

The pen is more to keep the rabbits in than predators out.  It's a portable play pen and there is always shade somewhere within the pen.  I doubled the area by using the fence as one side. I could put on the plastic topper but will have to reduce the area of the play area to original size.  I could make it predator proof around the hole if I put a cage top over it.  It's area vs security.  I like to give them the option of lots of room to play.

There is lots of shrub and tree cover so she can easily hide from me or run from predators if necessary.
ANSWER: Dear Tom,

If the yard is fully fenced and no one can dig in or out of it, then mama would probably be safer if she were *not* penned.  A rabbit in a pen is far more in danger from a raccoon than a free-range rabbit who can flee and show the raccoon that its' a waste of time to chase.

Note that if there are any unneutered males in the yard, mama could be impregnated again within minutes, and this is not good for her health.  Please read:

www.rabbit.org/health/spay.html

and

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/breeding.html

I hope this helps.

Dana

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Yesterday morning she opened the tunnel but didn't go in.  It looked like 2 kits came to the mouth of the tunnel and fed there.

This morning she was digging and looked like accidently toss out a kit.  She went down the tunnel and after handling the 11 day old kit a minute let it down the tunnel.  Forgot about possibility of e-coli on my hands.  She didn't come up after the usual minute of feeding and was down there so long I thought she might have died.  I was ready to dig down there to get her.  She came up after 25 minutes.  After a rest she went back down.  Looks like she did more digging.  I left after I saw she was all right and didn't give birth or something.  When I came back 2 hours later the tunnel was sealed again.  I assume the kits must be OK.  Is she enlarging the den or might there have been a problem?  The last 2 mornings the seal was broken and I don't know if it was the kits digging out or something trying to get in.

Answer
Dear Tom,

Without being able to see mama and the whole situation, my guess about the state of the babies is going to be as good as yours.  We just won't know right away.  But if you saw two healthy babies, chances are things are fine.  The fact that she's still plugging the hole means there are still babies in there that need protecting.  They should start to come out of the hole more often in the next two or three days, and then you'll know for sure who's down there!

Good luck,
Dana