is my doe really a doe ?

Question

I have two female sisters (which the vet sexed) that both as far as i know give birth within an hour of each other.In total there were a litter of 13 kits. 5 of the kits died but as they were all in the same nest i dont know who lost there young. I have noticed one of the does mounting the other since the young died. Could this be that she isnt a doe at all? or is this possibly to do with the loss of the kits. By the way, the dad was a netherland dwarf, all kits identical to dad so its impossible any one of the does ? could be the dad. Is she just fretting?

Answer 1

Normally it's a good idea to have your adult rabbits separated even if they are of the same sex. If they both had babies, then they are both does. I'm surprised that they would have them in the same nest box like that. You really should have separated them before they had litters.

They very well could be both does. A doe will mount a doe if they are together and the one is wanting bred or its hormones are affecting it. If they are both does, then the litter could be from one doe or from both does. If you leave the two does together, with the one mounting the other it could lead to fighting, which in that case they should definitely be separated. However, the litter complicates matters especially if you are talking about two separate litters instead of one.

If the babies are from one rabbit, the other rabbit could disturb the mother and could lead to the mother not milking her babies properly. If the litter is from two rabbits, then if you separate one rabbit off then you may not have enough milk to provide to all the babies. Or if you separate the wrong one off, they will get no milk at all. So you've put yourself in quite a predicament.

You need to have you or the vet check the mammary glands/nipples and find out which of the two does is milking, one or both or whatever. It's probably best to take both rabbits to the vet for the vet to determine which ones had the litter. Separating the mothers from their babies for an hour or so to take them to the vet to determine this shouldn't hurt the babies. The babies only feed about once, maybe twice a day. If only one of the two had the babies, remove the one that didn't have any to another pen. If both of them are milking and had babies, then split the litter in two and give half to one mother and half to the other mother and put the mothers in separate pens. Make sure to build a proper 2nd nest by pulling fur from the doe you place the 2nd portion of the litter with to keep the babies warm. You handling the babies won't cause the mother to reject the babies. I often handle mine the day they are born even often minutes from when they are born and the does never have never had a problem with it in over 24 years. Just make sure you use a non smelly bedding such as straw for the nestbox.

Below is a website to show you how to determine the sex of your rabbits:

www.debmark.com/rabbits/sexing.htm

I like the examples the above website provides due to the pictures that help demonstrate what you need to look for.

Answer 2

rabbits are hard to sex. Some vets find it difficult in young rabbits especially if they don't normally get to see any. you should be able to find testicles on a mature male. also if you put pressure near the genital area you can sometimes find the penis. If both females had given birth then they would both have swollen teats if they are still feeding the kits.

Answer 3

I'm not sure but with cattle heifers mount other heifers when its their breeding time if theres not a bull (sometimes even if there is one) could this be whats happening since you dont have a male around?

Answer 4

It may just be an act of dominance over the other Doe.