Pregnant and due tomorrow - advice needed! No sign of nest yet!

Hi there
Daisy is due tomorrow (31 days after conception) and i would really appreciate some advice.
First, i have seperated her from Charlie now and she is in a pen (much to her annoyance, its a real shame, she is very cross!) and i have covered up her hutch and provided lots of straw, paper etc. However, she doesnt seem to have made a nest yet, is this normal?
Her behaviour changed yesterday and she just lay on her side for the whole day, nornally she is quite naughty.
I am a little worried about her.
Also, when the buns arrive, how long do they stay with mum? When will i be able to clean the hutch/handle the buns?
Will i have to keep Charlie away from the buns the whole time we have them?
When can we find new homes for them?
Will daisy have to stay with them or can she go outside to play once they have been born?
Sorry for the questions, i just want to make sure daisy gets everything she needs.
Thanks!

http://www.rabbit.org/care/babies.html

Janex

Wow - thanks, lots of info there.
I have just cleaned out her hutch and provided more fresh bedding, hopefully that will help her.
Can i just confirm that it is ok to handle the babies (if i need to) 24hours fter they have been born?

One other thing, how long is it until theyget fur and start jumping around!

Provided mum is distracted and dosn't see you and your hands have been rubbed in her soiled bedding to disguise your scent.

They start to develop fur after a few days and will be out of the nest between 2 and 3 weeks.

Ooh - i think there may be something happening.
I let her outside for a stretch and cleaned and prepared her hutch (i carefully checked there wasnt a nest already) and when i went to get her she was just sat on the ground. I approached her and picked her up - which is usually a half hour task as she runs all around the garden, determined to play out for just 5 minutes more! Then when she came inside, she was a little unstaedy on her feet and was thumping her foot and grunting. Her behaviuor is very out of character - could this be the start of labour?

Stop handling her from now on....else she may become very distressed by unwanted attention.

Thanks - now i have her in her pen, i will let her get cosy.
Im so proud of her! Its quite exciting, i hope she is ok!

Still no sign - am i worrying too much
Shall i check the tunnels and dens in her pen or just leave well alone.
Will there be any signs for me to watch out for to let me know she has had them?

id leave her alone for abit now.they normaly have them at night but mine always had them in the daytime.youll know when shes had them.try not mess with her too much,dont want her get aggitated anymore.xx

if you keep handling her and moving her area and bedding about she will get stressed and may well kill the kits..

are you sure she is pregnant?

and please do not put the male anywhere near her as she can get pregnant again 24 hours after giving birth..this would obviously be very bad for her and would mean another litter of rabbits to find homes for ....and there are too many of those as it is.

The male has been neutered 4 weeks ago. He was abandoned and found his way into our garden, which is why Daisy is pregnant.
Can he be with her if he is neutered?
She is very unhappy in her pen.
I took her to the vets about 5 days into her pregnancy and he said he had definately felt an enlarged uterus.

he cant go with her until babies are ready leavemum.large chance that he will kill them or mum will abandon them.surely at 5days you wouldnt be able feel anything?i might be wrong but thought it wouldnt be possible?xxx

I have no idea what you would be able to feel.
He said that he couldnt feel anything other than an enlarged uterus.
Guess i will just hae to wait and see and keep a close eye on her.

She may well not be pregnant..but i'd keep the male away from her for a while yet just in case..

He can stay fertile for up to 6 weeks after op.

If hs eturns out not to be expecting i'd get her speyed as it will help her behaviour, make bonding easier and prevent her developing uterine cancer.

Good luck!

Did the vet not perform an ultrasound then?

It is very hard to detect kits at 14 days let alone 5 when they have hardly begun to develope. I would not hold that the uterus felt 'enlarged' as gospel prrof she is pregnant.

If she has not kindled after 35 days its a safe bet it was a false alarm....fingers crossed.