First time mother doe preparing her nest by gathering hay and pulling fur.
Does can prepare their nest as far out as a week before their labour, but often will do so when birth is imminent (within 48 hours before labour).
Fur pulling sounds really painful, but their fur naturally loosens towards the end of pregnancy to make the process easier. Some does may pull only a little fur, some pull a lot. It's always a good idea to save some incase you have a doe that doesn't pull much to top up the nest.
Giving birth takes between 1530 minutes, it's best not to disturb does during this time and leave them to it. As with all mammalian labours, there will be blood, it should be minimal and mostly cleaned up by the doe. She will eat her placenta, but any tissue left behind, or blood covered nesting material should be removed.
A peak inside the hutch the nest day shows what newborn kits look like before they've been fed. It can take up to 48 hours for a doe's milk to come in. We gave ours some oats (they contain galactagogues) to help her milk along.
Stay tuned for more videos on this litter, in the meantime, here's a blog post I've written on four signs your doe's labour is imminent:
https://loodlelane.wixsite.com/loodle...