# Barbing pregnant doe



## windyhill (Jan 19, 2010)

I have a pregnant doe that has taken up barbing.
Is there any danger to her litter once she has it?
After I removed her from the buck, I noticed his whiskers were gone and sure enough, when I checked her cage mates, their whiskers were gone as well.


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## neurozool (May 22, 2010)

Have you tired giving her more toys?


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## windyhill (Jan 19, 2010)

She has several toys (I switch them around ever so often, so they dont get bored.


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## WNTMousery (Jun 2, 2010)

That always scares me with pregnant does. Do you have a surrogate? I've seen some barber-moms eat limbs.


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

I get a lot of barbering in my champagne tans.Mothers that barber do it to the young but I've never known any to be harmed.As soon as the babies are weaned I remove the litter and the fur quickly returns.My only doubt is that this behaviour may be learnt.I have crossed cham/tans into my fawns and now there is a higher incidence of barbering in them.You'd have to conclude that its better really not to breed from them but who wants to cull pregnant animals.Not me.


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## windyhill (Jan 19, 2010)

I never noticed any signs of barbing until after she was already pregant, otherwise I wouldnt of bred her, but I dont want to cull her since she is due any day now.
I try to plan 2 prengant/nursing does at the same time so I can have a surrogate,but the other doe doesnt look as far as long as her, so Im not sure if I'll have a surrogate or not for her.
Well, this is her 1st and last chance, if she kills the babies,etc, then I'll cull her.


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## windyhill (Jan 19, 2010)

Well, she had 7 babies and she ate them all but 1 over 2 days and I had to cull the last one becouse she hadnt been nursing it and I didnt have a surrogate this time around(the other doe wasnt pregnant, like I hoped)
I culled this doe.


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## The Village Mousery (Aug 1, 2010)

oh dear is barbing bad, i think one of mine does it but its not the wiskers its the top of only one doe's head shes a fuzzy too so it looks worse, but she doesnt get sore. i thought it was only over grooming. if its bad i could try and put somethime nasty tasting on her head to stop it


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## Wight Isle Stud (May 19, 2010)

I have had this-it is prevalent in some strains. I have never tried it, but an old hand once said that if you cut her wiskers off with a pair of scissors, she will never do it again.


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## windyhill (Jan 19, 2010)

Well, I already culled this doe, but If it happens again, I may have to try that


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