Help! Out of my depth - U/D - this is getting weird

Hi all, :wave:

I'm new to the forum, and to keeping rabbits, but totally in love with mine. I've had a bit of a shock this morning though, when I opened my rabbit's sleeping area to clean it out and pop Tibbler and Nibbler in their run for the day - there's what looks like a nest. :shock: It's a sort of hollow in the hay, and lined with fur.

When I first got them, about the middle of March, they were 8 weeks old. I took them to the vet to have them sexed and vaccinated, and I was assured they were both boys, and because they were from the same litter I should neuter them. As soon as the vets opens this morning I'll ring up and make another appointment, but what do I do in the meantime?

My main questions are - do I need to separate them? They are brothers (or brother and sister) and have never been apart. I've read that if you separate them for more than a day, they might fight when they go back together.

Can I handle the female? I don't want her to miscarry, but I don't know whether to take her to the vet, or how to clean her out. Will she be ill, given that the father is her brother?

How old are my rabbits? Everything I've read says they shouldn't be old enough to breed until 6 months!!

My brother works with handicapped children, and Tibbler and Nibbler came along after one of the kids decided it would be funny to mix the classroom rabbits up. I thought I'd do them a favour by taking two of the 28 bunnies they ended up with, and I've tried to do everything right - I went shopping for hutches with a tape measure, and they eat better than I do - but I'm really frightened I may have done terrible damage by not neutering them. Any advice would be gratefully received - I feel so guilty.

It's not unheard of for male rabbits to make a nest, so it could just be hormonal :?
You should be able to tell which rabbit has made the nest, as their underside will be lacking loads of fur :shock: if that rabbit is female, you should be able to see nipples too...
once you've worked out which one has made the nest and confirmed that he is a she, remove the male...
rub your hands in the litter tray and carefully check the nest to make sure she hasn't already given birth - they are quite secretive and the babies are usually covered up with the fur.
Whether she has given birth or not, there's not much that can be done at this point, so just leave her to it, make sure she has unlimited food and keep the male well away!
If there are babies in the nest already, she could be pregnant again :shock:
Good luck with them

Hi, and welcome to the forum:wave:. If your vet mis-sexed your bunsters then there's a chance the female is pregnant, although it seems that both buns are only 4 months old. It should be obvious now if they are different sexes, so turn them up and have a look. If one has testicles then there is a good chance that the female is pregnant. If they are both female, then it could be a phantom pregnancy. If one is def male and you suspect she really is pregnant then I'd advise you to split them now because, nest building occurs when the birth is imminent(usually at night) and the male will mate with the female as soon as she's given birth so you could well end up with 2 litters within the space of a month . Is there anywhere you can put him so that they are still within site of each other? This situation crops of quite often on here as a result of mis-sexed bunnies so I'm sure someone with more experience will be along shortly! Keep us updated.

just wanted to join this thread. keep us updated xXxXx

I am joining in too cus now I have a female bun there is lots more to learn so don't panic Mr Manwairing, we all have to start somewhere honey and there is soooooo much help on here from everyone

My male makes a super nest! I make it how I want it and when I see him after work he has been busy and made a lovely nest for himself! It may just be that he wants to rearrange things his way. ((fingerscrossed)

My female lived on her own for about 12 months because i had no idea they needed a companion, so believe me i know the guilt thing your feeling, i felt it too she had 2 - 3 phantom pregnancies i was really worried at first because i had no idea what she was doing ( these 2 are my first rabbs ) i even took her to the vet because i thought maybe she was reacting to something :lol: but its the same as one of the other replies said we all have to learn this stuff its not instinct plus your rabbs sound happy but i would agree if you suspect she is pregnant i would separate them but so they can still see each other. there's a book called Rabbitlopaedia, which i believe you can get off amazon if you don't already have it i really recommend it its fantastic and if she is pregers it will help you through the stages. its fantastic its got everything about rabbit care in quite a lot of detail. anyways , goodluck with them:wave:

Oh thanks everyone, I really appreciate it. When I got home last night I had a good look, and aside from the bald belly it's pretty obvious that Nibbler is a boy and Tibbler is a girl so Nibbler has moved out to the chicken ark for a few days. He's not happy about it, but Tibbler seems more relaxed! The vet will be nuetering him next week, and doing it for free - I'm afraid I was a little rude when I phoned them...

I can't see any babies, and Tibbler isn't spending any more time in her sleeping area than usual, but I peeped this morning and she's pulled out more fur. A neighbour said that if her teats were more prominent she'd probably already had them...and eaten them!! :shock: Please tell me my neighbour is winding me up.

What's a phantom pregnancy? How do I know if it's one of those?

Other than that I suppose I just have to wait. So worried - she's so little and cute, and Nibbler is lonely. I bought him extra toys to cheer him up but he's not interested.

I think that the mum would only eat the babies im extreme circumstances.

Good luck with the litter x

HI! A phantom pregnancy is when the doe is hormonal, but not pregnant. I think if she had eaten the kits there would have been some sign of blood around, and if she's still adding to the nest then it's most unlikely. It's just a waiting game now. Try not to worry. Just think of all the lovely baby pics you'll be able to put up here. I'm glad to hear that the vet is doing the neutering for free

well it's a common mistake - but don't forget the boy will be fertile for up to 8 weeks AFTER his neuter (regardless of what your vet says - I'd always err on the side of caution)

It could be a phantom, in which case leave the nest alone for a week or 2 - or she'll just make another and end up bald - Or it could be the real thing, in which case leave the nest alone too - just check it with a gloved hand every day, rub some of her dirty litter on the glove first. Hope it's just a phantom!

:shock: Eight weeks!? Wow, Nibbler's not going to be impressed with his new digs for that long! :lol:

So relieved the eating thing is unlikely - that just freaked me out! There's no blood or anything around, and like I said, the nest is slightly bigger today... Apparently she's outside sunbathing in the bottom run bit of her hutch right now, looking very relaxed! I shall leave her be for a few days I think and see what (or who) emerges. It's very confusing - part of me hopes she isn't going through this while she's so young, and part of me is a little smitten with the thought of baby buns!

Even when she does have the kits, she wont spend much time near the nest - babies are fed 1-2 times a day, and normally not during the day, so don't worry if it looks like she's neglecting them

The nest is definitely getting bigger, but still can't see any babies. :?

At some point I'm going to have to relax and get some sleep! :roll:

Hi, I just got a new bunny into care who is acting very pregnant too! She came in with a male though the old owners swear they were never together (you cant always trust them) so now I'm in a waiting game too, with a very big nest, and a rather protective female! I think it will be a bit disappointing if it's a phantom pregnancy, but at least there wont be six more bunnies to re-home! Hehe, Good luck with your bun, and I hope you don't have to wait too long!!

One of my mini/german lops is nesting. She lives with her sister. I've been told that both have been neutered (but several months after homing, still haven't had any vac cards :roll. Would she still nest build and get hormonal even after being done? :?

Witchy said:

One of my mini/german lops is nesting. She lives with her sister. I've been told that both have been neutered (but several months after homing, still haven't had any vac cards :roll. Would she still nest build and get hormonal even after being done? :?

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if they still have ovarian tissue left behind after a spay (it's sometimes difficult to get it all out) - they will still get broody from time to time, particularly if they have been mounted by their partner, even if it's just as dominance

Ah right, ok. Thanks for that Elve

What the hell is going on with this bunny?

I looked in this morning, just opened the door a crack, and the nest is gone - she'd trashed the whole place! So I took her out for a quick cuddle, and her teats are still very prominent, and she feels a little fatter too.

She's definitely pining for Nibbler too - I can see her looking around for him all the time.

At what point should I take her to the vet and ask what's going on? Paul (local vet) will be out over the next few weeks to see to various cows, would it be better if he came and saw her rather than me taking her in?

I feel like an expectant father....

it's fairly normal to trash nests and then re-make them... a doe that I'm fostering did this a few days before she had her kits
You could get a vet to have a feel (palpate) to see what the chances are that she is pregnant... or if it's likely to be a phantom