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Moving a pregnant rabbit

Mr Cookie Bun

Mama Doe
Can anyone give me advice on how safe/is it safe to move a pregnant rabbit? I have "kindly" been offered a pair of rabbits, complete with hutches and runs. Only problem is they are male and female and they put them together "to see what would happen":roll: and they think the female is pregnant. I was going to rehome a bonded pair from our local rescue after Christmas, so I did intend on getting more. I'm not really sure about rehoming these rabbits but I've been put on a guilt trip by my daughter :evil:
 
It would depend how far she's come.
I don't think it would be a good idea to move her within the last two weeks of the pregnancy, preferably not at all or within the first week/few days..
I guess once again it would depend on how calm the female is... We once moved a doe a few days before giving birth and that was a total disaster... (because of several factors...)
Her daughter was moved with a newborn kit as she gave birth just as the "bunny-watchers" were going home from vacation:shock: That kid grew up fine. :roll:
While on the other hand some students moved an angora with newborns to another cage because they thought they cage they were in was too small...ended in disaster:evil: To make this plan even dumber newborn rabbits don't even move around, they don't care about hutch size...had they been a few weeks older maybe it would have gone better:cry: (We've moved 3-week old babies to new cages several times, most of the time because their birth cages were unfit/too small or broken)
 
I don't even know what breed/mix they are! All I know is that our local rescue won't take them because they are full and the girl's Mum (she's 14) has told her to "get rid" of them because she's not looking after them. She's got 2 weeks to rehome them or her Mum is threatning to have them put to sleep :evil: Mabye they should have thought about that before putting them together :evil: The Mum's going to phone me tomorrow, so I'll try and find out how far on the doe might be.
 
I have just fostered a doe for BARC and after being here 2 days she has had 10 babies :shock: (sadly one has died though)
 
Has she built her nest.I rescued a preg doe and me and another member got her to tamside rescue.
 
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You'll be taking an awful lot on. 4-8 babies (though you can get more), you'll need a hutch for dad, a hutch that's big enough to accommodate mum and the litter as they grow, then a seperate hutch for the boys and the girls, jabs and neutering is going to add up too.

Definately not something to rush into. Did they say when they put them together? If it's only a few days/week ago then booking mum in for an emergency spay may be the best option.

Tam
 
I have just fostered a doe for BARC and after being here 2 days she has had 10 babies :shock: (sadly one has died though)

I'm worried about moving her and the babies dying because of it. I had to have 1 of my cats pts last week so I don't think I would do to well emotionally if they died :cry: My oh suggested taking the buck and asking her to keep the doe until after she has her babies.I don't know how serious the girl's Mum is about having them pts if they aren't rehomed though :cry:
 
Has she built her nest.I rescued a preg doe and me and another member got her to tamside rescue.

That's me, that's me! :lol:


Hazel was moved when pregnant, yep. Although... having said that, her litter had only one surviving baby. :? Elaine was unable to get a proper look at her nest, so it's unclear how many the litter totalled. One baby was found dead outside the nest... It's not clear whether this was due to being moved when pregnant, though.


Is the rabbit safe where she is?
 
That's me, that's me! :lol:


Hazel was moved when pregnant, yep. Although... having said that, her litter had only one surviving baby. :? Elaine was unable to get a proper look at her nest, so it's unclear how many the litter totalled. One baby was found dead outside the nest... It's not clear whether this was due to being moved when pregnant, though.


Is the rabbit safe where she is?

Hi sarah,hows my hazel
 
Hazel is wonderful. She amuses the heck out of me - she's got very definite ideas over how things should be done, and if they're not done just right, I swear that rabbit can frown! :lol: Especially if I dare fuss Bella, she's a possessive mummy-bunny.
 
That's me, that's me! :lol:


Hazel was moved when pregnant, yep. Although... having said that, her litter had only one surviving baby. :? Elaine was unable to get a proper look at her nest, so it's unclear how many the litter totalled. One baby was found dead outside the nest... It's not clear whether this was due to being moved when pregnant, though.


Is the rabbit safe where she is?

I "think" she's safe - just not well looked after. They aren't given human contact every day and they're only cleaned out a couple of times a month. It's a 14yr old who's supposed to be looking after them so I would imagine they get looked after when she feels like it :evil:
 
I "think" she's safe - just not well looked after. They aren't given human contact every day and they're only cleaned out a couple of times a month. It's a 14yr old who's supposed to be looking after them so I would imagine they get looked after when she feels like it :evil:

Ugh. Sounds... not good.

That's tricky then... Is there any way you could arrange to go around there daily? Might not be practical at all.. Without knowing the bunny, I guess you don't really know if she's easily stressed or stuff?
 
Ugh. Sounds... not good.

That's tricky then... Is there any way you could arrange to go around there daily? Might not be practical at all.. Without knowing the bunny, I guess you don't really know if she's easily stressed or stuff?

I will find out more tomorrow. Her Mum is phoning me tomorrow morning so I'll ask to see them. All I've seen of them is photo's on my daughter's phone. I'll also give my lovely vet a call and ask about emergency spaying. If I'm going to take them I'll be asking for a contribution to their spay and neuter.
 
I certainley would not recommend it unless they are in immediate danger. You will know more when you have spoken to the mother. You will be taking on quite a handful bun mums do not always know what to do with first litters. They will sometimes mutilate/ overclean limbs bitten off etc. If one comes out of the nest still attached to a teat it will not be put back by mum and generally freezes to death so if you have kids make sure you check on the bun before they do just in case. (This is what has happened to our dead baby)
I would be wary of emergency speys if you dont know how far gone she is
 
Update

I spoke to the girl's Mum last night. When she told me the full story, I contacted our local rescue (who the woman said she contacted :evil:). The rescue now has a litter of kitts to handrear from another of the girls rabbits that apparently died giving birth. On Saturday, my garden and accomodation is going to be checked, and IF I pass, I'll be fostering the male until after Christmas. Until then the woman's agreed that I can go and look after them. The other doe is very nervy and I'll look after her at their home until she can be moved. Thanks for the advice :D
 
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