• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

in need of advice

buffydog

New Kit
Hi,
i`m new to this site, and could do with some help.

I have a beautiful big male rex, who was neutered 2 months ago we decided to get him a girlfriend as his headbutting was becomming a problem
and i wanted him to move to a bigger out door pen

We got the female from a farm park, as i wanted a big sized rabbit like him.
the rabbit we chose was a lop who was sharing a pen with 8 of her own babies (even though they were a bit big to be babies as such)

the 2 of them have got on great, on 5 mins of humping from amle at start, weve now had her 2 weeks and they share the same enclosure 24/7 fine.

My problem is, i went to clean out bed this morning and found a nest of her hair......

Could she be pregnat by her own babies or maybe a phantom as shes now with a strange male???
Any way of me finding out, or telling when she is due?

Also if she is, i would have to move her out of the shared cage, but not touch the nest? so she`d have to start a new nest?
i couldn`t move him as i only have a smal spare cage, and he is too big for it.

Any help about anything would be great.thanks x
 
Welcome :wave:

I have never bred rabbits so do not know much.

I do however know that male rabbits can remain fertile for 6-8 weeks after they've been neutered and the pregnancy time for a female bun is about 30 days, so if you've had her 2 weeks and she is making a nest now and produces a litter within the next week or two then she must have gotten pregnant before you got her. Rabbits have no 'morals' so to speak so they can (and will) breed within the family - brothers and sisters, mum and son etc.

Other people with more experience than me will hopefully be along shortly to give you more help and advice about what to do, wishing you all the best with this one.

I'd advise that, when this is all sorted out either way (kits or no kits) you get her neutered as well because female rabbits have a high risk of uterine cancer (think it's 85% of females get it by the age of 5) as well as numerous other infections and problems so do think about neutering her when she is over this.
 
Last edited:
sounds like every poss shes preggy by one of her youngsters,,if they were big. ,,a buck can be fertile as early as ten weeks ive seen this happen to my friend,,if you can relocate your buck this would be helpful,,,as some does nest the day before they litter,,others a week,,,i would move him rather than her as she could abort ,,,on the other hand as she is an ex breeding doe she could be having a phantom,,
 
She could possible be pregnant or just made a nest. You could always take her to your vets and see if they can feel anything. It also may be worth getting intouch with the place you got them so they can sex and seperate the remainder of the buns:roll:.
Good luck and really hope she isn't pregnant
 
Thanks for your help, going to look for a new cage to move him today.
is there any way i would be able to feel for them myself???
will talk to owner of farm park.
i really hope shes not?
if she does have babies, when can i move my buck back into the cage?
feel so bad for him, he was so happy to have compnany, now he`s being moved out on his own again....
 
If her youngsters were 10 weeks plus, she could well be pregnant. If she remains with male bun & gives birth he may well kill the babies.

However she may well be having a phantom. Spaying can stop these.

I think *usually* a nest for real babies is built hours/days before birth.

I would get to the vets too. If she's not pregnant you could discuss spaying:D
 
Thanks for your help, going to look for a new cage to move him today.
is there any way i would be able to feel for them myself???
will talk to owner of farm park.
i really hope shes not?
if she does have babies, when can i move my buck back into the cage?
feel so bad for him, he was so happy to have compnany, now he`s being moved out on his own again....

When babies leave mum - at 8 weeks (not before!) he can go back with partner - I would rebond on neutral territory though - she may be territorial or hormonal after being split
 
As others have said, she could have got pregnant at the park.
Before you split them up, I would take her to the vets to make sure.
Otherwise, if she isnt pregnant you would have split them up for nothing.

:wave:
 
if she became pregnant by her own babies, will they be deformed?
remember hearing this somewhere once.
any other special requirements she will need if so?
 
if she became pregnant by her own babies, will they be deformed?
remember hearing this somewhere once.
any other special requirements she will need if so?

Genetically it's not great if anybun has a defect - teeth/heart etc as you can imagine - unfortunately, it's also really common. A lot of buns are interbred with no probs at all.
 
normally mother to son should be ok,,but as have been said already you can get deformaties in rare cases,,if your taking your doe to the vets wait till its cooler,,as she could already distressed by the heat if shes preggy,,a preggy doe normally lays about on their side more,,,if shes due tonight they go off their food,,,
 
I'm in a similar situation to yourself and it wasn't a phantom. Hope it works out for you but I'd agree on getting her spayed.
 
she is lying around alot, but she is eating more than usual, so i guess i got a night or 2, if she is.....lol x

sounds familiar. Mine did that then she frantically made her nest, went in for about 10 minutes, squeaked a bit, then out she came and lay down for a while and didn't go back in for ages. I was still unaware at this point she had kits thinking it was a phantom. It wasn't until a few days later I found 6 gorgeous kits in there. They are now 16 days old.
 
Yes, being lethargic and quiet can be a sign the kits are coming.

She may not have changed her weight, because not all does do. She needs her normal amount of food right now (but this needs to be gradually increased once the kits are born and she is nursing).

When she goes into labour you will need to ensure that she doesn't get any stuck kits or other birthing problems, that all kits are in the nest, that all kits in the nest/cage are alive (obviously removing any dead ones, and also remove any placentas too, although those should be eaten).
 
Back
Top