Urgent! Pregnant Young Rabbit Help Please

Sorry if this is in the wrong place, I have a lot of questions to ask that branch over several boards.

My sister has just phoned me, she was at the vets and found out that one of her 'male' rabbits is actually female, and pregnant with possibly 6 babies (she separated the buns). (I don't know how far along she is).

She has been given a few options:

One is an emergency spay, but its high risk as the female is pretty much a baby herself (sorry I don't know how old, but I think she only just became sexually mature give or take a week). The vet doesn't really want to do this as she's very small and young. They think her size is because of her pregnancy; all the nutrients are going to the babies so she's not growing as she should.

The other option is let the female go through with the pregnancy as she is so young there’s a good chance she could reabsorb the babies or miscarry (both carry less risk to the mum).

My sister is going to move the mum indoors in an indoor cage to keep an eye on her (she's already used to being inside).

What should she look for in an indoor cage/ birthing cage? (If she does have the babies she wants to be prepared).

What food should the mum be having? Anything that will give her a boost/make it less of a strain on her body?

Is there anything in particular my sister needs to do or give her?

That’s all for now really, I'll have more questions later but that’s what she needs to know for the moment. I know it's awful but we're kind of hoping that the mum reabsorbs the little ones.

She got the buns from a rescue, she has four in total. A pair of girls, and what she's thought was a pair of boys (all were going to have their ops over the next couples of months too). I just thought a bit of back story would help.

I'm by no means and expert on the subject but my Tinks was pregnant when she arrived in rescue and was only a baby herself. She was probably only about 12 - 14 weeks old when she conceived and she came from awful conditions so not well nourished at the time The rescue had the same agonising decision and decided it was safest to let her continue with the pregnancy. She had two kits which she raised and actually did a brilliant job of motherhood.

Purely from this experienced I'd say go with letting her get on with it whilst giving the best care. The spay would be very risky for her. Hopefully the rescue the bunnies came from will be able to offer some support.

I don't have any experience, but well done for coming here to get information. I'm sure through the evening plenty of the experienced members will offer advice

Hiya - oh dear what a difficult and unfortunate situation, but well done for seeking advice so promptly

Personally I don't think a spay by an experienced vet would be any more risky than a tiny bun coping with a multiple pregnancy and then feeding a number of kits for several weeks while being malnourished. That would take a lengthy, huge toll on an already tiny body whereas at least the spay is over and done with and the bun can start regaining strength and weight straight away. Having said that, I totally understand that it's not an easy decision and there are pros and cons both ways and every situation is unique.

If your sister is going to bring the bun indoors and keep watch on the pregnancy, I would simply suggest a large, quiet, very clean environment and slightly more of the usual diet to try and help her to gain some weight. As she is a youngster I would not try and introduce new things to make her gain weight but to stick with what she knows and just up the quantities. It would also be handy if the bun could be provided with a litter tray so that it becomes easier to clean out her poop without disturbing mum and babies. Usually if you pop a tray in the area that the bun usually goes, they will just carry on using it - fingers crossed!

When/if she does get ready to give birth, she will more than likely make a nest, they usually do this within the hours before giving birth so that might give your sister a clue. They don't usually need any help and mummy rabbits don't 'tend' to their kits like other animals do, so there's no need to panic if the mum seems to be ignoring them because that is normal. They only feed them for a couple of minutes once or twice a day. Sometimes a bun gets dragged out of the nest if it is still latched on when mum gets up after a feed; if this happens your sister should rub her hands in the bedding/litter to get the mum's scent on her, and gently pop the kit back in the nest with the others. Similarly when cleaning out around them, try and not disturb the nest and rub hands in litter if she does need to do so.

Good luck, it sounds as if your poor sister got more than she bargained for when rescuing some buns xx

I have no breeding experience but I hope this bunny will be ok! :wave:

Food wise, I think they just need their normal stuff but in higher quantities. Maybe if she should be still growing herself, get her the Excell Junior and Dwarf pellets - I believe these are higher in fat/calories so may help her a bit. Obviously there needs to be lots of hay available for eating and for making a nest if she does have the kits. Also a little nextbox in the cage would be a good idea if she doesn't already have one.

I'd also suggest to your sister that she contacts the rescue they came from to ask them if they'd be willing to take in the babies if it proves hard to find them homes yourselves (or keep them all if you and your sister get attached! ). I think they'd kind of have to say yes seeing as they sexed the bunnies wrongly.

Sending lots of vibes for a positive outcome! :wave:

Thankyou everyone . I just got off the phone to my sister, and passed on what you all said. I found out that Chewy (the little female) is about 14 weeks old, and the vet thinks she's about 2 weeks to 2 1/2 weeks along. So there is not long to wait until we find out just what is going on.

My sister and her boyfriend talked it over and are really not willing to go for the operation route, the vet doesn't want to risk the general anesthetic on such a young bun either.

Thankyou all for your replies, if they can't find homes they will take the babies back to the rescue.