Pregnant bun :/

Hi everyone,

Not posted in such a long while but now have a bit of a problem.

It turns out that my doe may be pregnant. She is back at the vets on Monday to confirm.

Now, I know what you're thinking 'How irresponsible... we have enough rabbits about as it is' but please hear me out.

My doe is 6 months old and my buck is around 7 months. Last Monday they were booked in to be spayed as I booked them in as soon as I purchased my doe. She was booked in to be spayed at 4 and a half months but due to family circumstances, I had to move the date.

I have been keeping both buns completely seperate. One in a cage and one bouncing round the house (as they are house buns) I swap them over every few days so they both get the chance to have free run.

As I was cleaning the cage out, I had my doe in the kitchen and my buck behind the stair gate on the stairs. Anyway, long story short, he escaped whilst I was in the bathroom showering down the cage base (still not idea how he did it) and when I came back in the kitchen, he'd just finished and was jumping off of her.

That was 3 weeks ago today.

The questions I have are many...

At the moment, my buck, Dexter is in the cage as he was having a few days in there recovering from his castration. I am going to clean the cage out tomorrow and pop Pumpkin, my doe back in whilst Dexter has the run of the house again.

How long should I leave Pumpkin in the cage for? Until she has the kits?

I know I need to provide a nesting box, what should this be made of?

Alfafa hay needs to be provided, do I put all of this is the nesting box and at how many days do I need to do this?

What should I be feeding my doe? She is currently on alfafa hay and Excel rabbit pellets. Should I stop the fresh veg??? She normally has fresh veg every day including brocolli, carrots, brussel sprouts, dandelions etc.

I have a little feel of her tummy but I don't want to palpatate to check further. At first she didn't mind us touching her tummy but now she's not too impressed.I simply run my hand over it to check the firmness of her tum. Seems to be rather firm at the moment.

She's also squeling every time I go near her when she is in her cage. I thought it was me at first but I've realised it's because Dexter follows me over. I've never heard a bun squel before and it's horrendous!!! I know she's not in pain... so why is this???

I'm sure there's so many more questions but I'd appreciate as much help as possible!!! I've tried trawling the internet but there's not much there.

Also, I'll need to find amazing homes for these babies when they arrive. They will be harlequin x dutch. I know everyone on here loves their buns very much and would love it if some of you would like my babies

Thank you so much in advance

Meghanne xxx

Bit sad that so many people have looked at this and provided no feedback for me....

Hi Meghanne,

I'm afraid I have no experience with kits, so no advice to offer, but didn't want to read and run - hopefully someone knowledgeable will come along soon. Maybe you could try posting a thread in Rabbit Chat, more people look there probably

Sarah.x

Thanks Sarah will copy it over to bunny chat and see if I get more replies

xxx

I dont have a lot of advice but thought id give you a reply at least

bunnies scream in pure terror, you need to keep him away from her and the nest. If she is screaming, you have to remove the trigger.

She needs an enclosed 'safe' place for her nest. A cardboard or wooden box will do, preferably something dark and sheltered. If she feels threatened she may abandon or kill her babies.

Its harsh to keep her in the cage 24/7. She needs exercise as well. Cant you keep the boy in another room? He shouldnt be around her, especially as he is affecting her physical and mental wellbeing.

Keep feeding her veg, but the babies should not eat the veg. They can eat pellets. Someone else will have to tell you whether to switch her gradually to junior but as far as im aware you can keep her on excel adult for now.

I dont know why you didnt get an emergency spay before, but you should talk it over with your vet, see if it is an option this far into pregnancy. Also have the vet only a call away around the time of the birth particularly. She could die if this goes wrong.

Do you not feed her normal hay? Alfalfa hay is high in calcium so bad in large amounts. Is she eating the required amount of hay (volume of hay as big as herself) a day? If not you need to up this.

Hope that answered most of your questions. Any more?

ETA: by the way if anyone has more experience feel free to correct me! been years since I had pregnant bunnies Im probably rusty :lol: