Help with a possibly pregnant rabbit!

i need your advice please. i have been lurking for a while, reading up on all your knowledge, but i am in desperate need of advice now. I have two rabbits, the first i don't know much about. she was given to us just over a year ago, she was an unwanted child's pet, called bonnie! i believe her to be a couple of years old, maybe an English lop. she lives in a large outdoor hutch with free range of the garden, during the daytime.

More recently we were given a baby bunny, again unwanted with no where to go. we took her in as a house bunny. she has free range of our living room. She is called daisy and is now roughly 5 months. and is a French lop.

By mistake daisy and bonnie met up in the garden. My youngest son thought it was a good idea for them to be friends! And helped her out. To my horror, i then realized id made a mistake and bonnie was in fact a male! I got daisy inside as quick as i could, and have ensured they have had no more contact.

Trouble is daisy is now possibly pregnant. The last week or so, she has grown very fat around her tummy, has been very defensive to the point of biting and growling at me, she didn't do this before. Today she has started pulling her fur out and has created a nest in her litter tray.

While she is laying down, i have gently laid a flat hand on her tummy, and believe i can feel movement.

I don't know what to do, i never intended this to happen, and have pretty much no experience. Does she need a vet, do i need to do anything extra, This is all my fault, i really thought i had two girl bunny's! Any help advice i would be very grateful of.

You need to provide mum with unlimited food, unlimited hay and water.

How long ago was the conception in days?

Be prepared for a 2nd litter ~30 days after the 1st.

Do NOT touch the nest, or babies once they are born to start with - once she has given birth you'll need to keep an eye on the babies to ensure they are all being fed and that none are dead. Baby bunnies being fed should look like they have ping pong balls in their bellies.

Mum will only feed ~2 times a day and will sit over them for this.

Thats just my very minimal knowledge, i hope others will be here soon to help you.

GrahamL said:

You need to provide mum with unlimited food, unlimited hay and water.

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Unless the rabbit is underweight, unlimited food during pregnancy is a bad idea, the rabbits will put on weight and is likely to have problems giving birth. During the end of pregnancy some breeders slightly increase feed, and give them a lot more once the litter have been born. I give mine banana for extra potassium

To the poster, feel free to PM me if you need any help

Oh dear,this happened with my first ever bunny Mrs Smith 15 years ago.slightly different situation but the same out come- an unexpected litter:shock: i noticed her behaviour also changed very quickly,she became very grumpy with me. I have to say it turned out to be a really wonderful experience,not one that I would ever have purposely planned but amazing all the same.Mrs Smith was also a house bunny so I just kept a very close eye on her.She was a wonderful mummy to her 7 babiesand fortunately for us everything ran smoothly-the hardest thing was parting with them at 8/9 weeks when I'd found the new homes( well I kept one of course) I hope everything goes well for you all too. Because it was so long ago I can't really offer any advice but hope others can.:wave:

I would think its unlikely because she is a young french lop, and they develop later, but that doesn't mean its impossible.

How long ago were they together? Would it be possible to get an emergency spay?

thank you for responding, i feel terrible for letting this happen. am so scared somthing bad will happen, should i give her banana before or after they are born?

do you think i should sleep downstairs with her incase she needs anything? or will she be alright alone?

do you think i should ask advise of a vet, or can i manage this alone.

sorry if i sound stupid, but i am just so worried!

i don't know how long ago, it happened so quickly, then we went to Disneyland and to be honest i didn't think of it again until her behavior started to change! we went to Disneyland on the 10th of April, all i can remember it was before that.

If i laid a hand on a not pregnant rabbits tummy, would i feel movement at all?
Maybe i will be lucky and it could be a phantom pregnancy?

Yes, you may feel periastalsis.

Right, take the 10th April as your date. That would mean she would be due on roughly the 11th May, and you would give it until the 15 of May until you knew she wasn't. So those are your dates, and that will be the latest she can have them. After that, you're in the clear.

Just feed her normal diet unless she gives birth. Then, after that, if she is feeding them, you need to increase her food so that she can produce the milk.

Its a myth that you shouldn't touch the nest and babies, but it does depend on personality. Either way you will need to check all babies and the nest at least twice a day.

Mum may feed once or twice a day depending on what she wants to do and it will last about 5 mins and she will stand over them. Mum can't and won't move any babies so that's down to you if its necessary.

Hopefully, hopefully, you will be in the clear. I would suggest regular checks on her, but don't stress her out. kindling should take 20mins top, from start to finish, and anything else she needs a vet ASAP. She should eat the placentas.

She may be having a false pregnancy brought on by reaching adolescence- that would be the hope.

Give her mountains of hay to make her nest with as well. When they pull fur they are generally about to 'pop'.

Have you properly sexed the "male" - or are you basing her being pregnant on one bun being humped? Just humping is for dominance so females do it to females

Apart from that Good luck

I am only basing her being pregnant on the signs i have mentioned above. I am now certain that bonnie our other rabbit is a male, and he is going to be neautured in a few weeks.

The dates seem to tie in however! But i would much rather it was a phantom pregnancy. She was such a placid rabbit a few weeks ago who was fine being handled. Such a change in temperament.

Anyway all i can do is wait n watch. thank you all so much for your replies.

funkymum said:

I am only basing her being pregnant on the signs i have mentioned above. I am now certain that bonnie our other rabbit is a male, and he is going to be neautured in a few weeks.

The dates seem to tie in however! But i would much rather it was a phantom pregnancy. She was such a placid rabbit a few weeks ago who was fine being handled. Such a change in temperament.

Anyway all i can do is wait n watch. thank you all so much for your replies.

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Genuine adolesence can do this too; turn a bunny from a sweet, mooshy, cuddly cutie, to a growling, grunting, territorial nightmare.

Hopefully you will have gotten away with it.

funkymum said:

I am only basing her being pregnant on the signs i have mentioned above. I am now certain that bonnie our other rabbit is a male, and he is going to be neautured in a few weeks.

The dates seem to tie in however! But i would much rather it was a phantom pregnancy. She was such a placid rabbit a few weeks ago who was fine being handled. Such a change in temperament.

Anyway all i can do is wait n watch. thank you all so much for your replies.

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I should imagine an adult english lop has quite large plums

How long were they together? Was in minutes or hours? If only 5 mins i think the chance of a real pregnancy is small because does not come into heat, they get stimulated then release eggs then they get fertilised and this takes time for the bit in between. So if it was only quick you might be in luck, but then she might still think she is pregnant. My Bella had a phantom when she first met Flopsy (boy).

maybe half hour or so, im not totally sure. Is this not long enough? She is still pulling her hair out, tons of it, and making it into a nest. i just have my fingers crossed this isn't real.

That's quite a long time to be pulling fur. I'm hoping its false with you.

i have just come home, i had to pop out for a while and there is blood in her hutch, not a geat amount but definatly 2 seperate patches. I cant see any babies though. She seems quite calm.

Could anyone please advise me?

Have you checked the nest? Stroke all over her, if she will let you, ensure your hands smell of nothing else first (i.e. soap, dog, another rabbit), and have a peek in the nest.

How is she acting? Will she eat?

she is eating and drinking, seems quite calm. there are no babys just blood! does this mean it was a phantom pregnancy after all?

thank you for all your help so far!

Not sure, what this means. I think it means its not a false pregnancy if its come from her 'bits'. Obviously if she has caught a nail or something, then the blood is irrelevant.

It may mean she tried to reabsord the babies and has failed in some way. One would suspect a spay needs to be done ASAP if you get past the latest possible date with no babies.

It may also mean she is in the early stages of labour (which already means its gone on too long), but if she is eating and normal, then I don't think this is the case.

lots of vigilance and lots of checks on her.

how is she doing?