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I think my male bunny may be pregnant....

brutalbaby

Warren Scout
OK well I don't know if any one remembers 'Bunny' my little 'boy' lion head?
OK nearly two years ago my vet told me he was a boy, I paired him up with a girl bunny who died with myxi (destiny) luckily bunny survived and i took on another girl bunny and paired the two up thinking I had a girl and boy bunny who was forever in love.

Any way a year later passed and the two are still getting on just fine, I decided to take on a boy rabbit who was in need of a home as the owners didn't want him any more. As he isn't neutered I have kept him in a separate run and hutch to the other two. I haven't let them get together at all. Every thing was fine until the other night I went into the cellar where the hutches are kept and some how Bunny had got into the new rabbits hutch. I don't know how long they had been in there, but they was laying next to each other and bunny kept rolling over in-front of the new male rabbit in a flirty way, they was cleaning each other and not fighting at all. I decided to leave them for a while seeing as I thought I had two boys together and that they had bonded, the next minute the new male is mounting Bunny, I just thought this was dominant behaviour until Bunny lays down and heightens the back end..... I tried getting the male rabbit off Bunny but he had hold off bunnies back furr. When I finaly managed to separate I had noticed white liquid around Bunny's parts. Confused it clicked that Bunny must be a female and not a natured male that the vet had told me.

It has now been 2 weeks since this happened and I have noticed a change in behaviour in Bunny. These I have looked up and they seem to match up with the behaviour of a pregnant doe. Now other a year ago Bunny had made a nest... A few people had told me that bucks can do this to, so I thought nothing of it.... Now I understand that she must of had a phantom pregnancy.

I have marked on the calender the due date if she is pregnant but there is just a few things I want to double check on:-

when she has her kits do I have to separate her from the paired doe she is with at the moment?
Is it true that you can check the nest as soon as she has had her kits to see how many are in there and if they are all healthy?
If I do have to separate her from her doe friend when can they be put back together?

I have done alot of research but these questions I cant seem to find the answers to.

Please help :?::?
 
OK well I don't know if any one remembers 'Bunny' my little 'boy' lion head?
OK nearly two years ago my vet told me he was a boy, I paired him up with a girl bunny who died with myxi (destiny) luckily bunny survived and i took on another girl bunny and paired the two up thinking I had a girl and boy bunny who was forever in love.

Any way a year later passed and the two are still getting on just fine, I decided to take on a boy rabbit who was in need of a home as the owners didn't want him any more. As he isn't neutered I have kept him in a separate run and hutch to the other two. I haven't let them get together at all. Every thing was fine until the other night I went into the cellar where the hutches are kept and some how Bunny had got into the new rabbits hutch. I don't know how long they had been in there, but they was laying next to each other and bunny kept rolling over in-front of the new male rabbit in a flirty way, they was cleaning each other and not fighting at all. I decided to leave them for a while seeing as I thought I had two boys together and that they had bonded, the next minute the new male is mounting Bunny, I just thought this was dominant behaviour until Bunny lays down and heightens the back end..... I tried getting the male rabbit off Bunny but he had hold off bunnies back furr. When I finaly managed to separate I had noticed white liquid around Bunny's parts. Confused it clicked that Bunny must be a female and not a natured male that the vet had told me.

It has now been 2 weeks since this happened and I have noticed a change in behaviour in Bunny. These I have looked up and they seem to match up with the behaviour of a pregnant doe. Now other a year ago Bunny had made a nest... A few people had told me that bucks can do this to, so I thought nothing of it.... Now I understand that she must of had a phantom pregnancy.

I have marked on the calender the due date if she is pregnant but there is just a few things I want to double check on:-

when she has her kits do I have to separate her from the paired doe she is with at the moment?
Is it true that you can check the nest as soon as she has had her kits to see how many are in there and if they are all healthy?
If I do have to separate her from her doe friend when can they be put back together?

I have done alot of research but these questions I cant seem to find the answers to.

Please help :?::?

No. From what I recall if you disturb her too soon she'll eat her babies. I think I read somewhere that you must leave them for a minimum of 2-3 weeks, possibly more.

I personally would separate her from the other doe to prevent any fighting/harming of babies by the other doe, or even the mother hurting the other doe due to being protective. I don't know about putting them back together.

These are only my opinions and I'm sure therefore you will get better answers from some of the others on RU as they all seem quite knowledgeable.

By the way, to be certain I'd take him/her/it to the vet.
 
Behaviour is a fairly unreliable way to sex rabbits. If he is a girl it's just as odd behaviour he got on with no problems with two girls in the past as a boy getting on okay with another male.

I'd suggest you get him re-sexed by an expert as the easiest way to tell.
 
Occasional the two girls will have a fight, well more like one would chase the other. Never have they drew blood or furr though I would separate them if they did.
 
when she has her kits do I have to separate her from the paired doe she is with at the moment?
Is it true that you can check the nest as soon as she has had her kits to see how many are in there and if they are all healthy?
If I do have to separate her from her doe friend when can they be put back together?

I have done alot of research but these questions I cant seem to find the answers to.

Please help :?::?

1) Tricky one, I've heard of females raising kits with another female, but personally I wouldn't risk it and would take the other out, she could pose a risk to the babies and 'mum' could hurt her once the maternal instincts kick in, seperating might not be good for their bond but if they fight and then you have to seperate it'll be even worse

2) I believe you should check yes, I didn't when my doe had babies but that's because she'd been bred previously a few times before and was very protective, I was told not to touch them for the first two weeks, I did however look into the nest and blew into it, the babies jump up and squeak when a bit of cold air is blown onto them so I knew they were all alive, but if your doe is used to you I'd rub your hands (or wear gloves) and rub your hands on mothers fur and the mucky corner of her hutch so the babies don't have a strong human smell

3) You could put mum and babies in a run and have the other doe running around (when the babies are a bit older and hopping around), see how she reacts to the babies and how the adults react, but again personally I'd wait till the kits were weaned and then try re-bond. Or what you could do is when the babies are a bit less dependant, take mum out for half an hour or so, so she can have a bit of peace, and try her with the other doe, I'm terrible when it comes to bonding but I'd of thought if their bond is strong they should be fine, my rabbits have spend a few weeks apart and gone back together no problem



No. From what I recall if you disturb her too soon she'll eat her babies. I think I read somewhere that you must leave them for a minimum of 2-3 weeks, possibly more.

I personally would separate her from the other doe to prevent any fighting/harming of babies by the other doe, or even the mother hurting the other doe due to being protective. I don't know about putting them back together.

These are only my opinions and I'm sure therefore you will get better answers from some of the others on RU as they all seem quite knowledgeable.

By the way, to be certain I'd take him/her/it to the vet.

That isn't true although I have also heard it before, most people rub their hands in the rabbits 'mucky corner' or wear gloves before checking babies just in case though

And personally I'd not take the rabbit to the vet either to check, you don't want to stress her out if she is pregnant, and I imagine a scan would be quite expensive



Okay some other tips, keep handling to a minimum, if you have to handle her keep off the stomach, leave her alone when she's giving birth, if you have a hutch with a 'ledge' in you might want to put her in that, rabbit babies are annoying little things and will pester mum for milk non stop, a ledge lets her get away from them, give her plenty of hay/straw, up her feed a bit and give her a bit of banana and broccoli every so often AFTER she's given birth, don't take pictures of babies with 'flash' on, keep the hutch in a quiet place, don't let other pets or children near, and be VERY careful when opening hutch doors, what you might want to do is open them the slightest bit, stick your arm under and then look to see if there are any babies at the front, they quite often lean on the door and nearly end up falling out, or sometimes actually jump out
 
1) Tricky one, I've heard of females raising kits with another female, but personally I wouldn't risk it and would take the other out, she could pose a risk to the babies and 'mum' could hurt her once the maternal instincts kick in, seperating might not be good for their bond but if they fight and then you have to seperate it'll be even worse

2) I believe you should check yes, I didn't when my doe had babies but that's because she'd been bred previously a few times before and was very protective, I was told not to touch them for the first two weeks, I did however look into the nest and blew into it, the babies jump up and squeak when a bit of cold air is blown onto them so I knew they were all alive, but if your doe is used to you I'd rub your hands (or wear gloves) and rub your hands on mothers fur and the mucky corner of her hutch so the babies don't have a strong human smell

3) You could put mum and babies in a run and have the other doe running around (when the babies are a bit older and hopping around), see how she reacts to the babies and how the adults react, but again personally I'd wait till the kits were weaned and then try re-bond. Or what you could do is when the babies are a bit less dependant, take mum out for half an hour or so, so she can have a bit of peace, and try her with the other doe, I'm terrible when it comes to bonding but I'd of thought if their bond is strong they should be fine, my rabbits have spend a few weeks apart and gone back together no problem





That isn't true although I have also heard it before, most people rub their hands in the rabbits 'mucky corner' or wear gloves before checking babies just in case though

And personally I'd not take the rabbit to the vet either to check, you don't want to stress her out if she is pregnant, and I imagine a scan would be quite expensive



Okay some other tips, keep handling to a minimum, if you have to handle her keep off the stomach, leave her alone when she's giving birth, if you have a hutch with a 'ledge' in you might want to put her in that, rabbit babies are annoying little things and will pester mum for milk non stop, a ledge lets her get away from them, give her plenty of hay/straw, up her feed a bit and give her a bit of banana and broccoli every so often AFTER she's given birth, don't take pictures of babies with 'flash' on, keep the hutch in a quiet place, don't let other pets or children near, and be VERY careful when opening hutch doors, what you might want to do is open them the slightest bit, stick your arm under and then look to see if there are any babies at the front, they quite often lean on the door and nearly end up falling out, or sometimes actually jump out

wow thank you very very much this has been very helpful im guessing you have alot of experiance! I have been handling her but been very careful she loves the hugs and especially strucks just lately. They all live down in the cellar but they come up for hugs, and mum loves the radiator so i thought this was a good idea keeping her warm. Do you think I should just leave her be then? I only have to cages at the moment, the two does are together and the buck is separate, im looking for a dog crate to put mum and babies in so I can make it nice and secure and warm for her and safe for the babies.
 
wow thank you very very much this has been very helpful im guessing you have alot of experiance! I have been handling her but been very careful she loves the hugs and especially strucks just lately. They all live down in the cellar but they come up for hugs, and mum loves the radiator so i thought this was a good idea keeping her warm. Do you think I should just leave her be then? I only have to cages at the moment, the two does are together and the buck is separate, im looking for a dog crate to put mum and babies in so I can make it nice and secure and warm for her and safe for the babies.

Nope, I always wanted to breed so spent years researching, then bought a pregnant rabbit and haven't bred since, RU corrupted me and turned me into a rescue nut ;) And yes definately just leave her to it, the less stress the better :) And I wouldn't put mum and babies in a dog crate, firstly the largest ones are still too small for a mum and litter, especially too small for a sheltered area (like the bedroom bit of a hutch) and my thrianta babies quite easily jumped up and slipped through the bars when they were 9 weeks old :shock:
 
Nope, I always wanted to breed so spent years researching, then bought a pregnant rabbit and haven't bred since, RU corrupted me and turned me into a rescue nut ;) And yes definately just leave her to it, the less stress the better :) And I wouldn't put mum and babies in a dog crate, firstly the largest ones are still too small for a mum and litter, especially too small for a sheltered area (like the bedroom bit of a hutch) and my thrianta babies quite easily jumped up and slipped through the bars when they were 9 weeks old :shock:

I had mum running around today to stretch her legs and I noticed her behaviour, she was finding corners and digging and was oblivious to me being there. So I put her in a separate hutch and she has took every single bit of hay, straw, wood chip and saw dust into bed compartment. She may be more then two weeks gone, so im glad im separated her when I did. I do have a huge run and will be attaching this to the hutch for mum and babies :)
 
I had mum running around today to stretch her legs and I noticed her behaviour, she was finding corners and digging and was oblivious to me being there. So I put her in a separate hutch and she has took every single bit of hay, straw, wood chip and saw dust into bed compartment. She may be more then two weeks gone, so im glad im separated her when I did. I do have a huge run and will be attaching this to the hutch for mum and babies :)

Sounds good, how will the run be attached? If it involves a ramp personally I wouldn't until the babies were at least 8 weeks but if the hutch and run are both on the floor and the babies can get back up again that sounds fine, remember babies are clumsy little things
 
Sounds good, how will the run be attached? If it involves a ramp personally I wouldn't until the babies were at least 8 weeks but if the hutch and run are both on the floor and the babies can get back up again that sounds fine, remember babies are clumsy little things

there isn't a ramp just a small hop down but I wont let the babies out when they are really young, can I let mum out and shut the hutch door so she can have a stretch and can I hold her? Or do I just leave her be?
 
there isn't a ramp just a small hop down but I wont let the babies out when they are really young, can I let mum out and shut the hutch door so she can have a stretch and can I hold her? Or do I just leave her be?

Before they're born yes you can let her have a run about but leave the hutch open so she can go back in, once they're born you can also let her out but not for too long unless you know what 'time' she usually feeds the babies :) I wouldn't pick her up whilst she's pregnant but afterwards you're fine to, if she'll let you that is :lol:
 
Before they're born yes you can let her have a run about but leave the hutch open so she can go back in, once they're born you can also let her out but not for too long unless you know what 'time' she usually feeds the babies :) I wouldn't pick her up whilst she's pregnant but afterwards you're fine to, if she'll let you that is :lol:

Ok still no babies yet, could she just be tidying her hutch to make a bed? She gathered everything and put it into the bed compartment, even her toys and food lol. How long can they make the nest before the babies are born? I've heard can be any thing from up-to a week :s
 
Ok still no babies yet, could she just be tidying her hutch to make a bed? She gathered everything and put it into the bed compartment, even her toys and food lol. How long can they make the nest before the babies are born? I've heard can be any thing from up-to a week :s

It does sound like she's nesting, but rabbits having phantom pregnancies can do the same

It can be weeks before up to a few hours before to be honest, probably most likely a few days before they give birth. I bought a pregnant doe and she started nesting a few weeks before she was due, which made her previous owner think she must not of conceived and be having a phantom but she did go on to have a litter, I think it was the hutch move that confused her
 
I will just have to keep looking into the nest to see, should I clean that part of the cage out after a week say if there is still no show or not touch it? x
 
I would learn how to sex buns too or find someone to help you
In about 10 weeks, you are going to need to sex the babies otherwise you could get into a whole world of mess
If you are only 2 weeks in, your vet may consider an emergency spay. I would seriously think about this unless you have the time, space & money to look after a litter.
Also girlie bun can get preggars again immediately after giving birth, so I would separate & secure the hutches

Good luck
 
I would learn how to sex buns too or find someone to help you
In about 10 weeks, you are going to need to sex the babies otherwise you could get into a whole world of mess
If you are only 2 weeks in, your vet may consider an emergency spay. I would seriously think about this unless you have the time, space & money to look after a litter.
Also girlie bun can get preggars again immediately after giving birth, so I would separate & secure the hutches

Good luck


oh yeh thank you I do have time, and I would never breed my rescue ex breeding bunny as she has been far too much already. My bunny that is pregnant I wont let her have any more kits only want the 1 litter. I do know how to sex bunny's so will be easy with the kits, its just my pregnant bunny was really hard to sex due to not letting me flip her over with out stressing her and even the vet got confused. All the bunny's are separate now and really secured :)
 
oh yeh thank you I do have time, and I would never breed my rescue ex breeding bunny as she has been far too much already. My bunny that is pregnant I wont let her have any more kits only want the 1 litter. I do know how to sex bunny's so will be easy with the kits, its just my pregnant bunny was really hard to sex due to not letting me flip her over with out stressing her and even the vet got confused. All the bunny's are separate now and really secured :)

is this your first litter?
 
I will just have to keep looking into the nest to see, should I clean that part of the cage out after a week say if there is still no show or not touch it? x

If 34 days after she was last 'with' the male and there's no babies then clean it away, or if she starts messing in the nest (which she shouldn't if it's a real pregnancy) then clean in out, she can always make another if you give her plenty of hay/straw
 
If 34 days after she was last 'with' the male and there's no babies then clean it away, or if she starts messing in the nest (which she shouldn't if it's a real pregnancy) then clean in out, she can always make another if you give her plenty of hay/straw

I put more hay in and straw, with clean saw dust today in the main compartment ( not where the nest is), and put clean pellets in her litter tray. When I went back down to check her she had moved the whole lot into the nest, the nest is looking very large and compact and cosey now, bless her. No poops either she is still using her litter tray.

:)
 
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