Pregnant?

Hello all - First time poster so be nice!

My girlfriend has a girlie rabbit and I myself have a boy rabbit. We 'introduced' the two around a month ago and they got on swimmingly (As you can imagine!)

Since then, the Doe has acted like she is pregnant - Digging deep holes on two separate occasions. The first time she eventually filled the hole back in, and the second time (which happened a few days ago) she has left the hole but put a little earth back in. We originally thought that this may be her 'covering up' the babies but this is not the case.

Is this normal behaviour for a pregnant rabbit? Are these holes 'testers'? Or is she not pregnant at all and this is just a behaviour?

Any assistance or advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks

Hi..

I take it neither have been neutered or spayed? What age are they both?.

Its highly likely that she is expecting.

I'm sad to say that introductions like this result in unwanted litters and those litters subsequently mate causing more unwanted litters..

I would certainly keep a close eye on her... More experienced people will be able to advise on a pregnant doe and what to expect behaviour wise,,

personally I think it was a bit irresponsible to put two unneutered rabbits together..

Fee

Fee said:

Hi..

I take it neither have been neutered or spayed? What age are they both?.

Its highly likely that she is expecting.

I'm sad to say that introductions like this result in unwanted litters and those litters subsequently mate causing more unwanted litters..

I would certainly keep a close eye on her... More experienced people will be able to advise on a pregnant doe and what to expect behaviour wise,,

personally I think it was a bit irresponsible to put two unneutered rabbits together..

Fee

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Thanks for the advice Fee - It would not be an unwanted litter, we would like to keep the baby rabbits and have purchased new hutches to keep them in

Sorry for being so blunt but bunnies do need a lot of space (hutches need to be at least 6x2x2 feet with attached run) per rabbit so it would be costly and if keeping the rabbits together, they would need neutered.

Rabbits dont do as well individually, they need company...which means neutering.

Just saying as there are thousands of rabbits in rescues already who need homes...

Hello! When you say she is digging holes, do you mean she's been out of her hutch and has dug some holes in the garden? How certain are you that there's nothing down the hole, can you get right down to the bottom of it? In the wild, they will dig a nursing burrow (called a 'stop') if they're not part of a main warren, and that does sound very much like what you're describing. Mum rabbits only nurse their babies for a few minutes once or twice a day and cover the entrance to the stop over like you describe, to avoid drawing the attention of predators to them. If she has already given birth in a stop then that's going to be quite complex to keep them all safe - is there a way you can move a hutch and run over the area so that she's able to access it when she needs to? If you're quite certain that she hasn't given birth in there, then I would advise ensuring that she is provided with a safe, secure, large area in which she can give birth and raise the babies. She will need enough space to get away from them especially as they grow, and a nest box to stop the babies from falling out of the nest if they are still latched on feeding when she moves away.

Bunnies can get pregnant again as soon as they give birth so please ensure that you don't let the boy bunny anywhere near to the girl now, as she will end up exhausted and trying to nurse two litters at once. Personally I would advise getting the boy bunny neutered as soon as possible so that you can reintroduce the bunnies safely without risk of further pregnancy once she's had her babies. It will also be necessary to neuter the babies as they will mate with each other when they are old enough and you could easily end up with hundreds by this time next year! Bunnies are social animals so it is unkind to keep them on their own, so assuming she is pregnant, when the babies are older it would be better for their welfare if they could be kept together in a group or in pairs - either way they will need to be neutered to stop them from either breeding or fighting.

You'll find that the majority of people on here are not supportive of breeding because there are already far too many bunnies in the uk without deliberately adding more - over 67,000 are handed over to rescues in the UK every year - and they're the lucky ones who aren't just set loose to die in fields or die locked and lonely in a hutch at the end of the garden! Whatever the situation I hope you're able to find a long-term solution which means that you can care for all the bunnies and meet all their needs for space and companionship of their own kind without ending up in a situation where you have hundreds! Good luck.

How long ago where they together? It's usually between 29 and 31 days when they give birth. What type are they?

It sounds like she has had babies. Why do you think not? The babies will be a good 3' down the tunnel and you will start to see them emerge at around 2.1/2 to 3 weeks old and If Mum returns to a hutch at night for her food the babies will start to follow her but they can also wander off so I would erect a kind of barrier around the nest hole so when the babies emerge they can only go so far, if you understand me. They will be quite frightened of you for a while so be cautious about scaring them As others have said there atre thousands of unwanted rabbits, but now you are this far on, I hope you will enjoy watching the babies grow up, and am pleased you are planning on keeping them.

If, in 3 weeks there are no signs of any babies, it could be that she has been having a phantom pregnancy. They are usually very discreet in their feeding when they have babies down a hole and she will probably wait until "the coast is clear" before going down there.

My pregnant doe dug tunnels from about 2 weeks until birth.

The covering over is an indicator but it's not a sure sign she has kindled but it's likely she is pregnant.

How long ago was the meeting?