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Possible Pregnant Bunny- Help and Advice needed!

Flora and Thistle

Flora and Thistle

Young Bun
A few weeks ago (21 days ago),I let my Dwarf Lop doe, Flora (1.5 years old) out into the garden, for exercise, and whilst I was inside, my Mini Lop buck, Thistle (3/4 years) managed to escape from his hutch..... Before I managed to catch them, Thistle mated and fell off Flora twice :? .Flora has had a couple 'false pregnancies' in the past, and Thistle try's to mate with EVERYTHING in his reach (ducks, shoes, washing, people's legs, etc).

Can I just be clear that I did not intentionally mate them- I know there are already far too many rabbits in the world, but I am against terminating her pregnancy.

She does look like her belly has grown in size, plus she is quite moody and she was doing a bit of nesting last night.....

I'm a newbie to all this rabbit breeding stuff and any advice would be REALLY apprieciated. A few questions:

-What are the chances of her being pregnant?
-What can I use for a nest box?

I'd also really apprieciate any tips or experience.

Thanks,

Charlotte.
 
Dear Charlotte,

Please know I understand you are new to rabbits and this was an accidental mating. That being said, bunnies should be spayed and neutered for the health of the rabbit, and not just for birth control. I know firsthand the heartbreak of having an unsprayed doe develop uterine tumors and an unneutered buck developing testicular cancer. It is very common for unsprayed does to get uterine tumors so I urge you to have Flora spayed as soon as is appropriate. A neuter for Thistle will reduce his urge to mate with everything in his reach and make him a much better companion for you; plus he and Flora can be bonded as a couple once any babies are old enough to not need Flora.

Others on RU have experience this same situation, so I will leave them to share their knowledge of pregnancies and babies.
 
Thank you both for such quick replys!

I am planning on getting them both sprayed so they can live together, however this happened before I had chance to book them into the vets.
 
I've no experience, so can't offer advice, but sending vibes and wishing you and Flora all the very best.
 
Flora and Thistle said:
Thank you both for such quick replys!

I am planning on getting them both sprayed so they can live together, however this happened before I had chance to book them into the vets.
Click to expand...

The link Zoobec has given you will be very useful to read, also do bear in mind that when (if) your Doe kindles she will immediately be VERY fertile. If the Buck has access to her at that stage she will almost certainly conceive again. Some padlocks for Mr Rabbit's hutch may be in order !!

Good luck :)
 
Flora and Thistle said:
A few weeks ago (21 days ago),I let my Dwarf Lop doe, Flora (1.5 years old) out into the garden, for exercise, and whilst I was inside, my Mini Lop buck, Thistle (3/4 years) managed to escape from his hutch..... Before I managed to catch them, Thistle mated and fell off Flora twice :? .Flora has had a couple 'false pregnancies' in the past, and Thistle try's to mate with EVERYTHING in his reach (ducks, shoes, washing, people's legs, etc).

Can I just be clear that I did not intentionally mate them- I know there are already far too many rabbits in the world, but I am against terminating her pregnancy.

She does look like her belly has grown in size, plus she is quite moody and she was doing a bit of nesting last night.....

I'm a newbie to all this rabbit breeding stuff and any advice would be REALLY apprieciated. A few questions:

-What are the chances of her being pregnant?
-What can I use for a nest box?

I'd also really apprieciate any tips or experience.

Thanks,

Charlotte.
Click to expand...


Hi Charlotte

Welcome to the Forum :wave:

Good luck with the babies and post back here if you need any help :)
 
Hi I'm in the middle of experiencing a similar situation only I took in 2 females rabbits only to find babies after a few weeks mum was already preg so removed the male and had him castrated as soon as vet could fit him in. Be very careful when she has babies as she can get preg again very quickly this was the case in my situation as I didn't realise the male was male and didn't get him out in time I would advise castrating him now. Also be prepared for vet bills I have literally spent over £300 in the last 7 weeks to ensure mum and babies are ok and that doesn't include the cost of the castration. How old is the mum?? You will need to be prepared to help her if needed I'm spending hours with mum and babies and have taken over full care over the older ones. Mum will be moody and stressed in her preg and you should be careful picking her up. I'd never had experience of baby rabbits and have had to google and ask questions about everything. Mum will need peace and quiet she should kindle ok on her own but be ready for any problems and an emergency vet trip just in case. When everything goes ok it is a rewarding experience but personally I will be very careful in the future and will never allow this to happen again even if I get other bonded rescues they will be housed separate until spayed/castrated. Also mum needs to be on good food pellets I use burgess excel for all my rabbits so put mum on the 1 week plus as soon as I noticed the babies I did the change over process from adult to 1 week + over 10 days as recommended just to be sure she wouldn't have problems even tho it's the same brand. Mum will also need more food now than before to sustain the babies and milk production after kindling the back of pack has guidelines on amount you should feed and lots of extra hay. My girl built a very nice nest herself she wasn't given a nest box as I never realised she was preg either time she built her nests just before kindling as the nests appeared with the babies so she may not build a nest before hand and may not even use a box if you do supply her with 1. Good luck and I really hope all goes well for mum
 
Me&MyGirlies said:
Hi I'm in the middle of experiencing a similar situation only I took in 2 females rabbits only to find babies after a few weeks mum was already preg so removed the male and had him castrated as soon as vet could fit him in. Be very careful when she has babies as she can get preg again very quickly this was the case in my situation as I didn't realise the male was male and didn't get him out in time I would advise castrating him now. Also be prepared for vet bills I have literally spent over £300 in the last 7 weeks to ensure mum and babies are ok and that doesn't include the cost of the castration. How old is the mum?? You will need to be prepared to help her if needed I'm spending hours with mum and babies and have taken over full care over the older ones. Mum will be moody and stressed in her preg and you should be careful picking her up. I'd never had experience of baby rabbits and have had to google and ask questions about everything. Mum will need peace and quiet she should kindle ok on her own but be ready for any problems and an emergency vet trip just in case. When everything goes ok it is a rewarding experience but personally I will be very careful in the future and will never allow this to happen again even if I get other bonded rescues they will be housed separate until spayed/castrated. Also mum needs to be on good food pellets I use burgess excel for all my rabbits so put mum on the 1 week plus as soon as I noticed the babies I did the change over process from adult to 1 week + over 10 days as recommended just to be sure she wouldn't have problems even tho it's the same brand. Mum will also need more food now than before to sustain the babies and milk production after kindling the back of pack has guidelines on amount you should feed and lots of extra hay. My girl built a very nice nest herself she wasn't given a nest box as I never realised she was preg either time she built her nests just before kindling as the nests appeared with the babies so she may not build a nest before hand and may not even use a box if you do supply her with 1. Good luck and I really hope all goes well for mum
Click to expand...

What a lovely post!
 
Me&MyGirlies said:
Hi I'm in the middle of experiencing a similar situation only I took in 2 females rabbits only to find babies after a few weeks mum was already preg so removed the male and had him castrated as soon as vet could fit him in. Be very careful when she has babies as she can get preg again very quickly this was the case in my situation as I didn't realise the male was male and didn't get him out in time I would advise castrating him now. Also be prepared for vet bills I have literally spent over £300 in the last 7 weeks to ensure mum and babies are ok and that doesn't include the cost of the castration. How old is the mum?? You will need to be prepared to help her if needed I'm spending hours with mum and babies and have taken over full care over the older ones. Mum will be moody and stressed in her preg and you should be careful picking her up. I'd never had experience of baby rabbits and have had to google and ask questions about everything. Mum will need peace and quiet she should kindle ok on her own but be ready for any problems and an emergency vet trip just in case. When everything goes ok it is a rewarding experience but personally I will be very careful in the future and will never allow this to happen again even if I get other bonded rescues they will be housed separate until spayed/castrated. Also mum needs to be on good food pellets I use burgess excel for all my rabbits so put mum on the 1 week plus as soon as I noticed the babies I did the change over process from adult to 1 week + over 10 days as recommended just to be sure she wouldn't have problems even tho it's the same brand. Mum will also need more food now than before to sustain the babies and milk production after kindling the back of pack has guidelines on amount you should feed and lots of extra hay. My girl built a very nice nest herself she wasn't given a nest box as I never realised she was preg either time she built her nests just before kindling as the nests appeared with the babies so she may not build a nest before hand and may not even use a box if you do supply her with 1. Good luck and I really hope all goes well for mum
Click to expand...


Thanks for such a detailed and helpful post .... Good to have you here :D
 
Your rabbits living conditions have a lot to do with your using a nest box or not. A nest box may give the babies some insulation from some weather conditions and can also keep them safer from an accidental stomp from a doe who gets startled, especially if your doe does not have a lot of real estate. The next box will also keep the babies from wriggling out of the nest where they may not be able to stay warm enough to survive.

I just read the thread written by Sky-0 that was posted by Zoobic and it has wonderful information.

Allow me to add one bit of information if your doe is in any enclosure or hutch, make sure the babies will not fall though, or get caught in, any of holes in the enclosure. You may need to put hardware cloth with smaller holes around the bottom area of the doe's enclosure so the babies remain safely inside.
 
Last edited:
bunny momma said:
Your rabbits living conditions have a lot to do with your using a nest box or not. A nest box may give the babies some insulation from some weather conditions and can also keep them safer from an accidental stomp from a doe who gets startled, especially if your doe does not have a lot of real estate. The next box will also keep the babies from wriggling out of the nest where they may not be able to stay warm enough to survive.

I just read the thread written by Sky-0 that was posted by Zoobic and it has wonderful information.

Allow me to add one bit of information if your doe is in any enclosure or hutch, make sure the babies will not fall though, or get caught in, any of holes in the enclosure. You may need to put hardware cloth with smaller holes around the bottom area of the doe's enclosure so the babies remain safely inside.
Click to expand...

Very good advice. Once the kits become mobile they can get themselves into a right pickle given half a chance, just like human Toddlers !
 
MightyMax said:
Charlotte - I've been thinking of you and wondering how things are?
Click to expand...

Thank you everyone for being so welcoming and helpful :)..... She's due in 6 days and has already been doing some nesting, so I'm planning on putting a deep litter tray filled with hay in her hutch in the next couple of days. She's being fed Exel burgress rabbit pellets, plus plenty of hay, grass and lives in an outdoor hutch with an attached run on the bottom half (although I let her outside for a supervised run around the garden everyday).

I'm planning on neutering both buns once the kits are weaned, and maybe attaching the two hutches/runs with Runaround tunnels.

I'll update with pics and news when the big day arrives!

Thanks again,
Charlotte
 
Flora and Thistle said:
Thank you everyone for being so welcoming and helpful :)..... She's due in 6 days and has already been doing some nesting, so I'm planning on putting a deep litter tray filled with hay in her hutch in the next couple of days. She's being fed Exel burgress rabbit pellets, plus plenty of hay, grass and lives in an outdoor hutch with an attached run on the bottom half (although I let her outside for a supervised run around the garden everyday).

I'm planning on neutering both buns once the kits are weaned, and maybe attaching the two hutches/runs with Runaround tunnels.

I'll update with pics and news when the big day arrives!

Thanks again,
Charlotte
Click to expand...

Hope all goes well :D
 
Flora and Thistle said:
Thank you everyone for being so welcoming and helpful :)..... She's due in 6 days and has already been doing some nesting, so I'm planning on putting a deep litter tray filled with hay in her hutch in the next couple of days. She's being fed Exel burgress rabbit pellets, plus plenty of hay, grass and lives in an outdoor hutch with an attached run on the bottom half (although I let her outside for a supervised run around the garden everyday).

I'm planning on neutering both buns once the kits are weaned, and maybe attaching the two hutches/runs with Runaround tunnels.

I'll update with pics and news when the big day arrives!

Thanks again,
Charlotte
Click to expand...


You're welcome :wave:

Look forward to photos and in the meantime I hope all goes well x
 
This afternoon, I cleaned out her hutch and added a deep cat litter tray, lined with newspaper, a thin layer of wood shavings and lots of soft meadow hay. I was pretty disappointed because she had a quick sniff of it and then ignored it :(....

I've just been outside now, and she's sat inside the nest box, pulling fur and constructing a nest!!!! From what I've been told, this means that she's definetely pregnant!!!
 
Flora and Thistle said:
This afternoon, I cleaned out her hutch and added a deep cat litter tray, lined with newspaper, a thin layer of wood shavings and lots of soft meadow hay. I was pretty disappointed because she had a quick sniff of it and then ignored it :(....

I've just been outside now, and she's sat inside the nest box, pulling fur and constructing a nest!!!! From what I've been told, this means that she's definetely pregnant!!!
Click to expand...


I'm thinking of you - thanks for the update and I hope all continues to go well!!
 
Flora and Thistle said:
This afternoon, I cleaned out her hutch and added a deep cat litter tray, lined with newspaper, a thin layer of wood shavings and lots of soft meadow hay. I was pretty disappointed because she had a quick sniff of it and then ignored it :(....

I've just been outside now, and she's sat inside the nest box, pulling fur and constructing a nest!!!! From what I've been told, this means that she's definetely pregnant!!!
Click to expand...

It must feel good that she appreciates the effort you put into giving her a nice place for her to give birth and to raise her babies.

First time moms can be nervous, so you may want to keep that in mind when you approach her to check for any babies.

Good luck.
 
She had kits overnight! I went outside to find a large dead kit, which had been born outside the nest box, and a nest box covered in a thick layer of ginger fur. Whilst distracting Flora with some dandilions, I quickly checked the nest box to find 3 squirming kits (plus a stillborn one which I disposed of). I'm trying not to disturb the new mama and babies, but I'll post pics in a few days! :D

Thanks again for all of your help and advice,
Charlotte
 
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