How can I tell if my rabbit is pregnant?

OH NO!
I hope Tora isnt pregnant, I can only hope.
Buttt does anyone know of some signs so I can tell?
The earliest signs and when she might start to show?
Oh I hope not..if she is you can expect LOTS of other posts asking about raising them right =/


I tried to get my friend to join but she won't. She said it's stupid to do something like this, and her rabbits will get along fine eventually.. >.< BUT I did manage to get a job app. into a Pet Supermarket today, hopefully I'll get it and then I can get discounts on pet supplies :] Hah.

Rabbit pregnancy lasts about 30 days and they build a nest a few days before. It's quite hard to tell if they are pregnant though as often they don't show much.

Tam

It's really hard to tell with rabbits, even vets get it wrong sometimes - if she's only just been with the buck it might be worth concidering getting her spayed now to avoid the possibility of an unwanted litter - plus it's beneficial for her health too.

she will pull her belly fur and be a bit more aggressive but like humans, they dont all show it the same way

They start to show around 20 days and an experienced keeper can tell if kits are inside by palpating the belly gently (get your vet to do this for you). You need to know asap as she will need her diet increased if she is pregnant from quite early on.

She will become more agressive, grunt and charge, hide and show obvious distress at being handled. A few hours before birth she wil start to build a nest (you should provide a box and material from the 25th day)and when labour is imminent line it with fur plucked from her chest and belly. She may also drink more water.

She should have a vitamin supplement too.

Can you not get her spayed quickly :?

Its a bit of a controversial issue that.....basically an abortion.

I think its something thats a bit 'each to their own'. :?

I got called yesterday and asked to take in 8 babies, there is only so much room in rescue, where are all these baby bunnies going?

It's more controversial that bunnies are destroyed/negleted and abused because of accidental litters.

Looks like her friends bunny could be pregnant aswell ...
So is you friend going to carry on putting her 2 buns together ?

have you seperated your two?
I'd book her in for a spey..I'm turning away so many rabbits that need rescue places and..as you seem to be only starting to learn rabbit care..you will find it hard to cope with a litter.
for example have you got room to split th possible litter up into seperate sexes at 8 weeks? If not you will end up wit a bby-bun explosion..not good news.

Here's hoping she's not pregnant.

I would certainly suggest getting the female neutered now, just in case she is pregnant. There is no real certain way to know she is pregnant until she has the babies and from my own experience females rarely get aggressive prior to having babies (unless they were like that previously).

I would recomend getting your male neutered as well to prevent him pestering her when you do put them back together. Unfortuntely it only takes one second of having a male female rabbit together for the female to get pregnant. They dont say breeding like rabbits for nothing :shock: :lol:

SOAD said:

I got called yesterday and asked to take in 8 babies, there is only so much room in rescue, where are all these baby bunnies going?

It's more controversial that bunnies are destroyed/negleted and abused because of accidental litters.

Click to expand...

I didnt say I dont believe in it but each to their own. Its a course of action I would take but I would not want to pressure anyone else into it if they were not comfortable with the idea.

Its effectivley euthanasia and none of us rush into that.

Hiya Sooz,

It isn't euthanasia, as yet there is no animal, one thing you have to do with abortion is rush, the later you're leaving it the more the bunnies will be formed . Nobody take pleasure from it, but it needs to be seriously look at.

IMO: Its still a decision to end an animals life...whether that life has begun or not.....it is still being denied the chance to live.

Im not judging or saying its right or wrong....I would have an emergency spay BUT thats just me....I will not impose my judgement on anyone else, only offer it as advice.

onedarkflame if you chose this route ask your vets whether they perform this procedure...some wont.

Sue the only person who seems to have a problem with this is you?

It's not your bunny, so it's not up to you to chuck in works like euthornasia and abortion into the thread. You're not advising you're trying to make her feel guilty about doing the best in a bad situation.

This girl is under 16 years of age, how do you think she'll cope with baby bunnies, without a job and no money and being a child.

What do you think wil happen to the baby rabbits, it's unlikely this situation is going to have a happy ending and protecting more bunnies is paramount.

onedarkflame Have you spoke to your parents about the situation and what do they think?

If your female bun is 5 months or older & mating took place less than a couple of weeks ago, most vets will do it. My vet will do up to 3 weeks.

When this was first suggested to me, I was horrified. Since then, i have actually had a pregnant bun spayed, & a couple of other possibles, but that's largely to do with seeing the completely hopeless bunny situation in the UK

If you DO decide to not have her spayed - you need to think carefully about whether you can keep the babies. there may be a lot. At 8-10 weeks, boys need removing from mum & sisters to avoid any more unwanted pregnancies - so you need to be sure you can sex, or can see a vet to do it. If you get Dad neutered he can still impregnante Mum for up to 6 weeks after, so still needs to be kept away from her unless she is spayed. Buns are pregnant for 28-32 days, & buns can be weaned from 8 weeks.

If You can keep all the babies, you'll need space to separate until they can be neutered. Unneutered boys, or unspayed girls may start to fight, so you could end up with a bunch of single buns.

If you can't keep the babies, I would seriously consider spaying cos other wise you will just be passing the problem on to Rescues.

I am going to respectfully withdraw from this thread as trying to provide a balanced view is apparently antagonising people.

I am sorry to any one I have upset and I did not realise the age of the poster. I have no problem with it as I have said...its what I would do myself in this situation! Please read my posts properly before judging me.

Sooz22 said:

I am going to respectfully withdraw from this thread as trying to provide a balanced view is apparently antagonising people.

I am sorry to any one I have upset and I did not realise the age of the poster. I have no problem with it as I have said...its what I would do myself in this situation! Please read my posts properly before judging me.

Click to expand...

I was just trying to balance the other end, if you get me. I've pm'd you :wink:

I took on Athena when Zeus had just been done - there was a chance he could still father kits and they had been introduced at the "rescue" depsite the fact I requested only spayed does - turns out the man wasn't quite with it and really didn't understand what I meant by spayed :? !

Athena wasn't the best match for Zeus (as I thought - they actually formed a strong bond in the end) but I couldn't just leave her so I took her and got her spayed within a few days the receptionist looked a bit aghast when I said I was worried she was pregnant hence I was getting her done asap but the vet quite agreed with me (especially as Zeus was a giant and she was quite small).

At this stage if your doe is pregant it will be nothing more than a collection of cells and of little risk to the doe to be spayed - there are too many unwanted rabbits in rescues already.

Caz