Not sure if my rabbit is pregnant or not! Any suggestions welcome before a vet trip!

[Lillie34]

Hi, I am relatively new to rabbits and am unsure whether my doe is pregnant or not. Bascially I acquired two male rabbits last summer as two were being given away (neither were neutered). I live in France and have a large outdoor space with 2 very large chicken coops. In one coop I have four hens and so made the other one for the bunnies. From day one all of the animals have been free-range and just all run around together so I have never locked the bunnies in.

A couple of months later I re-homed a female rabbit that I was told that was spayed as she had been bought from a garden centre and that it was the norm. So all bunnies and chickens have run around outside together and they all have the option of going in or staying out at night and are all happy. (Getting the males neutered is on the agenda but hasn't been a priority as they are still only a few months old). But for the past few days the female rabbit has been losing a bit hair out of her back. I thought maybe one of the boys had been jumping on her (they all chase and jump on each other) so didn't think a lot of it as there wasn't a huge amount of hair missing, it was just blowing over the grass.

I decided to move a few hay bales the other day too and found a clump of her stored fur between them. So I put two and two together, thought that she must be pregnant, made the cage really cosy with lots of bales, nesting boxes, bedding etc and decided to keep her locked in it. I tried to feel for bumps but can't feel anything (but I may not be checking properly). I went in today to check on the pile of fur (in case it had baby bunnies in it) and it had gone! I can't see it elsewhere, either. She was keen to get out of the coop so I let her out and she is now again happily munching outside and playing with her friends.

Ive googled bunny behaviour and various sites say that when pregnant they pull fur from legs and stomach (not back). So is this a pregnancy trait or is it a normal winter trait? She has been with the boys now for a few months so if she hasn't been spayed I would have expected her to have been pregnant and given birth by now so it did not cross my mind until recently that she might be. I can't find out anything relating to puling hair from her back. Any suggestions? I am a bit worried about her. Thanks

 

[tonibun]

I would be very worried as you don't know if she has had babies or not and if she has had them in a place where the male rabbit can get to he might have killed them. If she isn't pregnant yet she soon will be - are you prepared for maybe 8 baby rabbits running round? I would find it very hit and miss if they were mine and supposing there are rats around, they would kill any babies unless Mumis big enough to protect them. Maybe I am over reacting, if so sorry. So really the answer to your question is who knows if she is pregnant. She might have them down a nest hole so you wouldn't really know until they start to come out as they (Mothers) can be very discreet. I didn't know one of my rabbits had had babies down a nest hole until they started to hop out - I couldn't believe my eyes. Luckily the Father was back in his hutch so there were no more. That was 15 years ago! Do you know that Mum can get pregnant straight after having babies so 4 weeks later she has another litter.

 

[Lillie34]

I will reply to your post and then I won't use this forum again. You have succeeded in making me feel bad about my situation and I shall take my rabbit to the vet instead. I decided to re-home a doe as I was the only person able to do so at the time. I was told that she was spayed. I've had her for months now with two un-neutered males, has not been pregnant and I have had no reason to believe that she had not been spayed. My question was whether pulling fur from her back was a pregnancy trait or a normal winter trait. She has not gained any weight and shows no signs of pregnancy or nesting. I am not sure why a male rabbit would kill them, she can only get pregnant 'soon' if she hasn't been spayed and if I had 8 bunnies then yes, I would be prepared for them as there is plenty of room. I have procedures in place for rats and I have never seen any. Did you not know that your doe could get pregnant 15 years ago? You have neither answered my question or helped in any way. I think i'll leave my further questioning to the professionals.

 

[tulsi]

Hair pulling from her back could be from either of the bucks nipping/chasing her (normal buck behaviour). It doesnt sound like pregnancy behaviour to me.

Hope she isnt pregnant for your sake. Good that you are prepared in case though.

Perhaps you could keep her separate from the boys until they have been neutered (plus a few weeks for their fertility to drop) just in case? Hopefully she is spayed and all is well.

 

[SJH]

I'm not sure anything in that post was meant to upset you. I think the points being made are that:

1. Knowing whether you have a pregnant doe or not is difficult.

2. They will give birth very discretely and you may not know whether there are babies or not. Therefore, confining her in a safe area without other animals will help;

3. The "father" may well kill the babies so it's sensible to keep them apart.

4. Pulling fur is not a normal winter trait. I would assume that it could be a nesting trait. It could also indicate something as simple as mites or, simply, the males have been mounting the female (to no effect if she's spayed!).

I hope that helps. I don't have great knowledge on rabbit pregnancies though so hopefully someone else will be soon.


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[MiniC]

I hope you are still popping by, I don’t think any comments have been made with the intention to make you feel bad –I sometimes dislike forums, as it’s easy to read what is written in a completely different tone of voice from that which it was written in…

I’m not very knowledgeable about rabbits myself – from my limited experience, when our male mounts our female, he tends to bite on, and fur does tend to be pulled. This might explain the thinner patches on her back. We did find little tufts every so often while our rabbits were still establishing dominance in the first few weeks. One of our indoor rabbits is also moulting just now, so I wonder if yours could be…

I adopted a spayed female recently, and was warned that even though she’s spayed, she will occasionally still make a nest. It is just something females do, and can’t be helped. It’s not alarming in and of itself…

I have read that males tend to be mature enough to mate from around 12 weeks, as you say your males are a few months, I’d think it is possible for them to get her pregnant, but it’s whether she is able to get pregnant. As you weren’t the one to get her spayed, I would probably want to have a vet check her over to confirm her status and put my mind at ease, at least that way you’d know that the next time she builds a nest, it’s nothing to worry about. I don’t know if there is a way to check yourself!

 

[cazba99]

I will reply to your post and then I won't use this forum again. You have succeeded in making me feel bad about my situation and I shall take my rabbit to the vet instead. I decided to re-home a doe as I was the only person able to do so at the time. I was told that she was spayed. I've had her for months now with two un-neutered males, has not been pregnant and I have had no reason to believe that she had not been spayed. My question was whether pulling fur from her back was a pregnancy trait or a normal winter trait. She has not gained any weight and shows no signs of pregnancy or nesting. I am not sure why a male rabbit would kill them, she can only get pregnant 'soon' if she hasn't been spayed and if I had 8 bunnies then yes, I would be prepared for them as there is plenty of room. I have procedures in place for rats and I have never seen any. Did you not know that your doe could get pregnant 15 years ago? You have neither answered my question or helped in any way. I think i'll leave my further questioning to the professionals.

Hi Lillie34. I'm sorry that you have been upset by anything on the forum. I'm absolutely sure it was not meant to cause you further distress. You have done a wonderful job in rehoming an unwanted bunny, and of course you would have no reason to doubt if you were told she had been spayed. As others have said it is very difficult to tell the spirit in which a comment was made using this medium. We are all passionate about our bunnies and this will come over in our posts, as we all seek to champion the needs of bunnies (over the needs of mere humans!) I for one would hope that you would give everyone another chance. I have found the community very helpful when I suddenly lost my beloved Rex Ben last year, and when undergoing a stressful bonding situation with our female and her new partner. I hope you will reconsider and try to take all comments in the spirit I'm sure they were intended, i.e. in the rabbits' best interest. After all, as a caring person with experience of living with rabbits, you will have useful information to contribute and we would all welcome that. Take care and I hope all goes well with your bunnies.