pregnancy

[jackiek]

hi, can anyone help me. after my 2 "female" rabbits had a litter of five, we took them to the vets at just over three months to get them sexed. From then on they were in separate cages until we found homes for them. one person had a female rabbit and is a bit of a worrier and is panicking that her rabbit is now pregnant as she is gathering bits of straw together.

she is not very happy with me as thinks I sold her the rabbit knowing she was pregnant. can a rabbit get pregnant at 3 months? I did everything i could to make sure the sex was correct, but could it be that young could have babies?

The kits were born when the female was 6 months and had been in the cage with the male all that time and not got pregnant. but is it possible the young rabbit could be?

please some advice cuz she is getting angrier by the minute!

 

[Sullybun]

So they were sexed at 3 months ? So how old is her rabbit now? And is it inwithor near a boy?

 

[jackiek]

it will be four months old next week and no its now on its own. it was with another female rabbit, but had to be separated because they were fighting

 

[Sullybun]

I take it the vet definitely sexed them right? Sone vets can be a bit iffy with their sexing lol

Even at 4 months it's most likely a phantom pregnancy. Though it's unusual if there are no males around! The only chance would be if the other female had been a male. A rabbits pregnancy is 31 days so you should be able to work it out from that just in case.

Could just be spring madness!

What type of rabbits are they anyway? Smaller breeds become sexually mature quicker than the bigger breeds. I have seen my nethies want mated at 4 months although we wouldn't mate them that young

 

[Sullybun]

Had a thought. If she panics and you can manage it to chill the woman out. Why not tell her to arrange a vet visit. The vet can feel the rabbits tummy and should be able to tell if she is pregnant. Make sure you point out that the chance is unlikely and it's most likely a phantom pregnancy as it's 31 days pregnancy and that the rabbit hasn't been near a buck since before that. Perhaps say when they are getting to the age they want mated they can have a phantom pregnancy and that it may soon be time for a spay to stop that from happening.

If she is still being funny and you can afford it say you will pay for the rabbit to be checked ( it shouldn't cost much just a consult fee) to set her mind at ease

 

[jackiek]

well the vet said he was 95% sure! but the person who had them was an experiencI dont know what breed they are. the shop we had them from didnt know, all i can tell you is the mother is a largish grey coloured bunny and the father is a slightly smaller grayish and black colour! not a lot of help i know

just checked back on the date they were separated into sexes and they would have been 13 weeks. I also never saw any of the females trying to mount the others,!

 

[jackiek]

after checking the dates, the kits would be due this week, which is not a good sign considering she has started nesting! I think a trip to the vets would be a good idea. the last time they were all together was 29th of january which means the dates add up

 

[jackiek]

my main worry is the age of the rabbit. she is very young and I am starting to get cross at the vet, because I asked them what age they could be sexed and they told me as long as it was before 4 months there would be no danger of pregnancy

 

[Dustyrabbit]

I think it depends a bit on the buns breed - in general smaller buns mature earlier and larger breeds (giants) later however there is always an exception to any rule in nature.

It's just a waiting game now there's nothing else you can do. Fingers crossed its a phantom/hormones kicking in.

Dad wasn't in with the babies was he?

 

[jackiek]

no. we took him straight out! I think I might try and get her to the vets tommorow, cuz this woman is driving me up the wall! it will be worth the vets fee to get her off me back!

 

[sola]

Oh no, hope she's not pregnant!

I know boys can be sexually mature from around 12 weeks (8 weeks for dwarfs I think) but I thought girls could breed from that age too, but not sure personally.

 

[jackiek]

well I should know in a couple of days. She is driving me mad, I have had the rabbit back until i know whats happening and she is crying and all upset. she phoned me at six oclock this morning because she was still nesting. Then she tells her son that the rabbit might die because she is so young so he was crying too.

she hasnt nested all day, but I think I am grasping at straws, sadly I think she is pregnant. What is the point of getting advice from vet when they dont seem to know about rabbits. fingers crossed the poor little thing isnt pregnant, cuz I am worried about the effect it will have on her