False Pregnancy or not 2 girls after all?

I have a pair of 9 month old bunnies that we were told were sisters, at the petting farm where we got them from.
2 days ago I noticed that they'd moved all the hay from one side of their hutch into the covered part, and today there was lots of pulled out fur in there too, so my immediate thought was a false pregnancy for one of them. I bought them into the run in the house to keep an eye on them today and have noticed that one keep trying to mount the other one!
Unsure what to do next And would appreciate any advice as I'm a first time rabbit owner

It does sound possible that they are actually male and female doesn't it? What I would do now is to separate them until you can be absolutely sure what sex they are. Does become fertile again immediately after having the kits, so if this is an actual pregnancy, it could be imminent and they would need to be separated.

Have they been examined by you or by a vet to establish the sex?

First, seperate them until you are absolutly sure those are two females. Errors happen more often then you would think. Give the doe that built the nest a nestbox and hay, put the nest in and show it to her.

Just to be on the safe side.
When a doe is about to kindle the buck can try to hump her while giving birth, or right afterwards, knocking her up again and destroying nest/desturbing doe/trample and scatter kits.

Most of the false pregnancys I've seen didn't include pulling fur, but it can happen. A doe mounting the other - normal for a dominant doe - that can trigger a false pregnancy.
That would be the better scenario for you, but right now I would seperate them until you're sure what that's about, at least with a wire divider, and check them over (if there is any doubt make pictures of their parts and post them).

Better safe than sorry.

Lottie&Velvet said:

I have a pair of 9 month old bunnies that we were told were sisters, at the petting farm where we got them from.
2 days ago I noticed that they'd moved all the hay from one side of their hutch into the covered part, and today there was lots of pulled out fur in there too, so my immediate thought was a false pregnancy for one of them. I bought them into the run in the house to keep an eye on them today and have noticed that one keep trying to mount the other one!
Unsure what to do next And would appreciate any advice as I'm a first time rabbit owner

Click to expand...

Hi there and welcome to the Forum :wave:

I would ring the petting farm and explain. If they really are male and female, they may help you out by taking the babies.

That said, if they have been together that length of time, babies would've showed up more than once in their enclosure?

I don't know how they were being kept, of course ....

In the meantime, there's some reading here:

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?327923-Accidental-Litters-and-Taking-on-Babies

Thanks so much for your advice. They've not been sexed by a vet, but I'm going to take them tomorrow (provided there are no kits in the morning!). I'd have thought that if they were male & female we'd have had babies before now....
I've separated them, the one that built the nest is in the hutch and the humper is in the run for the night, indoors. I feel terrible separating them ��

Lottie&Velvet said:

Thanks so much for your advice. They've not been sexed by a vet, but I'm going to take them tomorrow (provided there are no kits in the morning!). I'd have thought that if they were male & female we'd have had babies before now....
I've separated them, the one that built the nest is in the hutch and the humper is in the run for the night, indoors. I feel terrible separating them ��

Click to expand...

How long have you had them?

I've not been in this position before and so this might not be sound advice, so either wait for someone else on here to comment or phone your vet for advice before taking both of them to the vet today. This is purely instinctive on my part.

I would not take the rabbit who has made the nest to the vet today as she may be on the point of kindling and to do so might distress her, which might have serious consequences.

It's very sad to have to separate two happy rabbits but you are doing the right thing. Hope everything works out for you and the bunnies.

I agree with Omi, just take the separated bun to the vets. If the other is about to have babies, it's too risky to take her. Ive had a couple of rescue buns who gave birth and both pulled fur out just before having them.
They'll be fine being separated until you know.
If the bun is a boy, the doe can get pregnant the day she gives birth as they have 2 ovaries.
Do let us know!

Just to update you, I took the humpy bunny to the vet and she's definitely a girl. The other one has stopped nesting, and there's been no more incidents of humping either. Thanks so much for all your advice ��