is my rabbit pregnant?

Question

hi
i am a bit stuck i mated my rabbit on the 9th june the 28th day of pregnancy will be friday she made a nest on the 22nd day of pregnancy is she pregnant? she grunts at me if i touch her n she seems very protective over her hutch (the bit where she made a nest) i am not qualified enough to feel for baby's and i don't want to hurt her so how do i know if she is or not what wold you all think?

Answer 1

if she pulled her hair out for the nest then she either has tiny ones in there or she will in a few days. I had lots of bunnies and they do get grumpy and can kill their young if upset so just feed her and let her be.

Answer 2

She almost certainly is pregnant, yes, rabitts do not tend to make a nest if not. Also, the grunting when you touch her is suggestive of pregnancy. Don't bother trying to feel for babies if you don't feel qualified enough, just make sure she has plently of food and water and leave her to it.

She knows what to do instinctively - look at how she made a nest!

The only other explanation I can think of is that of a rabbit I once had who used to go through all the motions - nest making etc... although she wasn't pregnant. She used to have almost continual phantom pregnancies, but this is quite unusual, and thus very unlikely.

Good luck with your future rabbit family!

Answer 3

Pregnant? Not always.

My female rabbit has built 3 nests over the years and all phantom pregnancys.

Its not a sign of pregnancy at all, just the hormones that make her think she is, it doesnt mean shes a she either. Male rabbits have been known to build nests also.

The only way to know is to take her to the vet for an ultrasound.

Answer 4

Keep the nest box in the pen until about the 33rd day. She still could have them. If she hasn't had them by the 33rd day, then she won't have any. Sometimes a rabbit will pull fur and not have babies. This is called a false pregnancy. Normally they will pull their fur early on a false pregnancy. Basically the doe thinks she is going to have babies and doesn't. Please note, that just because the doe pulls fur early doesn't mean she won't have babies, but it's a good sign that she had a false pregnancy.

Answer 5

More than likely she is and she will have her babies before long... you can handle the "kittens" as soon as they are born... the mother rabbit won't care, leave her alone until you are SURE that she has had the kittens, because if you stress her out while she's in labor, she could kill and even eat her babies... your rabbit WILL NOT stay in the nest box, so don't worry if she's not with them all the time... As long as the babies look fat and healthy, she's feeding them...

Answer 6

i agree. i had a rabbit and it mated with another so we magically had 8 bunnies. she pulled out tufts of her fur from her belly to make the nest. we'd peek in every once in awhile but NEVER touch the babies. it was hard but we managed. and we found them all good homes. they were so precious!

so dont touch. maybe throw in a carrot and some romaine lettuce now and then for some extra nutriants. im not sure how soon after theyre born you can touch them. wait until theyre hopping around and fully weaned.