Pregnant Rabbit?

[Fiona Hopsalot]

I got Fiona on Dec 31st.  She was from a trio of teenagers that bred bunnies.  Country kids, FFA type of thing..  I asked if she was pregnant and the answer was an absolute no.. 

 

Wellllll…   The last few days Fiona has been eating like a hog.  Pellet begging.  Just overly affectionate and making a general pig of herself.   She’s also in the last 24 hours started digging like mad in the litter box and using the cage floor for her personal bathroom.

Today, I discover that she’s destroyed her condo.  I find chunks of her hair in the litter box with a pile of hay she’s gathered from ever nook and cranny.  She’s ripped her up mat and took pieces of it to the litter box.  I cleaned things up, refilled her top hay bin and she runs up, thumps at me and grabs the hay.  She starts running around with the hay in her mouh like firewood, frantic.. She finally stuffs it into the (now clean) litter box..

She’s now redecorating her condo again..  in total nesting mode.  

I called the vet, since her spay is Monday AM, and they said there isn’t a way to really tell if she’s pregnant positively until she has the babies.. Or goes beyond the gestational period.. Perhaps a false pregnancy.   I did put a cardboard box in there with some pet-friendly shredded paper for bedding.. I’m guessing she may decide to use that as a nesting box if she is pregnant.  She’s sniffing around at it now as if considering the matter.

 

Thoughts?  I’m a little freaked out that there may be baby bunnies here..  Not quite ready to be a bunny grandma.

[LBJ10]

After reading your post, it looks like this wasn’t intentional (at least not on your part). I know that discussing rabbit breeding is prohibited here. I think the mods will let this stay up though considering the circumstances.

So it has been 2 1/2 weeks since you brought her home? If she is in nesting-mode, then I imagine she wouldn’t be too far off from giving birth (if she is indeed pregnant). If it is a false pregnancy, then you would have to wait until the end of the month before you would know for sure nothing was going to happen (since that would be a month after her last contact with the other rabbits). Can you feel her tummy? Later in a pregnancy, you should be able to feel them.

If she does end up having babies, people probably won’t be able to offer you much help since most of us here do not have experience with this. But we will try to help you the best we can.

[Sarita]

At this point it can be hard to know if it’s hormonal or actual babies – spaying will terminate the pregnancy and if you suspect she is pregnant and she doesn’t have them by her spay day.

If she does have an actual litter here is a copy of our accidental litter rule:

• Accidental Litters: We do not have the experience to advise you, and we discourage ongoing threads on the matter because the information then goes out to google search results, inviting more of the same. Only a couple of members have some experience with this, but we are unable to make sure the advice given is reliable; we are not a site or forum that has a wealth of experience in this matter and it would be better for your bunnies to find reliable resources for pregnant/nursing does and their babies. Please visit Resources and scroll to “Oops Surprise Litter”. Other forums like Rabbitsonline.net, that cater to a broader range of experience, may also be able to help. And of course, be sure to seek vet care and advice. Do not post pictures of the litters, unless you plan on keeping them.(or whichever one or so you plan to keep). Do not use the forum to give or sell bunnies as well.

• Exceptions: Certified Rescues can post about a litters in regards to adoption and rescue support Rescues many times are subject to getting rabbits in that are already pregnant. They are allowed to use our forum to post about it in the RESCUE SECTION and use the forum as a resource for adoption.

[Stickerbunny]

Wow, that would be a surprise to bring home a pregnant bunny. Hopefully it’s just a false pregnancy. You should know soon, anyway. I have no experience with babies, but I wish you luck if she does end up having them.

[niniliefie]

I’m so sorry you have this concern and I truly hope it is a false pregnancy! It would be horrible to terminate and also to deal with such small bunnies as a weened bun is already very hard work and so many buns already struggle to find homes! Good luck and thanx to the moderators for thinking ahead and preventing the advertising of pregnant bunnies and litters! I’ve never been a member of such a well organised forum!

[Fiona Hopsalot]

I didn’t realize the rule about babies.breeding… Sorry!

Yes, it’s been 2-1/2 weeks.. 18 days exactly. I don’t think it was an intentional thing if she is.. The girl probably didn’t realize it.

She’s still acting nuttier than nutty over here so I guess we shall see. I haven’t noticed her feeling any pudgier but I’m going to get her out later when I’m done here with work and see if I can tell any difference. I am going to call the vet back here shortly to reschedule the spay per their advice.

I am the volunteer coordinator (the unseen internet person, lol) for our local shelter here and upon receiving any bunnies they send them on to a rescue that is equipped, so I have a good support system in place if she does pop a litter. When I decided to get a bunny, I actually contacted them initially to see if they had any but at the moment didn’t. So no worries there. No bunny babies would be given away or sold. They would only go through the proper bunny channels.

I’m crossing my fingers it’s a false pregnancy. Cross fingers & paws!

Again, sorry about the post.. I didn’t realize it was a no no.

[LBJ10]

Don’t feel bad, you didn’t know and you didn’t know you would be possibly dealing with this when you adopted her. Like I said, we will try to help you the best we can, but most people here are not experienced in this (myself included). Sarita made a good suggestion. Contact your vet and see what they say. They might decide to spay her sooner.

[Sarita]

Yes, don’t feel bad – hopefully it is just a false pregnancy and it’s not a litter yet anyway – hopefully it won’t even come to that. Luckily if it does you will have some resources to help find homes for them.

[Stickerbunny]

If she’s already building a nest, she’s close to giving birth if she is pregnant – many vets would not terminate because the babies are already so developed. It’s not pleasant for the staff to do and each vet has their own decision on when to do it. But, talking to the vet about it won’t hurt. Just don’t be upset if they say no to an emergency spay. Hopefully it is just a false pregnancy though and she’ll be over it soon.

[Beka27]

Emergency spays are a good option to terminate a potential pregnancy, but only if it’s done within the first week or two. Beyond that time frame, I would wait to see if she gives birth. Rabbit gestation is about 30 days, but if she’s showing nesting behavior, babies would come within about the next day or so.

Sarita gave you good sources for dealing with this…

[Roberta]

I agree with an emergency spay if possible… Gestation is 28-32 days so at 18 days it might be possible, your vet will know.
Keeping fingers crossed for a false pregnancy, I have had oops litters and its hard work and can be very distressing on all concerned….
How old was she when you brought her home ? and has she gained weight in the obvious area ?

[Author]

Messages