Baby Bunnies

[BrunosMama]

So this question is about a past experience. When we were newbie bunny parents, we ended up with an accidental pregnancy. As soon as Roxie started nesting, we started cramming info about bunny pregnancy. Honestly we thought it may have been a false pregnancy because we could not feel anything in her tummy. The night she gave birth, she was restless and looked upset. I held her for a few minutes and that’s when I felt it – a squirming in her side. So I set her back in her cage and noticed there was blood in my lap. Finally she gave birth to 1 kit. My husband checked it and said it seemed oversized and misshapen. On further investigation, we discovered it was still born. We kept an eye on her the rest of the night and no more kits. However about 24 hours later, she gave birth to a second kit. This one was much smaller, also stillborn. We took her to the vet right away to make sure everyone was out and she was OK. The next few days she seemed a bit depressed, but eventually perked up and was fine.

Is this a normal scenario for a bunny’s first litter?

Ironically, the conception took place the night before we took Caesar to be neutered. We were in the process of introducing buns, and wanted to give them a farewell date before the surgery. We kept a close eye on them and ran interception, but I guess we weren’t quick enough  Don’t worry, we have since learned better.

[LongEaredLions]

That is definitely not normal. From what I know, does give birth fairly quickly-I think the bunnies usually show up within an hour? I could be completely wrong but I know it doesn’t take 24 hours, and its good that you got her to the vet and all turned out ok!

[Roberta]

Yes Bruno’s Mum it is normal, well not normal but not unusual.. The large mishappen one is referred to as a fetal giant, there are other terms for different deformities etc…. It is an excellent reason for people not to breed their bunnies…
I found my self in a similar situation to you which is where my baby knowledge came from…. Two oops litters and my stinker Piglet was desexed a couple of weeks before the first litter arrived.

[LongEaredLions]

Yay for Roberta-thank you, I did not know that!
Ignore my post, all the knowledge I have of small animal pregnancies are in guinea pigs, where this is NOT normal…. oops!

[BrunosMama]

Thanks guys! It’s always something I’ve wondered about.

[Author]

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