Emergency- accidental suspected pregnancy questions

[Kat]

Hi folks

I have a pair of Flemish Giant/French Lop cross litter mates.  Bought as a pair of does, but a few weeks after bringing them home I started to suspect one might be male based on growth rate differences and checked and appeared male.  I brought him/her to vets and they agreed it was male, but after putting him under anesthetic for neutering discovered it was female so brought her round without sterilizing.

4 months later the doe we have never had any reason to believe to be anything but a female is, as of tonight, vigorously nesting and upon checking there is blood present around her vagina.

I have separated the two buns (first time they have been apart except for the day that one went to the vets as previously mentioned) and left the one who appears to be about to give birth with access to the nest box they sleep in, which she has now filled with fur and hay.

Unfortunately I think I will have substantially stressed her out (she is my less friendly one) by lifting her up to check she was ok earlier (and have the scratches to prove it!) and I am now worried that if this is a genuine birthing situation and not an advanced phantom pregnancy I could have as a result caused her to be too stressed to deliver. It is now 6 hours since I lifted her and observed the blood and although she has worked more in that time on creating a nest she is showing no other signs of being about to deliver.

I am deliberately leaving her in peace, but just wanting to check in with you folks on here at what point should I either be worried enough to consult a vet (stressing her out more) or else assume it is a phantom pregnancy and let the other bun back in again

Many thanks folks

[LBJ10]

Hi Kat! Welcome to BB! I’m going to try to help you out a little bit, but be advised that we are not a forum with a wealth of knowledge on the subject. Here are the rules, in case anyone wants to see them.

Accidental Litters: We do not have the experience to advise you. We do not allow 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 of help. (Your post may locked or deleted once resources are given.) And of course, be sure to seek vet care and advice. Do not use the forum to give or sell bunnies as well. Since we don’t allow prolonged discussions regarding this, the thread will be locked. We hope you will find the above resources useful. Please feel free to to ask about other aspects of caring for your bunny!

Okay, so bunny one was supposed to be a girl, you thought it was a boy, and then the vet determined it was a girl. How did the vet determine this? You said the vet went to neuter him, but didn’t say exactly how it was determined he was a she. Was it because there appeared to be no testicles? How old was the bunny at the time? Sometimes their testicles do not descend. I had that with Wooly (but it was one, not both).

As for the other bunny, I would treat this like a pregnancy. Especially if you are seeing discharge. She is nesting, which is supposed to happen right (day or two) before the babies are born. I would make sure she has a nice quiet place for her nest so she isn’t stressed. She may not want to give birth until she feels safe. If no babies come and she is acting normally, then it was likely a false pregnancy.

I would definitely recommend checking out a forum like Rabbitsonline.net since they have an entire section dedicated to the care of breeding and babies.

[Kat]

Many thanks and appreciate your advice!

Still no sign of any further progress this morning.

As they are not used to be alone I let them run around together for a few mins and the one who is nesting was clearly being pestered by the other one and not liking it at all so have kept them separate again.

I am going to grab the other one and check to see if male parts are now more obvious as if so that probably answers the question of whether this is a phantom pregnancy or not.

The other poor bun does not seem herself at all, leaving her in peace and we will see what happens.

[Author]

Messages