HELP!Surprise second pregnancy!!

[Tiglet]

Hi guys,

 My story is as follows: I had 2 rabbits which I thought were both female. All of a sudden when I picked one of the rabbits up after it wouldn’t stop humping the other one, I noticed his testicles!! I put the male and female apart right away, but it was too late. The female was already pregnant. I found the little bunnies in her nest after a couple of days, apparently she had been pregnant for a while. She was showing the usual stuff like building a nest etc, but I thought it was just a fake pregnancy (don’t know the actual term for this in English sorry).

Now at some point the female and the male escaped (before the male was neutered and not sure if the little bunnies were already born by that time) and I think the male made the female pregnant again at that point. I think I can see the movements of the little babies in the female bunny when she’s lying down. I thought it could be the intestines moving but don’t think it is. I think her tummy is also a bit bigger than usual and she has started filling up the little house where she had her other babies with pellets and hay by pushing it in with her front feet.

Now my problem; The first babies are now almost 4 weeks old and according to my calculations the mom (if pregnant) will give birth between the end of this week and the end of next week.

• Can I leave the other kid rabbits with the mom or not, next week they are about 5 weeks old? I’m mainly concerned about the stress for the mom as the little bunnies might disturb the nest and they all probably want milk. I don’t want to stress out the mum…
• And what about the dad? He was supposed to be reunited with the mom and the kids next week, but I’m scared to put him back with them if the mom has her babies in the nest if the dad might hurt them or something? He has been neutered 4 weeks ago, so next week is his 5th week of being seperated which should be enough to stop him impregnating the mom.

 

Sorry for the long story, but I’m a bit new to most of this baby bunny stuff, especially 2 nests right after eachother and I love my rabbits and want the best for them and their fluffy family!!

[CookiesandCream]

I would leave the dad separated until all litters have been weaned and then I would reunite mum and dad.

The older kits at 5 weeks would naturally be starting to slowly wean at this age so I think if I was you but you may need to do some research I would separate the older ones and leave mum full time with the new litter and just take mum a couple of times a day over to the older kits to have a couple of feeds.

Good luck and keep us posted

[Stickerbunny]

I believe you are supposed to keep the male bunny separate from the babies until they are weaned, but I am not sure as I do not breed bunnies. Hopefully Roberta will stop by soon, they have oops litter experience.

[Roberta]

Oh Tiglet, I have been in your shoes… Piglet my male was actually desexed before the arrival of the first litter… I was told it was OK to reunite after two weeks and subsequently ended up with two litters 6 weeks apart….In some ways it was great as Piglet was the most loving dedicated daddy and thoroughly enjoyed his babies, even keeping two alive that fell from the nest one day… I came home to find him laying in the bottom of the condo with one kit tucked under his chin and the other curled against his tummy, he was keeping them warm. He was also wonderful with Pepper grooming her and cuddling whilst she was in labor.. I separated mine but allowed combined play time so they could still access Peppers cecals and the occassional feed of milk.. They start to feed on hay and pellets from 4 weeks but still need mum, at 5 weeks they can survive on solid food and as they had made a habit of chowing down on the adults salad they were getting a lot of extra nutrients from that… Most people will advise against greens for young bunnies but if it has been part of their diet from the beginning it is OK to continue it…. The main thing you will have to watch for is your female bun getting stressed from to much baby attention, make sure she has unlimited access to hay, greens and pellets at all times, she is going to need every last scrap of nourishment to keep up…..
I’ll add more later when I am on my own time, I’m currently at work doing payroll…

[Roberta]

Separating the male I think is mainly to prevent a second pregnancy, if he has been done 5 weeks you should be fine.. I don’t know if Piglet is unique but he never showed any aggression to the babies he adored them and still dotes on the 3 little girls I kept, BUT I have heard some males can be nasty… I would try supervised time and see how it goes…or try putting them either side of an xpen and see how he reacts.

[JackRabbit]

I am loving Piglet right now!

[BB Administrator]

This post is locked due to Rule Section 3-D:
• 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. 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.
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You of course, can continue to help each other via messaging as Roberta is a member with the most experience in matter. (Thank you Roberta for helping in these situations)

Helloworld!!

[Author]

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