I think my unspayed doe is nesting!

[Ashley]

Hi everyone,

I have a unspayed female and a neutered male and both of them get on great but last night I noticed them trying to hump each other (they did this at the start but not in ages) and now I think she has started to nest. I adopted Forrest(male) and they told me he was neutered already and I was trying to get Hopper(female) spayed but can’t just now with lockdown. The question is…is she actually pregnant or having a phantom pregnancy? Can I clean the nest away? And if she is having the phantom pregnancy is she going to be hurt in anyway or down?

[jerseygirl]

Hi Ashley

I would leave the nest for now. When she loses interest in it for a few days, then you could probably clear it away. If she is actually expecting, the nest need to be intact. If you think it’s in an unsuitable place, you could move it into something like a large shoe box.  Typically a rabbit will build the nest about 24hrs before they give birth. They often will stop eating then too.  My one experience with this was the rabbit built the nest about 2 days before she gave birth.

If it is a false pregnancy (fingers crossed!)  no, this wont hurt her. She will settle down again. The nest building is usually the end of the cycle. The mounting is probably what triggered this. In a false pregnancy they produce hormones like they would in a real one and they dont know the difference. Her body is telling her to prepare for babies.

How long have you had Forrest for?  If he was only neutered recently and youve only adopted him recently, then unfortunately there is a chance this is a real pregnancy. Male rabbits can remain virile for a month after castration.

Do check out the Resources tab at top of page because there are some good pages listed on unexpected pregnancies.

[Ashley]

Jersey girl thanks for replying. The nest is in their room in one of their little houses so it’s fine where it is. I will leave it there for now. I’m glad it’s not going to hurt her if it is a false pregnancy. And I got him in November so they have been together for a while.

[jerseygirl]

That’s quite a while.  You should be in the clear unless he wasnt desexed like they told or something was missed  during the op. It might be best to keep them separated until after she has had her spay, just in case.

How old is the girl?

[Ashley]

Would it not stress them out to keep them separated? And she will be 1 in July.we originally had 2 girls but in November the other girl died due to gi-stasis… which is why we adopted him so she wouldn’t get lonely.

[LBJ10]

It might be stressful to separate them, but I would think the false pregnancies would be more stressful (for her at least). You can try setting them up side-by-side to see how they do. The separation might not be so bad if they can see and smell each other.

[jerseygirl]

I agree, they do still have a form of companionship when set up in spaces side by side. I do hate to suggest separating rabbits, but Im not sure how you can prevent him humping her. With desexed pairs, this may still occur and it’s not a problem if it doesnt cause fighting, but with Hopper, it can trigger false pregnancies because rabbits are induced ovulators.   I mean, you might be able to carefully supervise some time when they are together but not when they are enclosed together 24/7.

As I mentioned in my other reply, they produce hormones as if actually pregnant. Something I forgot to mention is that there is also increased blood supply to the uterus, so this is something to take into account when she does go in for a spay. Let the vets know if she had just had a false pregnancy because they might want to schedule the surgery after some time has passed and the body had returned back to normal. I read this some years ago – a rabbit vet suggested wait at least 2 weeks after a false pregnancy had resolved. An experienced vet might not find it a problem (they do at times perform emergency spays when there is known pregnancy) but I still think it would be a good idea to let them know in advance.

[Ashley]

Ok she has calmed down now but I will try that. Thanks 😊

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