Pregnant Rabbits

Bunnies who are pregnant

Rabbits are gregarious animal that likes to live in groups with other nice rabbits. If you're not sure, a neutered male and a neutered female are an excellent match. This is because unneutered rabbits of the same sex will fight during adolescence, and if you have unneutered rabbits of the opposite sex, you will quickly understand where the phrase 'breeding like rabbits' originates from!

The exact date of puberty varies per breed. Smaller breeds achieve puberty between three and five months, whereas larger breeds reach adolescence between five and eight months, with does (females) being fertile a month or so before bucks (males).

Pregnancy duration of a rabbit

Rabbits have adapted to breed swiftly; pregnancies last approximately a month, and litter sizes range from five to eight kits (young rabbits). Rabbits can conceive again within hours of giving birth. All of these factors add up to a doe (female rabbit) having roughly 30 young in a single breeding season!

Pregnancy Signs

Rabbit pregnancy is not usually clear. You may not realize a rabbit is pregnant until a day or two before she gives birth when she begins preparing a nest with her bedding material and her fur.

To keep your rabbit from becoming pregnant again, separate the male and female immediately after the female has given birth, but make sure they can still see and smell each other.

Raising rabbit babies

Unlike dogs and cats, rabbits show minimal parental concern. There's no reason to be concerned if the mother spends most of her time away from the litter; this is normal rabbit behavior. Failure to do so can be extremely stressful for the doe and kits, and may even result in the mother hurting or killing her young.

They must be able to break contact with each other (both visually and auditorily, as well as scent-wise), so make sure your rabbit can get away from her litter when she wants to. While this may appear to us to be unusual behavior, it is a very effective anti-predator strategy.

In the wild, remaining away from the nest means the mother rabbit is less likely to attract predators' notice, which helps keep the litter secure. Our pet rabbits still exhibit this behavior today, which is why adequate room is essential.

Mother rabbits will often return to the nest for a few minutes every day (generally in the evening) to feed the litter. Because kits can only feed for a short period, rabbit milk is particularly rich, and they can consume 20% of their body weight in only one feed!

Young kits in their nest should be visually checked every day for symptoms of potential issues, but handling should be avoided until the newborn rabbits are at least 10 days old. Unless you have concerns about the health and welfare of the kits or the doe, there is no need to act.

Infant bunnies will occasionally fall out of the nest and must be gently reintroduced. Stroking the mother rabbit before doing so will convey her fragrance to the kit, maintaining a sense of familiarity and lowering the risks of a rejected kit. If you suspect a doe has rejected her brood, consult a veterinarian because hand-rearing orphaned bunnies can be challenging.

Taking care of baby rabbits

When newborn bunnies are about ten days old, they can be handled gently. This is a critical stage in their lives, and each kit should be pleasantly engaged with every day for a couple of minutes at a time from now on so that they associate being around people with a positive experience.

This helps to keep rabbits from becoming afraid of people as they get older. As previously said, before handling the kits, stroke the doe, rub your hands in some of the used, unsoiled nesting material, or wipe a clean cloth over the doe and then the kits. This helps to keep fragrances familiar while also avoiding the transfer of human scents, which reduces the likelihood of the doe rejecting her kits.

Diet

Kits require plenty of safe areas to explore, exercise, and play from the age of three weeks, as well as appropriate objects to discover and interact with.

Because rabbits' digestive systems are very specialized, they must receive the proper nutrition throughout their lives to help prevent dental and digestive disorders. Weaning is a very difficult time for rabbits; they must have a healthy digestive system at this time.

Did you know that? A baby rabbit eats its mother's caecotrophs (a particular form of feces!) to help them build proper gut microbes.

The most crucial component of any rabbit's diet is high-quality hay. It can be introduced as early as ten days of age, and any owner should ensure that it is a constant feeding source for their rabbits. When the kits are about five weeks old and eating hay nicely, little amounts of nuggets and greens can be introduced gradually. To avoid upsetting the digestive tract of the young bunnies, these greens should be introduced one variety at a time.

If young rabbits are fed these products when they are too young or in big quantities, serious disease can result since they are simply unable to digest greens and nuggets as well as adults. Kits should stay with their mother until they are eight weeks old, at which point they should be completely weaned.

Keeping rabbits from having more litters

Having your rabbits neutered is the greatest method to avoid unwanted litters. It's also critical to accurately sex the kits (identify their gender), as they'll be able to mate in only a few weeks. If you are doubtful about the gender of your bunnies, consult a veterinarian. They will also be able to discuss neutering with you.

The significance of neutering

Rabbits prefer to live in groups of at least one other friendly bunny, and neutering is the only way to ensure this. Remember that unless a rabbit is neutered at a proper age, same-sex siblings, even if they previously got along well, will fight when they reach puberty.

This can result in a complete breakdown of their bond, making it difficult to re-bind them following neutering. A neutered, mixed-sex pair is typically regarded to be the finest combination for pet owners. Remember that siblings will mate, so don't assume that just because you have a brother and sister, they won't have children!

Males can be neutered as early as ten weeks, while females are typically neutered at four months. Males who are neutered at this age or shortly after their testicles have dropped are unlikely to be viable.

As a result, neutering as soon as possible is strongly encouraged to avoid undesired pregnancy and upsetting an established pair bond. Males that are neutered later than this can be fertile for up to six weeks after surgery and should avoid interaction with an unneutered female until this time has passed.

Other justifications for neutering

Neutering can help reduce hostility (particularly if the aggression is hormone-related) as well as prevent breeding. Furthermore, scent-marking with urine and feces is frequently reduced after neutering.

Furthermore, neutering helps protect rabbits from sickness. After the age of three years, approximately 80% of unneutered female rabbits get uterine cancer. Because this is typically fatal, neutering your female rabbit will save her life.