Hi all, just wondering if anyone can tell me whether false pregnancies are exactly the same as real pregnancies (minus babies, obviously! ) or if there are distinct differences? Miranda is either pregnant or thinks she is (I'm still leaning towards the latter, but we'll see soon enough) and last night finished a gorgeous nest, but has actually become MORE affectionate and sociable over the last two days, not less. She never got more aggressive or anything, and now she's a snuggly princess who demands that I hand feed her greens or she won't even eat them! Is this a sign that it's not a real pregnancy, or would she be like this whether real or not? I'm curious as to whether there are ways to tell other than waiting to see if babies show up. I'm not good at patience!
False/Phantom pregnancy v real?
- Thread starter neejchee
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Imbrium
Jennifer
I explained a fair amount about false pregnancies in the second half of this post, which also has links to my sources 
A false pregnancy is VERY similar to a real one hormonally, but is shorter in duration. A doe is unable to get pregnant until a false pregnancy completes. Basically, something stimulates them to ovulate (rabbits are induced ovulators - they ovulate as a response to having sex, but occasionally it's triggered by something else). Ovulation triggers the reproductive system to prepare for pregnancy. If the eggs released are not fertilized, the result is a false pregnancy - it takes a bit for the female's body to realize that there's not any kits growing.
A false pregnancy is VERY similar to a real one hormonally, but is shorter in duration. A doe is unable to get pregnant until a false pregnancy completes. Basically, something stimulates them to ovulate (rabbits are induced ovulators - they ovulate as a response to having sex, but occasionally it's triggered by something else). Ovulation triggers the reproductive system to prepare for pregnancy. If the eggs released are not fertilized, the result is a false pregnancy - it takes a bit for the female's body to realize that there's not any kits growing.
