Male nest building

[sr_roboto]

Hi all. I have what I believe to be male rabbit (he has what appear to be testicles) who is building a nest. He was with his sister about a month ago (26 to 24 days ago) when I had to go out of town and leave him with a friend. He spent the 3 days chasing the other one around.

The "male" started building the nest in a room off of my outside corridor this past week. He has filled a dark corner with straw, cardboard, rags, sponges, and his own fur (which he somehow seems to have pulled off the back of his neck). The female rabbit, at my friend's house 4 blocks away, has devoted her time to a giant underground burrow. The rabbits are a little inbred, and come from a strain that as far as I understand is a mix between Californian and Tapeti (local paraguayan cottontail).

The question then is, is it absolutely improbable for a male to build a nest, especially since his stomach doesn't seem to be growing while that of the "female" has been and seeing as he hasn't been near the female in almost a month? Or is it more probable that I am wrong about the sex of the animal? We'll find out in 2 to 4 days who has the babies, but I'm really curious about this anyways.

 

[gmas rabbit]

Well I guess the first thing is whether he is a she?? That you will find out in a few days. lol The other thing is maybe he is cold and trying to find a snuggly comfy nest to sleep in.

 

[funnybunnymummy]

My guess is you've got a girl. I've never heard of a male building a nest. She doesn't have to be pregnant, though, to build a nest. Females will often have "false pregnancies" in which they go through all the signs and symptoms of pregnancy, but no babies ever appear. Female rabbits who've never been in contact with a male can have false pregnancies too.

Hope that helps!

Rue

 

[sr_roboto]

I guess I need to flip the other rabbit over and compare genitals to know for sure. And as for the cold, it's been between 65 and 90 here for the last month and the rabbit seems to seek out cooler places rather than warm ones. Also, the rabbit made the nest in a room off of the outside passageway rather than in his nice large room indoors (in which he spends the nights and a large amount of time even when the gate is open) which seemed a bit odd.
Only time will tell...