Possibly pregnant??

[birdlover]

I know the "P" word brings many different emotions! I swear I'm innocent! :halo I have a neutered black and white Dutch, Mr. Shredder, who I've had for almost two years. There is a farm near me that has a very sad excuse for a rabbit hutch and 5 bunnies in it. I decided to bring one home as company for Mr. Shredder and things are going smoothly now. Anyway, I'm wondering if the new bunny, Annabel, came home pregnant. How can you tell? She is only about 6 months and is spending her out of cage time constructing a nest from shredded newspaper. At least, that's what my husband thinks she's doing. I can't afford a vet visit at the moment as my daughter is getting married Aug. 8 and all $ is going to that. My rabbit experience is very limited and I know nothing about baby bunnies. Any advice for me would be appreciated (just in case). Thank you!

 

[Flashy]

Are they both living together? If they are, I would suggest separating them until at least 35 days after you got her and then rebonding back.

How long ago did you get her?

Does she have unlimited hay?

Can you maybe post a picture of the nest?

I'm wondering if it is worth giving her a nest box just on the off chance so that if she does kindle she will hopefully have them in the nest box. That will need to be something big enough for her to stand in and turn around in, open at the top with high enoguh sides so any babies can't get out and low enoguh sides so she can get in. Something like a shoe box can work really well for a smaller rabbits.

 

[Jenson]

I've moved this thread to the rabbitry where the breeders can help! Excellent advice from Flashy already.

If Annabel is 6 months and was living with 5 other rabbits, she could well be pregnant. The most obvious signs are laying on the side with legs stretched out for most of the day during the last week of pregnancy, drinking lots, nest building and some rabbits get very loving or very grumpy! If she is pulling fur it's a good sign, but some rabbits often build nests so it's not 100%.

All you can do is wait, give her plenty of hay and straw to help make her nest and if she can comfortably turn around in a shoe box you can give her one to make her nest inside. Cut a half circle in one side to make it easy for her to hop in and out. As Flashy suggested, she will need to have a hutch on her own. You will need to check her regularly, ideally once or twice throughout the night if you can manage it, so you are there if anything goes wrong, but most rabbits cope perfectly well and she should know what to do. Good luck!

 

[birdlover]

Thank you for your help! I've had Annabel 2 weeks. Up until now, she's been separated from Mr. Shredder by keeping her in a huge dog crate but within the laundry room. Then, I've been letting them be together for longer and longer times. They seem to really get along now so I was going to remove the dog crate so I can do some laundry!!!!!! LOL I have several cardboard boxes in there that they have chewed and made tunnels and stuff. And there's lots of newspaper available. Saw her this morning hopping around with a big piece in her mouth. It was soo cute. Yes, she has plenty of timothy hay and I feed them dandelion greens, parsley, etc. as well as some pellets. Right away I noticed she eats a TON more than Mr. Shredder. I wondered if that might be a sign she's preggie? I am not technologically capable of posting pics but I'll see if I can get my husband to do it. She's much bigger than my Dutch so I don't think a shoe box would be big enough. I have a small cat size carrier that she likes to go in. Would that work? Thanks again! Hopefully, I'll have pics here soon.