Bunny

Pregnant Rabbit Labor Signs #Test#Symptoms#Age#Length

The period of pregnancy in a rabbit lasts pretty a short time span. Under ideal circumstances, a rabbit pregnancy lasts nor more than a month. That is precisely why you would perhaps not notice that your pet rabbit is pregnant until one fine day, you find it with the cute little babies.

Contents

1 Rabbit Pregnancy Test #Signs Of A Pregnant Rabbit
2 What is Rabbit Pregnancy Length?
3 Rabbit Pregnancy Age – When Do Rabbits Begin To Breed?
4 How Should You Feed The Pregnant Rabbit?
5 The Rabbit Kits – A Few Things You Want To Know About Them
6 Can Rabbits Sense Pregnancy? #False Rabbit Pregnancy
7 How To Take Care Of Baby Rabbits?
8 Concluding Thoughts On Rabbit Pregnancy

How to find that your rabbit is in labor? Perhaps there are not many ways you would witness it unless you are paying close attention to your rabbit. A rabbit gives birth to the babies (called kits) in less than half an hour, and you would perhaps not notice that it is in labor. However, a few signs of the pregnant rabbit labour signs can include loss of appetite and pulling of fur.

Pregnant Rabbit Labor Signs

Rabbit Pregnancy Test #Signs Of A Pregnant Rabbit

Is my rabbit pregnant? How can I find if my rabbit is pregnant? If those are a few questions that have been plaguing you, there are a few tell-tale signs of a rabbit being pregnant. Of course, you would note those symptoms only if you are having a close look at your rabbit and interacting with it almost on a daily basis. You need to know your bunny really well, to realize these symptoms.

Well, how to tell a rabbit is pregnant? What are the signs of a pregnant rabbit? Here are the few we can list down:

Nest Building – Female rabbit will begin building a nest intuitively when it is pregnant. It will use hay and straw to build a nest for the upcoming kits.
Pulling fur – The would be rabbit mother begins pulling its own fur so that it can be used as a blanket to keep the kits warm.
Aggression – A pregnant rabbit would show an aggressive behaviour. It may refuse to be petted or stroked.
Loss of appetite – This can be yet another sign of a rabbit that is pregnant or in labour. Around 24 to 48 hours before the delivery, the rabbit may stop eating.
Baby bumps – You can feel the little baby lumps when you feel her abdomen. They should be visible as late as day 10 to day 14.

Well, these are few signs of pregnancy in a rabbit. Unlike humans, rabbits have a very short span of pregnancy. Let us see the pregnancy period and the age from which rabbits tend to get pregnant.

Recommended Reading:

What is Rabbit Pregnancy Length?

The pregnancy length of a rabbit would last around 31 to 33 days. The gestation period as it is called, the length of the rabbit pregnancy would be slightly different based on the species of your rabbit. However, the pregnancy length remains quite close to one another, and there are a few days difference.

Under ideal circumstances, the little bunnies (kits) can arrive on day 28 to 34.

A few rabbit species and their gestation period can be summarised as here below –

Breed Name	Pregnancy Length (Days)
Eastern Cottontail	27
Desert Cottontail	28
Swamp Rabbit	37
Mexican Cottontail	30
Tapeti	42
Brush Rabbit	27
Dice’s Cottontail	30
New England Cottontail	28

Rabbit Pregnancy Age – When Do Rabbits Begin To Breed?

After birth, the kits tend to open their eyes after 10 days. After 14-15 days, they slowly start moving out to explore the surrounding without the help of mother. However, by now they are independent and can take care of themselves.

Most of the species of the rabbits tend to get mature at the age of 5 to 6 months. Female rabbits are called Does, and they can begin getting pregnant at the age of 12 weeks. They will continue to have babies up to the age of four years.

Male rabbits can continue mating until the age of seven years. Unlike most other animals, rabbits do not have any specific breeding season. They can continue breeding and giving birth to babies all through the year. That is one of the reasons why you would want to keep your male and female rabbits separated or want to neuter them.

If you have a pet bunny who is pregnant, it needs utmost care with regards to its diet and health. You have to be very cautious regarding these. Here we can give you some small tips on that –

Feed the Pregnant Rabbit

How Should You Feed The Pregnant Rabbit?

A pregnant and nursing rabbit needs an extra care and a need to consume more food. Make sure you feed it with more food than usual. You need to feed your pregnant bunny with lot of leafy vegetables, alfalfa hay, timothy or oat hay and a plenty of water.

Make sure that you are feeding alfalfa hay in abundance as it is very good for a pregnant rabbit’s health. Freshwater should always be kept ready around the bunny to avoid dehydration. In leafy vegetables, you can treat them with lettuce, cilantro, basil, watercress, etc.

However, a vet shall be the best option to talk to, before planning the diet for your pregnant bunny. Also, the pellets fed to the pregnant bunny should be based on rabbit’s body weight. A good rule to feed pellets to bunny is ½ cup pellets for every 2.7 kgs of bunny’s weight. As said, it is good to take advice of a vet as overweight can cause difficulties in pregnancy.

If your bunny is not feeding due to loss of appetite, you may keep its surrounding filled with hay. It will come and feed on it whenever hungry. Also, the bunny should not run short of water.

About Rabbit Kits

The Rabbit Kits – A Few Things You Want To Know About Them

Rabbit babies are called kits. Each labour can produce an average of six kits under ideal cases. Of course, you can even expect as many as 14 kits per labour in some instances.

The kits are hairless, blind and deaf when they are born initially. They would take around 10 days to develop fully. One of the unique concepts with a rabbit nursing is it will nurse the kits only twice a day – at dawn and dusk. Each time, the nursing would not be more than five minutes duration. This is because the milk of the rabbit is extra rich in nutrients and an overdose can be a health risk for the kits.

The rabbit weans the kits when they are around 4 to 6 weeks old. Make sure that the male rabbits are kept away from the females during the period of nursing.

Can Rabbits Sense Pregnancy? #False Rabbit Pregnancy

Rabbits sense their pregnancy. In such cases, it begins to show signs such as building the nest, pulling the fur and other activities. However, there are cases where you would find that a rabbit may exhibit the signs of a false pregnancy.

The false pregnancy can occur when the rabbit feels that it is pregnant. False pregnancy is also referred to as Phantom pregnancy. She will begin behaving as if she is pregnant. She will involve itself in activities like nest building and other similar activities. The false pregnancy will last for around two to three weeks.

How To Take Care Of Baby Rabbits?

Under normal circumstances, rabbit kits do not need you to assist them. A rabbit baby does not require any sort of human assistance as such. Of course, you may need to take care of them if you feel they are not being cared for.

In most of the cases, you should not disturb the kits and the mother for a few days. The extra care may be needed only if the kits are not taken care of as they need to. They should ideally gain a quarter ounce weight each day in case they are being appropriately nursed. If you notice a round belly when you check it in the morning, that should be a proof to assure you that they are being taken a proper care.

Concluding Thoughts On Rabbit Pregnancy

Well, these are a few things that needs to be taken care of when it comes to rabbit pregnancy. Also, if you have a pet rabbit who is pregnant and you realize the signs of pregnancy, make sure you give them extra comfort. In wild, the rabbits burrow and litter the babies in that hole. However, if you have a pet, you can build a nest like structure using hay and make them feel comfortable. You need to give them their privacy.

This was all about pregnant rabbit labour signs from our end, if you have any thoughts or experiences, you can share them with us in the comments section below.