If you have a female rabbit then you’ll need to know, how to take care of your rabbit, before, after and during her pregnancy. It is very important to be well aware of what is needed in order to ensure her health and the safe delivery of her babies.
1. CHECK IF YOUR RABBIT IS PREGNANT :-
Medium and large size rabbits become sexual mature at the age of four to five months, whereas giant breeds are ready at six to nine months. If your rabbit ( Female of course ) is too, at this maturity’s stage you’ve reason to suspect if she has been breeding. Pregnancy can be detected between ten to fourteen days after mating. You can check the signs of pregnancy, the fetuses will start to grow briskly, which you can detect by touching and they’ll feel like the grapes’ size. However be gentle while touching them. You also need to know that false pregnancy signs are very common in rabbits, so even if you find the pregnancy signs, it will be best to take him to the vet for pregnancy check up. Below are other signs that may show your rabbit is pregnant :-
- Your bunny might begin to have increased abdomen size in the third week.
- She will have mood swings and can be annoyed easily. She may also want be stroked or held, she will start to act differently or growling towards you.
- When there are around three or four days left of the pregnancy then she might begin nesting which typically includes pulling out of her fur.
However note that only these signs aren’t enough to know if your doe is really pregnant. Like i said above, the do have false pregnancy signs because of the hormonal fluctuations. They might dig into food bowls or gain weight but for some other reasons.
2. EXPECT THE PREGNANCY OF YOUR RABBIT TO RUN FOR 31 TO 33 DAYS :-
It can be possible that a rabbit with smaller kits, like three or four, will have a longer period of pregnancy as compared to the rabbits with larger kits. The main thing that you should concern is to know the start of pregnancy in which case you might need vet’s help.
3. PROVIDE PROPER NUTRITIOUS FOOD DURING PREGNANCY :-
Your pregnant doe will need proper nutritious food during pregnancy. otherwise, a rabbit which has nutritional deficiencies might abort or re absorb the fetuses. As she is carrying extra weight, so she will need to eat extra nutritious food. You must provide her high-quality food with unlimited amounts of clean and fresh water. Try to change her diet slowly as she always experience gradual dietary changes.You can include foods like celery, cucumber, carrots, pellets, stacks of hay and tomatoes. You can also provide alfalfa hay instead of grass hays.
4. PROVIDE YOUR RABBIT WITH A NEST BOX :-
A nest box is a box in which she will give birth and also will take care of her kits. A nest box is essential as kits are born deaf, naked, blind and have inability to regulate their temperature until day seven. You can buy it from any pet store and should be of the size of 10 cm, longer and wider than your rabbit.
5. KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT AT THE BIRTH :-
You should have a idea of the gestation period of your doe. These are the things that you should aware when your doe is giving birth :-
- Usually kindling occurs in the morning.
Most of the rabbit births happen quickly, born feet or head first. however sometimes, labor can take some time and continue for a day before all the young arrived.
- Problem while giving birth is not usual in rabbits so you probably will not need to help your doe giving birth. make sure that the area is quiet, otherwise, it could make her feel nervous. Anything that can make her too excited or frightened can make her to harm her kits such as noises, unusual lights, other pets, too much heat or cold etc.
6. ONCE ALL KITS ARE BORN, CHECK TO SEE IF EVERYTHING IS FINE :-
Make sure they’re breathing, healthy and drinking their mother’s milk. There can be dozens of kits born. Once born, the mother rabbit will nurse them but not continuously. It will be really fun to have new born kittens but make sure not to disturb them or the mother as it can frighten them. Wait two three hours and then give the mother a treat in order to keep her busy and then you can check the kits. Make sure to check if there is any dead young so you can remove them as he can infect others too.
If you are experiencing the pregnancy of your doe then believe me it is a wonderful experience and once all the kits arrived, i am sure you will be proud. after holding those cute kits, you will feel like out of the world. so good luck !