If you have a pregnant rabbit, you will need to know how to care for her before, during and after giving birth. It is important to understand what it takes to ensure her health and a safe birth.
Steps
Step 1. Check if the rabbit is pregnant
Medium-sized rabbits reach sexual maturity at 4 months or so, while giant rabbits at 6-9 months. If your rabbit is at this stage of maturity and you have reason to believe she is pregnant, you can check as follows. Pregnancy can be identified between 10 and 14 days after mating, 12 days is the ideal period, as these days the fetuses begin to grow quickly, becoming easily recognizable to the touch and similar to grapes. When you feel for puppies, be kind! Remember that the so-called hysterical pregnancy is also common in rabbits, so even if you find any signs, it is always better to have confirmation from the vet. Here are other signs of pregnancy:
- During the third week your rabbit may start to have a bigger abdomen. And you may notice a slight movement.
- He will start to have mood swings and be fickle. She may refuse to be stroked or held in her arms. He may growl at you or act differently than usual. She may begin to rest on her side more than usual, to counteract the discomfort of the fetuses occupying her abdominal space.
- Two or three days after the birth, it will begin to make the "nest". Usually it will tear the hair.
- Note that none of these signals alone are sufficient to diagnose pregnancy. Rabbits often have fake ones due to hormonal fluctuations, and they can put on weight or run out of food for other reasons. And conversely, many pregnant rabbits show no signs of pregnancy until minutes before giving birth.
Step 2. Pregnancy lasts approximately 31 to 33 days
It is possible for a rabbit with a small litter (four or fewer) to have a slightly longer pregnancy than one with multiple cubs. The main thing will be to know when the pregnancy started (and you may need the veterinarian's help), as the time must not exceed 32 days, in which case your rabbit must be taken to the vet right away. If the rabbit does not give birth by the thirty-second day, by the thirty-fourth it will probably have a dead litter.
Step 3. Provide suitable and complete food for the expectant mother during pregnancy
The rabbit will need special dietary variations to ensure she is getting all the nutrients she will need: a nutrient-deficient rabbit could abort or reabsorb the fetuses. As she carries more weight, the rabbit will need to eat more. Give her high quality food, as well as always guarantee her plenty of fresh water.
- Make changes to your diet in stages (rabbits should always change non-abruptly) and include foods such as: carrots, celery, cucumber, lettuce, pelleted feed, hay, tomatoes, and parsley. In addition to providing more pellets, alfalfa can also be added to the diet. And always make sure you have fresh water.
- Being pregnant, the rabbit's body will require more. Mix the aforementioned vegetables in a salad and place a bowl of water next to them.
- A couple of days before giving birth, cut out the food but not the water. This way the rabbit will have less chance of experiencing problems such as mastitis and ketosis. Cut back on your diet by 50% of normal two days before your due date.
- Once she has given birth, you can gradually return to her normal diet and within two weeks everything will be as before.
Step 4. Provide the rabbit with a nest box
The nest is where she will give birth and take care of her puppies. This is essential, as newborn bunnies are featherless, blind and deaf, as well as unable to regulate their temperature up to one week of age. Nests can be purchased from pet stores and should be at least 10cm wide and longer than the rabbit. You will need to place him in the cage next to the rabbit on the 26th day of gestation.
- Mother rabbit will tear the hair off her body (under the chin, belly and thighs) to nest, but you can help her by providing her with straw and paper.
- If you decide to make your own nest box, use clean, new wood, but not plywood or similar products, which may contain formaldehyde, which is toxic and can cause respiratory and neurological problems.
Step 5. Keep in mind possible problems associated with rabbit pregnancy
Forewarned man is always a means of saving, so it's best to prevent problems you know might arise. A pregnant rabbit can suffer from the following:
- Mastitis: is an inflammation of the mammary glands found in the belly of the rabbit. When she gives birth, the glands will fill with milk to feed the babies. Mastitis is triggered when bacteria enter the milk ducts and reach the mammary gland. It could be a result of a malformed gland (talk to your vet before giving birth), or the poorly hygienic environment (make sure the litter box, nest, den, etc. are flawless and non-abrasive). The real tragedy is that an infected gland that is not discovered in time can carry infected milk to the puppies that will die. Check the rabbit daily for signs of swelling or redness, possible indicators of mastitis; if the mammary glands are blue, the infection will be severe. Other signs include a refusal to drink and eat, fever, and a depressed appearance. Take her straight to the vet because she'll need antibiotic treatment.
- Toxemia gravidica: it can happen if a rabbit does not receive the right nutrients during pregnancy (even if hysterical), so it is vital that she follows a diet that provides her with energy for the final part of gestation, that does not fast and, equally, that you do not become obese. The Dutch, Polish and English breeds of rabbits are the most at risk and toxemia can develop late in pregnancy and after childbirth. Symptoms include depressed behavior, weakness, lack of coordination, and seizures. If left untreated, the rabbit can die within a few hours, so take her to the vet right away who will give her a dextrose IV.
- Killing offspring: Some rabbits will kill and feed on their own offspring. The reasons vary, but you may be able to rule out a few: make sure the nest area is always warm, remove those pups that the mother refuses to care for, keep the nest clean and other animals (especially dogs) away to reduce nervousness. in the mother. Stop mating her if she kills two puppies one after the other.
Step 6. Know what to expect at birth (relief)
You should have an idea of the gestation period both because you know when the rabbit has mated and because you have talked to your vet and agreed on a time for calving. Some things to keep in mind for when the rabbit gives birth are:
- Relief usually occurs in the morning.
- Most babies are born quickly, head or foot. However, a birth can last for a day or two before completing itself.
- Dystocia, a childbirth-related problem, is not common in rabbits, so there should be no need to help yours. Make sure the area is quiet and free of any elements that may make the rabbit nervous, such as noise, other animals, strange lights, too much heat or cold, etc. Anything that turns her on too much or makes her feel threatened could cause her to harm herself or eat puppies.
Step 7. Once the puppies are born, check that everything is fine
Make sure they are healthy, breathing and getting milk from their mother. There can be up to 12 bunnies in a brood. Once they are born, mom will heal them - albeit not continuously. Always give her fresh water.
- Having baby bunnies can be fun, but it doesn't bother theirs or mom. You could stress and scare them.
- Wait a couple of hours then offer your bunny her favorite treat to keep her busy while you watch the kittens. Remove any dead bunnies that may rot, infecting others. Once done, cover the nest with the material inside and leave them alone.
- If there are more bunnies than nipples (8 to 10, for example), you can use a nurse rabbit that has a smaller litter within the first three days. Make sure you cover them with the new nurse's hair to ensure they are accepted, and try moving the bigger and stronger ones to increase the success of the operation. Unfortunately, this bunny rearing method has a high mortality rate.
- Rabbits only breastfeed 1-2 times a day and each bunny has about three minutes to eat.
Step 8. Take care of mother and babies
Rabbits breastfeed about 4-5 times a week, and are weaned as soon as the milk decreases. Take a look at the mother's overall health and how she interacts with her young. If the behavior is aggressive, do what needs to be done to manage it or call your vet to talk to him about it. Some things to remember with the little ones:
- Bunnies with concave stomachs do not get enough milk, while a full one is a symptom of proper nutrition.
- Do not touch newborn bunnies, as you will give them your scent and the mother may reject them. It is also very stressful for the little ones to be handled while they are still in the nest. The only time you will be able to do this will be if they fall out of the box, because the mother will not take them back inside. Use disposable gloves to avoid transferring your scent to the little one, and still rub some fur once you put it back in.
- Around the tenth day of age, when they open their eyes, check that the little ones have no problems opening their eyelids or infections.
- Until they are 8 months old, give the bunnies only pellets.
- Leave the young with their mother for up to seven weeks of age. At this point, if the cage is wide, you can take out the fitter couple or trio that seems healthier to you and place them in their cage. In this way, the more frail siblings will be able to feed for an extra week, gaining weight.
- Babies should be removed from their mother by the eighth week, as the rabbit may become nonchalant towards them, trying to get rid of them. This way you will also give the bunnies a chance to explore the environment.
Step 9. Find a suitable home for your bunnies
Whether the pregnancy was intentional or not, it is important to find suitable accommodation for the puppies. If the rabbit got pregnant accidentally, take every precaution to prevent it from happening again in the future; the phrase "mating like rabbits" is not a cliché without reason, and there is an overabundance of rabbits that human neglect certainly does not help. Consider spaying the rabbit and neutering the male to avoid future surprises if the first one was. If you have to mate them again for various reasons, it is better to wait 5-6 weeks after the first birth, to give the mother time to recover and take care of the litter.
Caution! A new pregnancy could develop at any time in the 72 hours after giving birth! This means that you have to remove the male and keep him away from the mother before and after giving birth
Advice
- Most births occur late at night or early in the morning. The birth can last up to two days. Birth complications in rabbits are rare.
- When the time approaches, do not disturb the rabbit. You will need a quiet environment to give birth.
- Make sure you keep a diary of the last mating so you won't be surprised by yet another birth.
- Raising a litter takes a lot of effort, especially if you are alone. Do some thorough research so you know about any problems, from food to how to handle puppies.
- While the rabbit is pregnant, remove the other rabbits from the cage, especially if they are male.
- Beware of predators. Extra chicken netting system around the garden to discourage any attacks.
- Usually a mother will make her nest in a confined space, behind something as big as a rock, if it is outside.
- Separate males and females.
- The puppies are called bunnies.
- An average litter is made up of 7-8 bunnies but can also reach 22.
Warnings
- Do not do inspections until all the puppies are born and the rabbit has recovered from giving birth.
- If the expectant mother has any health problems, call the vet right away.
- Sudden changes in the rabbit's diet are dangerous, because they lead to changes in the intestinal flora, which in turn can affect the digestion of food that would eventually become toxic.
- Caring for any animal should not be taken lightly - it is a huge responsibility to raise an animal and its offspring. Don't get a rabbit if you don't really know what you want to do and if you don't have more than good reasons to decide to have others born. Rabbits are perfectly capable of reproducing without the hand of man, who often ends up weakening their blood, saving even the weakest kittens, mating relatives or too frequently, and then paying the consequences.
