Can a Rex rabbit mate with a wild Cottontail?

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Hi! And if they can mate, how can I tell if it's bred and about to have babies?
I have a bunny here that was a drop off. It was a house bunny all winter.
I moved it to a cage outside this spring. It (and I say 'it' because I never checked to see if it was he or she) runs around the yard/garden most days and goes back to it's pen at night --- until recently. It has taken up residence in a dirt floor chicken coop and dug a tunnel (several tunnels, but one is 'the one').
How can I tell if 'she' has had babies down the tunnel? I can't see or reach all the way to the end AND when I try, 'she' growls at me.
Should I be able to feel enlarged teats if she is about to or has just had babies?

Thanks for the help,

Lisa

 

[texasgal]

Quote:
Couple of things ..

Yes, a rex can mate with a cottontail.

Any rabbit will dig tunnels, it's what they do.

Your best indication that there might be babies "down the tunnel" would probably be the presence of pulled hair at the entrance of the tunnel.

Does will pull their own fur to line the nest .. then as she comes and goes from the tunnel, she will bring some hair up with her.

Best to just wait a couple weeks and see if babies come up out of the hole!

Sounds like fun.

Oh, and you probably won't notice much difference in her teats until after she kindles .. then maybe not unless you look real close. They keep this whole "motherhood" thing a pretty good secret .. *wink*

 

[bryan8]

I didn't think wilds could mate with pet rabbits?

 

[texasgal]

Ohhhhhhh .. I may stand corrected. Apparently the NA wild rabbit isn't the same as the European wild rabbit that most domestic rabbits are descended from.

What I'm reading is that they CAN'T breed..

... which makes me REALLY curious about a certain litter of bunnies a friend of mine bred a few years back ..

... hmmmmmmmmmm...

 

[texasgal]

Oh good grief .. now I'm reading that cottontails DON'T dig tunnels to nest ..

**seems I've learned all my rabbit-ology from my domestic rabbit experience.. lol.

Hey, DIPSY!! ... forget everything I said>... lol

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Really? cottontails don't??? Does it say they make a shallow groove or something?

Otherwise, we've got mutant cottontails.

 

[texasgal]

Yeah, it says they make a small hollow in the ground ..

But to OP says her cottontail is digging tunnels all over ...

**shrug**

 

[bryan8]

I'm a big rabbit hunter so I know alot about cottentails. They don't dig there own holes they take them from other animals that moved out. They can dig a little but it can damage their paws so they don't. Are you shure it's a cottentail?

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Hi! Thanks!
The bunny here was a 'pet-store' bunny (looks like a Rex).
It spends lots of time in the garden and wanders all over during the day.
We have wild Cottontails that come in the garden too.
I caught her this morning and penned her while I checking the tunnel (and Bunny is a she).
Lol, the main tunnel is longer than my arm can reach and I can't see the end with a flashlight.
BUT, babies are a non-issue if they can't cross-breed --- yaay!

Lisa

 

[bryan8]

Another though could be that your rabbit got scared beacuse it was cornered so it groweled.