Thought I had this rabbit thing figured out....HELP!!!

[amynbrent]

Thank you to all who have helped me over the past few months with my rabbit issues. We have the boy seperated now so no more babies...so I thought.

My two babies are just 8 weeks old. This weekend I was going to move them away from the mom and into their own cages since one is a boy and one is a girl. Several weeks ago I posted asking if young rabbits could actually re-produce that young. The answer was pretty much no. I have been catching the little boy going at it with the mom and the sister. Still thinking it was too young I didnt worry about. Today as I'm cleaning the cage I I found a nest of hair!!! Now I need to find out if its the mom or daughter. I wasnt 100% ready to move all of them, I'm still one hutch/cage short. If I leave the mom and daughter together will the one who is not the mom kill the babies. I'm at a loss what to do!!!

Thanks

 

[shadow rabbit10]

I don't think it's possible for a rabbit to reproduce that young. One of my rabbits failed to reproduce at 6 months old. The boy could be doing it for dominance. Are you sure it isn't a false pregnancy? I have a rabbit who is not pregnant and she made a hair nest. Sometimes, rabbits will make nests if they want babies, or think they are pregnant. Separate them as soon as possible, and see what happens. This is most likely a false pregnancy, or the rabbit just wants more babies.

 

[Bunnylady]

OK, I won't state absolutely and unequivocally that your doe isn't pregnant. Rabbits have some pretty amazing tricks in their reproductive repertoire that makes it possible, though unlikely. However!

While rabbits don't do a classic "heat cycle' like other animals do, they do experience hormonal peaks and valleys. A doe at her hormonal peak may pull fur (usually, this will be a doe that is entered in a show in the next week or two - effectively ruining her coat for the show, lol).

Your doe could just be signalling that she is ready to breed again.

Rabbits are what a known as "induced ovulators." A rabbit doe ripens eggs, but doesn't release them right away. They are held in readiness in the ovary, until a hormone released during the act of mating triggers the release of the eggs. A rabbit that gets mounted by another rabbit, whether a buck or even another doe, can experience a "false pregnancy." The doe that is experiencing a false pregnancy will refuse service from a buck, may be grumpy, etc, just as an honest-to-goodness pregnant doe would. Usually, the false pregnancy ends somewhere around day 21, but I have had a few does that went to day 31, made a nest, pulled fur, the whole bit, and produced nothing. Your doe could be experiencing a false pregnancy.

If the babies are 8 weeks old, and your doe actually is pregnant, that would mean that the kit sired a litter when he was only 4 weeks old. Sorry, not believing that for a minute. I do know that rabbits can breed through cage wire (which is why, when I have to house males and females side by side, I make sure they are the same breed) Rabbits can also do a trick called "delayed implantation," where the embryos don't implant right away. It might be possible for your doe to be pulling that trick, from a breeding with the buck from before you began housing them separately.

 

[amynbrent]

Thanks! I really didnt think about it being a false preg or that she is ready to breed again. I did know it meant her baby would have had to father them. Sick in the real world but didnt know about the animal world! I'm moving them ASAP anyway....no more babies!!!!!!

 

[shadow rabbit10]

Good choice! Hope you don't have anymore unwanted babies!