# Do rabbits pull out their hair in winter to keep warm?



## Fuchsia (Nov 24, 2020)

Hello, so I have two Holland Lops and one is pulling out her hair and make a bed out of it. Is this normal? Is she doing this to keep warm in winter? Thanks, Anna


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## promiseacres (Nov 24, 2020)

Probably not, was she bred or with a male? They can have false pregnancies and pull hair but  I would be giving her a nest box and checking daily for kits.


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## Bunnylady (Nov 24, 2020)

The only 'normal' reason for a rabbit to make a nest at all is because her hormones are telling her she's about to have babies to put in it. The hormones can be wrong; as @promiseacres said, rabbits can experience false pregnancies. Some rabbit does may pull a little bit of fur when they hit the peak of their hormonal cycle and are at the absolute best time to breed, but to answer your question, no, rabbits do not make a nest to keep themselves warm in, fur keeps them warmest when it's still attached to their bodies.


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## messybun (Nov 24, 2020)

I agree with what’s already been said. If she’s pulling from her belly she is either preggers or thinks she is. If the other rabbit is a male he will harm the babies so you might separate them for a few days if you can.


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## Bunnylady (Nov 24, 2020)

messybun said:


> If the other rabbit is a male he will harm the babies



I have sometimes put rabbits together in colony-type arrangements, and occasionally lost track and still had the rabbits together when the babies started arriving. I have _never_ seen a buck show any interest in the babies at all, either positive or negative. What I _have_ seen, is the buck relentlessly pursuing the newly-kindled doe, and the doe running around, jumping in and out of the box, scattering and stepping on the babies herself. What I've _also_ seen, is does kindling another litter exactly 31 days later, which isn't a good situation either for her or her kits. So though I have my doubts about whether the buck himself is actually a danger to the kits, I agree, you want to get him out well before the doe's due date.


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## messybun (Nov 24, 2020)

Bunnylady said:


> I have sometimes put rabbits together in colony-type arrangements, and occasionally lost track and still had the rabbits together when the babies started arriving. I have _never_ seen a buck show any interest in the babies at all, either positive or negative. What I _have_ seen, is the buck relentlessly pursuing the newly-kindled doe, and the doe running around, jumping in and out of the box, scattering and stepping on the babies herself. What I've _also_ seen, is does kindling another litter exactly 31 days later, which isn't a good situation either for her or her kits. So though I have my doubts about whether the buck himself is actually a danger to the kits, I agree, you want to get him out well before the doe's due date.


That’s very interesting!


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## Fuchsia (Nov 24, 2020)

Well she is not with the male we have, BUT she has been with him before. (not trying to breed her)

She is also taking hay and making a nest with the hay and her fur. 

Is there any other ways to tell if she is pregnant?


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## Fuchsia (Nov 24, 2020)

Also I don't know if she is even old enough?


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## messybun (Nov 24, 2020)

Definitely give her a nesting box and whatever supplies she wants. Rabbits have been known to have kits as early as three months; I nicknamed one of mine Mary because of her impossible babies🤣


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## promiseacres (Nov 24, 2020)

an experienced breeder can palapate at 10-14 days.  or feel them but it's not easy and at this point when she's nesting I'd not try it. a rabbit's gestation is 31 days so if she was with him a little less than that you're on schedule to having kits


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## Fuchsia (Nov 24, 2020)

promiseacres said:


> an experienced breeder can palapate at 10-14 days.  or feel them but it's not easy and at this point when she's nesting I'd not try it. a rabbit's gestation is 31 days so if she was with him a little less than that you're on schedule to having kits


O wow! She might have been with him in that time! This would be her first kits if she has any.


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## Niele da Kine (Nov 27, 2020)

Are they there yet?  Usually a doe will make a nest just a few days before she has kits.  I give them a nest box four days in advance and they'll usually start building a nest within a day or two.

Holland Lops are a small breed, so they will mature faster than large rabbits and she could have a litter at a younger age.  Give her a nest box, a 10" x 12" box or slightly larger would work.  I'm just guessing on that, though, since we have larger English angora bunnies.  A box that size would be slightly too small for them, but should be big enough for a Holland.  Something she can jump into but with enough of a lip on it that the babies will stay inside.  Feed her as much as she wants until the babies are weaned and feed them as much as they want until they're about four months old.  Six months for larger breeds.


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## Fuchsia (Nov 28, 2020)

Niele da Kine said:


> Are they there yet?  Usually a doe will make a nest just a few days before she has kits.  I give them a nest box four days in advance and they'll usually start building a nest within a day or two.
> 
> Holland Lops are a small breed, so they will mature faster than large rabbits and she could have a litter at a younger age.  Give her a nest box, a 10" x 12" box or slightly larger would work.  I'm just guessing on that, though, since we have larger English angora bunnies.  A box that size would be slightly too small for them, but should be big enough for a Holland.  Something she can jump into but with enough of a lip on it that the babies will stay inside.  Feed her as much as she wants until the babies are weaned and feed them as much as they want until they're about four months old.  Six months for larger breeds.


Thank you!

Well she hasn't had any babies. We found the nest five days ago, so if she was going to have babies I would think she would have already had them.


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## Fuchsia (Nov 29, 2020)

What age can you breed Holland Lops?


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## Bunnylady (Nov 29, 2020)

It is usually recommended that you wait until the animal is 6 months old before breeding, but they hit puberty at about 12 weeks of age, so people sometimes get surprised by 4 or 5 month old does giving birth to unexpected litters.


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## Nao57 (Nov 30, 2020)

I'd heard of people on this form mention that some will build nests as early as day 21 instead of at day 28.

Is that why she doesn't have babies yet but is pulling hair?

I get that pulling hair is nesting behavior, but as its related to the topic, I wanted to ask also if its possible that some of them have 'brain malfunctions' and pull hair for no reason? Does this ever happen?


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## Bunnylady (Nov 30, 2020)

Nao57 said:


> I wanted to ask also if its possible that some of them have 'brain malfunctions' and pull hair for no reason?



Not for no reason; there's always a reason, it's just that you or I might not know what it is. I've had does pull fur when they were at a hormonal peak - some folks will tell you that's a doe saying she wants to be bred. It's a well-known way rabbits drive us crazy . . . I remember a friend saying that she needed to decide which rabbits she was taking to a big competition, so the does would know to start pulling fur. I can't help but wonder how many does' show careers have been cut short because they just kept pulling themselves ragged.  

One of my very first rabbits was a mixed-breed buck that ate his own fur. I tried everything I could think of to get him to stop (salt blocks, toys, etc), but what finally did it was feeding him a high-protein feed. People will tell you that pet rabbits don't need all that much in the way of protein, but this one did; if I fed him less than an 18% pellet, he chewed his hair off.


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## Fuchsia (Nov 30, 2020)

So it was almost a week ago she started making the nest, do you think she's be pregnant? Or Crazy?


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## Larsen Poultry Ranch (Dec 2, 2020)

How long has it been now, since she was in proximity to the buck? If it's over 35-40 days, she's probably not pregnant and is hormonal or experiencing false pregnancy. If it's still less than 35-40 days, she could be pregnant. 

Or she's just doing this to drive you nuts.


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## Fuchsia (Dec 2, 2020)

Larsen Poultry Ranch said:


> How long has it been now, since she was in proximity to the buck? If it's over 35-40 days, she's probably not pregnant and is hormonal or experiencing false pregnancy. If it's still less than 35-40 days, she could be pregnant.
> 
> Or she's just doing this to drive you nuts.


I don't know when she was the with the buck, we weren't trying to breed her so I don't remember the date or anything.


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## Larsen Poultry Ranch (Dec 2, 2020)

Fuchsia said:


> I don't know when she was the with the buck, we weren't trying to breed her so I don't remember the date or anything.


Ok, but what date was she moved to be by herself, no contact with the buck? Use that date.


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## Fuchsia (Dec 3, 2020)

Larsen Poultry Ranch said:


> Ok, but what date was she moved to be by herself, no contact with the buck? Use that date.


She has always been by herself, but she has escaped a few times and went with the buck, and we don't know when that was though.  We didn't think she would be pregnant because it was only for like less than a minute she was with him.


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## Jesusfreak101 (Dec 3, 2020)

i have a doe that makes a nest up to two weeks before she gives birth something to keep in mind.


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## Ridgetop (Dec 3, 2020)

As long as she s not peeing or -pooping in the nest box, you can leave it in until December 8.  That would be 2 weeks after your first post.  If she is regnant she will probably kindle by then.  Otherwise, figure she had a false pregnancy.  No rush to remove the nest box as long as she isn't using it as a toilet.

As far as only being with the buck for a few minutes, that is all the time it takes for the back to mount a receptive doe and breed.  If you are not used to breeding rabbits you might mistake it for play behavior.


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## Fuchsia (Dec 4, 2020)

Ridgetop said:


> As long as she s not peeing or -pooping in the nest box, you can leave it in until December 8.  That would be 2 weeks after your first post.  If she is regnant she will probably kindle by then.  Otherwise, figure she had a false pregnancy.  No rush to remove the nest box as long as she isn't using it as a toilet.
> 
> As far as only being with the buck for a few minutes, that is all the time it takes for the back to mount a receptive doe and breed.  If you are not used to breeding rabbits you might mistake it for play behavior.


He has gotten on her a few times, but I don't know how long ago that was.

If she does give birth what do we do for the babies in the cold?

Sorry for all the questions and stuff, this is our first year with rabbits.


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## Larsen Poultry Ranch (Dec 4, 2020)

If they have a nest box, bedding material (I just use the same hay I give them to eat as the babies usually end up nibbling it later), and mom's fur then the babies will have all they need to keep warm.


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## Jesusfreak101 (Dec 5, 2020)

Since its her first time dont be to surprised if she lose several. Sometimes they get it right the first time and other times they dont. I had a doe who lost her first litter but she did great on all the others and I have a doe who rocked ever litter so it just depends on the doe. And as long as she pulls enough fur they should be fine. She will only feed twice a day so be aware of that as long as they have fat bellies we all good.


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## Ridgetop (Dec 8, 2020)

Are the rabbits housed inside or outside?  What are your temperatures?  

Did you put a nest box inside the cage?  It should have straw in it and she will pull hair from her belly to line it with.  The babies will stay warm inside the nest with her hair over them.  Of there are no babes yet, you can take out the hair she has pulled, add more straw, then put the hair back in the box.  

If the cages are inside, the straw and hair should keep the babies warm enough in the nest box.

If it is very cold and the cages are not exposed to rain you can put a heat lamp to shine on the nest box for additional warmth.  I use a  clamp on construction light with an aluminum bowl cover and a standard 100 watt bulb.  I just lay the light bowl cover on the cage with the bulb facing down over the top of the nest.  I check it frequently to make sure the nest does not get too hot.  

If the cages are hung outside and exposed, you can put tarps around them to cut down on wind and rain blowing into the cage.  This also helps the rabbit's body heat keep the enclosed cage warmer.  

Rabbits are more sensitive to heat than to cold.  They can survive very cold temperatures, but not very hot ones, and do not like wind or rain blowing in on them.

Rabbits will kindle (give birth) in he nest box.  However, if your rabbit does not and you can get to the kits before they die of exposure, you can collect them, warm them on a hot water bottle, and once they are warmed up replace them in the nest and the mother will take care of them.   

Rabbits do *not *gather their babies into a nest like dogs and cats to keep them warm.  Any bunnies not born in the nest (or placed there by you) will die of exposure "on the wire".  

Rabbits do *not* stay in the nest with their babies or nurse them during the day.  Do not worry if your rabbit seems to have abandoned her nest.  She will return to feed her babies during the night.   

This is how wild rabbits protect their young.  They stay away from the nest area during the day, to avoid attracting predators.  They only return at night to check the young and feed them.  Wild rabbits abandon the nest and their young at around 1 month old.  The doe has usually rebred and will produce another litter almost immediately after abandoning the nest of month old kits.


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