# Is she pregnant?



## wishin4horses (Aug 30, 2010)

I got our New Zealands as babies exactly 3 months ago and am assuming they were 6 weeks old then.  We brought them home without knowing anything about caring for bunnies and why we got a male AND female at first is beyond me but it's been a learning process everyday since.

I seperated them about a month after bringing them home.
I tried to keep them seperated but he is an escape artist and gotten out of his pen more than a few times in the last month.   Everytime I caught him out, I'd change my set up to keep him in but he keeps outsmarting me.   I finally gave up the idea of having an open playpen for him and now he's in a 4x8 pen with cover.  He's now trying to dig out from the bottom so now I know why people put them in a cage with wire on all sides.    
   Interesting to me that she has never gotten out and doesn't seem to try.

    I was told that he was too young to breed her so I was more worried about him running away and being in danger than getting her pregnant.   I picked her up yesterday and she has obvious nipples and is getting a bell under her chin.  
What are the for sure tell tale signs of pregnancy?  I read another forum about accidental pregnancy and the few replies just laughed and said put a nest box in early and good luck.   How do we prepare?  Remember, we're newbies and need specific instructions.

   We originally built her hutch 2ftx14in box with door so I can put her in or take her out and a hole on the side that allows her access to her 2ftx3ft cage.   We took the plywood floor out of her box because she seems to play and sleep in her cage and go in the box to do her business and that was messy and gross!  Now she has wire in both sections.   That will be cold very soon as it's getting down to 10celcius at night already.   

Please share your wisdom!!!
Thanks


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## johny2hats (Aug 31, 2010)

sounds like she is preg to me i think putting a net box in early is a good idear im a newby to but i think you are going to have kits 
  best of luck


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## Bunnylady (Aug 31, 2010)

wishin4horses said:
			
		

> I was told that he was too young to breed her so I was more worried about him running away and being in danger than getting her pregnant.   I picked her up yesterday and she has obvious nipples and is getting a bell under her chin.
> What are the for sure tell tale signs of pregnancy?


Well, I hate to tell you, but the only 100% for-sure sign of pregnancy is kits!

The thing under her chin is called a dewlap, and it has nothing to do with pregnancy at all. It is common in some breeds, and is associated with a certain amount of fleshiness and maturity of the animal (particularly in does). Rabbits don't get really big udders, so development there isn't really something to watch for. Most of the time, a doe's belly fur is so thick, you wouldn't see anything anyway. 

Some breeders are really good at palpating the doe, and being able to actually feel the kits inside her. I don't recommend this to a newbie, because there is a risk of injuring the kits or the doe.  Besides, if you don't know the probably breeding date, you don't know how far along she should be, so you wouldn't be sure what size the kits you are looking for should be. Most rabbits become fertile between 3-4 months of age, so (depending on timing) you might have a pregnant doe on your hands.

Every doe is different, it takes a bit of experience with that particular doe to know what her pattern is. A lot of first-time does are totally clueless, and make a complete mess of things, so they show no signs at all! 

Most does show a change in personality when they are pregnant. A typical doe will be reasonably friendly, or at least tolerant of handling, and will become a grumpy touch-me-not when pregnant. Some rabbits dig anyway, but a lot of caged does will dig in one corner of their cages, trying to make the burrow that they would normally construct for their kits to be born in. 

The normal gestation period for rabbits is 31 days, give or take a few. Some does that are carrying big litters may go as few as 28 days, most of my does run 32. At about 21 days, I begin giving them a handful of hay on the cage floor, and watch what they do with it. A lot of rabbits will play with their hay, but IME only pregnant does (or those that think they are pregnant) will pick up a big mouthful of hay and carry it to the chosen nest spot. A doe may pull fur during the day or so just prior to the litter's arrival, though a lot of does don't pull fur until after the kits are born. Of course, fur pulling is also a behavior seen in does that want to breed, so it isn't an absolutely sure sign of imminent delivery. 

Unless you happen to give the doe a nestbox _just_ before she kindles, she will probably dig in the nestbox , scattering the nesting material all over her cage. She may decide that the nest box is her resting spot, pooping and peeing in it and making it really disgusting. She may even deliberately move all the material to another corner. If she does, try putting the box there. Some does seem determined _not_ to use the box for a nest. I have gone so far as to line the whole cage with about 3" of hay, so that there will be insulation for the kits, wherever they wind up.

And now, to make you really tear your hair out, I will tell you that does can go through false pregnancies, go through all the motions, and produce nothing. Of course, it is better not to breed rabbits before they are at least 6 months old. For your (and your doe's) sake, I hope that it's a false alarm, and you won't really need this information for several more months. Good Luck!

Edited to add:


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## wishin4horses (Aug 31, 2010)

Thank you for your help.  I am so happy to have this site.

Can I ask one more question?
     I don't know what happened the first time they ended up in the same pen but she has had one lopped ear ever since.   It reminded me of the whale in captation - 'Free Willy'  
It has never straightened back up and I noticed today that she is tilting her whole head a bit on that side.    In fact, SHE just seems lop sided, period.   Does this sound at all familiar to you?  Of course it made me think of what I read about does carrying on one side.   
     I know, now I'm just paranoid about everything being a sign of something.     I was a basket case when I was pregnant for my own kids too.


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## RabbitMage (Aug 31, 2010)

wishin4horses said:
			
		

> Thank you for your help.  I am so happy to have this site.
> 
> Can I ask one more question?
> I don't know what happened the first time they ended up in the same pen but she has had one lopped ear ever since.   It reminded me of the whale in captation - 'Free Willy'
> ...


Actually, that's a sign of wry neck: http://www.barbibrownsbunnies.com/ecuniculi.htm and you'll want to check on that and jump on some treatment ASAP.


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