Pregnant Rabbit?

[FarmerBoy24]

Last week I bought a doe for my male rabbit at home. He was getting lonely and I knew he could use a girlfriend. They had many rabbits at the feed store but 1 doe around the same size (a little bigger) than my buck at home. When I picked her up she felt a little heavy, her nipples were popped out. I thought she was pregnant! so I took her home and put her in her new cage alone with a nest box. It's been a week and she hasn't gotten any bigger. So, I put her in my bucks cage this morning and they began to mate..... etc

Is she pregnant? Or just a big rabbit?

- I forgot to mention, she was in her own cage at the feedstore.

THANKS!!

 

[DKRabbitry]

Hmmm... Interesting scenario. She very well could have been pregnant from the store. When you bring a new rabbit home in the future, consider quarantine for at least 60 days (that is the timeframe I like to use anyways). That way, if she is ill it won't pass onto your other rabbits or if pregnant you will find out for sure before trying to breed her. Because you put her in with the buck so soon, you risk passing disease that hasn't shown itself or complicating the possible prgnancy. Rabbits have two uterine horns, and it is possible for them to get pregnant while they are already bred. This can cause them to abort underdeveloped babies when they kindle with the older litter. Either way, she is bred now so it is a great idea to keep her seperated from the buck and get ready for kits. I would keep a nestbox in with her since you have no idea when she might kindle if she was bred to begin with, just make sure to keep it clean in the event she uses it as a toilet.

 

[terri9630]

She may have just had babies pulled off of her.

 

[brentr]

If she was really receptive to the buck, the scenario Terri9630 poses makes sense. She may have recently been separated from a litter. If she wasn't really receptive to the buck, she could be still pregnant.

Since you just bred her, keep her separate for the next 35 days and see if any kits appear along the way. You might want to keep a nest box in with her (change it out regularly if she starts using as a litter box) just in case.

The passing of the 35 days is the only sure way to know that she is/isn't pregnant. At 35 days if there are no kits then you'll safely know that she wasn't pregnant, and didn't get pregnant from the breeding to your buck. And if she has kits at any point along the way, congratulations!

 

[FarmerBoy24]

Thanks guys

But could I leave her in with the buck till like the last week then separate her?

 

[DianeS]

Thanks guys

But could I leave her in with the buck till like the last week then separate her?

Not a good idea. If she was pregnant when you got her you have no way of knowing how far along she was - so she could give birth at any time. The "if she is willing to be mated then she isn't pregnant" thing is definitely NOt 100% accurate. You don't want her giving birth in the same cage as the male - males don't know how to behave around babies and could kill them by mistake.
Plus, being constantly harassed for breeding isn't good for a doe, especially a pregnant one.