July 7, 2009

How to Tell If Your Rabbit is Pregnant

by Riche Goldmann

You may be breeding rabbits and need to know if the mating worked, or you may be an innocent rabbit owner whose rabbit ventured out recently. Either way, you probably want to know if your rabbit is pregnant. Rabbits do have quite the reputation for being quick baby makers, but on the other hand there is no need to jump to conclusions or to be worried over nothing. There are a few signs that you can look for if you are unfamiliar with the reproductive process of rabbits. If you are familiar however, these sign will seem very obvious to you.

Just like humans, rabbits that are pregnant will begin to make preparations for the babies that are on the way. She will begin to build a nest. She may begin to actually gather materials for the nest, including fur that she will pull from her own body. If your rabbit has never done this before then this may be a telling sign. However, be careful because some does will do this even when they are not pregnant, which is usually called a false pregnancy because they think that they are pregnant.

Also take some time to count the days. From mating to birth, baby rabbits take around thirty five days to gestate. If it has been around forty days since she had the opportunity to mate and if she is not showing any signs of nesting at all, this means that she is not pregnant. If you are trying to breed her, this would be the time to try again.

You may also notice a marked temperament difference in those who are getting ready to have kits. Some owners find that does that had been perfectly docile and friendly end up turning fairly temperamental and angry when touched or in any way bothered. Pay attention if she becomes especially sensitive about her belly, which can be a good sign that she is pregnant. You may also notice that she begins digging or chewing in strange places. Not only will she build nests with her own fur, she might pull threads from toys or clothing.

Another thing you can do is to gently touch your rabbits stomach. Pregnant rabbits usually have tiny jelly bean sized lumps in their stomachs which are the actual babies themselves. However, if you do not have experience with this sort of thing, then you may not want to try it. Touching the stomach and the lumps too hard could cause injury to any babies inside or could even kill them.

If you would like to be 100% sure that your rabbit is pregnant, though, you must go to the veterinarian and have an x-ray done of your rabbit. This way you and your rabbit will know for sure that she is pregnant and can begin to make plans for that time. This can make all the difference in your rabbit’s health, the babies’ health, and your mental health!

About the Author:

Riche Goldmann is a pet enthusiast and has several pets of his own including a german sheperd, a bichon frise, and a rabbit. He likes to teach his pets lots of tricks, but also likes to make sure that they are healthy and orders their petmeds from 1800PetMeds. They always give his pets what they need and PetMeds even offers the generic forms of most prescription drugs.