False Pregnancy

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Eve

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Hi everyone!

I think my bun Layla is having a false pregnancy. She has pulled lots of fur out and made a nest out of it and the hay in her cage. When she is out of her cage she has this mad look in her eyes, and is running around trying to find anything in my room she can add to her nest.

My male bun Rodney was neutered around 2 months before I got her, and she also had one month quarantineafter I gother so I would not thinkthere was any way she couldreally be pregnant. Also, during their bonding sessions, it has always been her humping him and never the other way around.

I think she is around 4 months of age (not sure as I didn't know her age when I got her), is this a common age for the start of false pregnancies?

I have read some previous threads about false pregnancy, but was just wondering if there was anything I should be doing to make her more comfortable during this time?

Thanks for taking the time to read this,

Eve :)


 
Her humping him is her way of showing dominance over him. It is normal for a 4 month old to have a false pregnancy. Don't worry and just give her some of her favorite treats. I would leave whatever nest she is making in her cage till she looks like she is done. If you take it out or clean the fur out, she will just pull more.

Sharon
 
We have a bunny that nests ALL of the time (Chippy).
Keep an eye on Layla for some of the symtoms that Carolyn outlined. One of the important things to watch is her eating....as a preggo doe will stop eating just before delivery. You don't want her going into GI stat

Carolyn wrote:
Side note, not to alarm but just a note: Even in false preganancies, rabbits can go through lactation and develop mastitis - an inflammation of the mammary glands.In addition to nest building and milk production, they can become extremely territorial, stressed,and aggressive, so watch out! Just keep an eye on her if she does continually have these false alarms. Symptoms would be fever, inflammation, going off feed, etc.

The false pregnancies are hormonal. The homones fool the rabbit's body by telling it it's pregnant.The actions of nest building have been known to someto last up to two weeks. It can be triggered by being mounted or an infertile breeding.

False pregnancies can be extremely stressful for the rabbit, and a decrease in appetite can lead to GI Stasis, so keep an eye on her appetite and stools. It's been described as being like a severe case of PMS. Spaying a rabbit can greatly decrease or eliminate these issues for the doe.


-Carolyn
 
Thank you very much for the great advice and information Starlight Rabbitry and JimD! I really appreaciate your help :)

Layla has made her nest in her litterbox, so I may have to distract her with some treats and clean the mess out of it. I will gently lift the nest part made of straw and fur out when I'm cleaning, and put it back the way she left it. I hope this doesn't cause stress for her, but I really can't let her lie inher mess.

And I will keep an eye out for any imflammation, if she isn't eating, and her stools. That was really helpful to know asI had no idea to watch out for those things. Luckily she is extremely easy to syringe feed, so if she stops eating I shouldn't have much trouble making sure she is taking in food.

Thank you again for all your help!

Eve
 
Silly Layla! Pepsi went through a false pregnancy (her GI tract went all funny, resulting in a bit of uncomfortable gas). Hopefully she'll go through this quick and easy!

Did you see her build the nest? I watched Pepsi and it was so cute to watch :)

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14kllqs_th.jpg

 
Hi Spring :)

Yep, I saw her buildthe nest, it was pretty funny. She had this crazy look on her face, and her eyes were all wild. She ran around my room frantically picking up any stray bits of hay and carrying them back to her cage.

How long did this behavoiur last with Pepsi? Thanks for the pictures, Pepsi looks so adorable carrying around that mouthful of hay.
 
Here's Chippy the first time she built a nest.....and she decided that her litter pan would make the best place, too!!
I gave her another pan and she figured it out pretty quick and now uses each one for it's appropriate purpose.

NESTING2.jpg

 
Let me find the thread.. just a second then I know for sure dates..

Alrighty. Well I found her building the nest on Saturday, then Sunday morningshe was still organizing it, but by Sunday afternoon she had forgotten all about it. Then she had her not eating for a week or so after that (gas related, not from the phantom pregnancy).
 

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