Pregnancy signs and questions

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jeanluc_pippen_merry

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I was going to ask a question in Shiloh's thread about easing baby bun separation when i read a reply but i didn't want to end up hijacking it so asking it here. My heart sank when i read that it's not unheard of for an 8 week old rabbit to get pregnant...

Merry is 2.5 months and Pippin who is almost 5 months is forever trying to hump her. No idea if he's actually been successful because she always runs whenever he tries to mount her rear, but allows him to hump her head. I was under the impression that does were not sexually mature until 4 months, at which point they need to be spayed, and males at 3 months at which point they need to be neutered. This is the reason i waited until now (well, this coming Monday) to get Pippin snipped. But after reading that i am now worried that he may have been successful and if so i am not prepared for it.

So my questions are...

1) Are there any earlier signs that she may be pregnant before the fur pulling and nest building?
2) Do bucks do anything to indicate that they know their doe is pregnant?
3) If it is found that she is indeed pregnant, what steps do i take in preparing for the litter? Is there anything special i need to do for them, or does the mum take care of them on her own?
4) Are there any kind of supplements or anything like that i need to give them at some point?
5) If there is anything else i should be asking, please let me know and an answer to the un-asked questions would be great too. >.<

Ok, i am freaking out here. I know it's only a possibility that she could be and might in fact not be pregnant, but i am totally unprepared for it and if she is then i have less than 30 days to get ready. And i am worried because Merry is only a baby. Is she going to be ok giving birth? She is so tiny. Well i will let the vet know my concerns on monday and maybe she can do an ultra-sound or something to be sure. I just want to be prepared in case it turns out that she is.

I :pray: that she gets the all clear and there are no little buns in the oven.:nerves1
 
Merry is too young to have children, and Pippen( I just got that name haha) may not be fertile, I don't know how many days he's been alive exactly. 5- 6 months for small breed does and 6 months for small breed bucks

You should seperate them .
 
I think she is too young to breed but he certainly is old enough to sire a litter.


 
I have had a doe get pregnant at 8 weeks old (born when she was 3 months old). Her sister had a litter a couple weeks later (the neighbors I had gotten my rabbit from didn't separate the kits as they got older). My neighbor's kids saw those kits within minutes of being born, so I was able to get them set up with a nestbox, but I think the kits still died because of all the chaos around having a litter in a cage of 6 rabbits with no nesting material.

It IS unlikely that she'll be pregnant, but it never hurts to be cautious. Since you don't know when she might have been bred, think back to the first time you saw them together like that, and call that the first potential bred date. Give her a nestbox--something sturdy just barely bigger than her (you don't want to encourage her to hang out in it; it should only be for having the kits in, and then nursing once a day)--on day 27, and leave it in there until she's been separated for 33 days. Because of the length of time, you might have to change out the straw (or whatever you use for nesting material, but straw is best). Just keep an eye on it to make sure she's not using it as a litter box. If she does, try moving the box to another corner of the cage.

Most rabbits will have their kits in the evening or overnight, so just check the box before you go to bed and when you get up in the morning.

As far as your questions go,
1) SOME does will show other signs: plumpness, change in behavior (some get more cowardly, others more aggressive), change in feed intake (although your girl should be on free feed anyway since she's still growing).
2) Bucks don't act any different around pregnant does vs. available does--generally they just want to reproduce, and don't assess anything other than gender.
3) If she does have the kits, she SHOULD take care of them herself, which just involves nursing them once a day. Your part will be to remove any dead kits (sometimes there are stillborns that the doe doesn't get rid of [some does will eat the stillborns..there's nothing wrong with that]), and check the kits to make sure they're getting food (they'll be round like pingpong balls just after nursing, but even at their thinnest they shouldn't look bony).
4) /IF/ they start to get skinny, or a kit dies from apparent starvation, you might have to bottle feed the kits using kitten milk replacement and/or goat's milk. Otherwise, they'll only need regular food (18% protein alfalfa-based pellets), which they should find in their mom's food dish after about 2 weeks old.
 
Thanks Hillrise, that's very helpful and i feel much better prepared after reading your reply. Though im still praying she's not an early sexually maturing bunny.:pray:
 

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