my Rabbit is being cranky and won’t let me touch her belly

[Moon&pumpkinCottontails]

Hi this is my first time posting things, not sure what to do or say,
however, I have 1 buck about 4 months old and 1 doe who is 9 months old, they are both unneutered and get along really well, they don’t fight, and he doesn’t annoy her, we’ve only witnessed him trying to mount her a handful of times and stop it each time, he’s never successfully mated as far as we can tell, however mooncake( doe) has recently been a bitchy mess hah, she grunts and runs away from me, she emptied her litter tray and had made a nest, it has been 4 days before we made a nest box to put in with her this morning and trying to get her to use it, she has been pulling out her fur and gathering all bits of hay and constantly digging in the box, like I said she’s been grumpy, we think it may be a false pregnancy, but we’re not sure because of how she’s been acting, she’s had 2 previous false pregnancies, but either have been like this one, ( i‘m not sure when they could have mated as they’re seperated at night time and are always supervised, they’re indoor bunnies too) mooncake wont let me go near her, and I haven’t been able to palpate her as there have been no previous symptoms exept a little cranky, and also she won’t let me near her belly, let alone for pats, when usually she’s more than up for cuddles and runs around the house, I’m hoping to take her to the vet early next week if she hasn’t calmed down, I just wanted to get some advise on this because from what I’ve previously seen it is a really nice and helpful forum
thanks

 

[Gelly]

Why not get them spayed and neutered if you’re not breeding them? May be easier for you and the bunnies. I don’t know much about bunny mating but I’m sure it’s pretty frustrating for them when they’re trying to mate and you pull them off each other lol

 

[Moon&pumpkinCottontails]

We want to breed them, but in a little while, but because they're hardly on eachother their relationship is fine, and it's only when we see mooncake getting the shits with Percy(buck) on her that we remove him. And apart from that, they're usually only cuddling or doing their own thing

 

[Mac189]

I would certainly not let them be together, even for a moment when you are watching. Mating can happen so fast and so covertly it'd make your head spin.

 

[Moon&pumpkinCottontails]

Thanks

 

[Stourmy]

Nest making and fur pulling are the usual signs of imminent kindling.

 

[Oceanie]

No offense, but could you not swear? Something I like about this forum is that as far as I know, no-one swears or is inappropriate. In my religion, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, swearing is against our standards, and I just don't feel comfortable when people swear. It would just make the forum more friendly and welcoming in my opinion if people didn't cuss.

 

[zuppa]

Hi this is my first time posting things, not sure what to do or say,
however, I have 1 buck about 4 months old and 1 doe who is 9 months old, they are both unneutered and get along really well, they don’t fight, and he doesn’t annoy her, we’ve only witnessed him trying to mount her a handful of times and stop it each time, he’s never successfully mated as far as we can tell, however mooncake( doe) has recently been a bitchy mess hah, she grunts and runs away from me, she emptied her litter tray and had made a nest, it has been 4 days before we made a nest box to put in with her this morning and trying to get her to use it, she has been pulling out her fur and gathering all bits of hay and constantly digging in the box, like I said she’s been grumpy, we think it may be a false pregnancy, but we’re not sure because of how she’s been acting, she’s had 2 previous false pregnancies, but either have been like this one, ( i‘m not sure when they could have mated as they’re seperated at night time and are always supervised, they’re indoor bunnies too) mooncake wont let me go near her, and I haven’t been able to palpate her as there have been no previous symptoms exept a little cranky, and also she won’t let me near her belly, let alone for pats, when usually she’s more than up for cuddles and runs around the house, I’m hoping to take her to the vet early next week if she hasn’t calmed down, I just wanted to get some advise on this because from what I’ve previously seen it is a really nice and helpful forum
thanks

Hi, as above, they can do it in a broad daylight and can do it really quickly, literally takes seconds, so it is quite possible that she is pregnant this time. Fake pregnancies are not completely harmless as well, she can get very stressed and stress can cause many illnesses, so it is not advisable keeping intact male with intact female all the time. Even breeders keep males separately, only put them together for 10 mins for breeding a few times a year, max 3-4 litters per year if you want to keep your female and her babies healthy. When a female gets pregnant she becomes aggressive towards a male and can harm him can even damage his genitalia, and when she has her babies male can harm them, also after kindling (giving birth) rabbits become extremely horny and if your male is still around it is very likely that she can get pregnant same day after giving birth, this would be pretty bad situation because she will need to nurse her babies for 8 weeks from birth so will need to produce enough milk to feed them and if she's pregnant same time it means that she is building new skeletons inside of her and she needs high protein and calcium and phosphorus in her diet, or she will be taking calcium from her own bones, this can e dangerous for her own health. Also gestation period is only 31 day so she will have second litter when her first babies still need her milk for another month, she won't be able to feed them anymore since new babies will be more vulnerable and she will need milk for them first, so you will have to wean older babies earlier, so they will grow weaker and their immune system will be weaker. Her second litter can be born with defects, so this is potentially pretty messy situation. I would recommend separating them now and if your intentions are breeding please do some research before that and take care of your rabbits.

There's breeders forum and your thread should be moved there by moderators I believe since we are generally pet owner community, not breeders.
All breeding discussions go there >> The Rabbitry and Show Room