Possibly pregnant rabbit and biting

[CharlieRae]

We adopted a new rabbit about 3 weeks ago. She is about a year and a half. The 1st week we had her she was a little gem! Sweet and snuggley. The last 2 weeks she is biting the crap out of every living thing in my house! The dogs, the humans, she even tried to get the cat. I also think she is pregnant. Would pregnancy lead to the nasty behavior? I asked the previous owner if she was ever with any male rabbits and she said no, but I am confident she is pregnant. I palpated her, and I'm not a pro, but I think I felt little balls. I haven't done it again this week because she is such a little brat. ha. How do I get her to be nice?!

 

[JBun]

Definitely! I got a new girl bun and she ended up being pregnant. She was a grumpy little thing and would box and grunt at me. After she had her babies, she was the sweetest little bun, and continued to be that way following her babies growing up and being weaned from her. So it was all the pregnancy hormones making her that way. So basically you just have to wait another 7-10 days for your bun to have those babies, and hopefully she will go right back to being a sweet bunny again. Though for some rabbits they can also be protective while nursing, so you might have to wait til the babies are grown and weaned for your bun to go back to normal. One caution with palpating, there is a risk of injuring the babies while doing it, so best to avoid doing it unless you have experience.

 

[CharlieRae]

Definitely! I got a new girl bun and she ended up being pregnant. She was a grumpy little thing and would box and grunt at me. After she had her babies, she was the sweetest little bun, and continued to be that way following her babies growing up and being weaned from her. So it was all the pregnancy hormones making her that way. So basically you just have to wait another 7-10 days for your bun to have those babies, and hopefully she will go right back to being a sweet bunny again. Though for some rabbits they can also be protective while nursing, so you might have to wait til the babies are grown and weaned for your bun to go back to normal. One caution with palpating, there is a risk of injuring the babies while doing it, so best to avoid doing it unless you have experience.

I have been very very careful. I know it can injure the babies and that is the last thing I want.
Should I move her cage to a more secluded area while she kindles? She has a wire cage with a plastic bottom, no 'private space' in it. (I have a nest box I will give her in a couple days) We have an active house and I don't want her to be stressed. (Although she doesn't seem scared or stressed now) She is currently in our living room with floor time when we are home. I've never bred an indoor rabbit, only the outdoor buns in hutches. haha.

 

[JBun]

I would just keep her where she is used to being. Moving her somewhere she isn't used to is more likely to stress her then leaving her in a familiar place, even if it is a more active area. Though I would continue to monitor her behavior, and if she seemed to need a quieter area I wouldn't hesitate to move her and see if it helped or not.

At about 27 days, I would put a nest box in, and make sure she has tons of soft good quality grass hay to build her nest. If you aren't sure of an exact day, I would at least make sure she has lots of hay now, then if she starts to build a nest before you get a nestbox in there, you can always transfer the nest into the nestbox. If the nestbox doesn't have a shelf to it, when the babies are about 2 weeks and starting to come out of the nest, I would suggest making sure she has a shelf, litter box, or box she can get on or into to get away from the babies, so they aren't pestering her constantly to nurse. You may know all of this already, but just providing the info in case you need it.

This link has good info on unexpected litters that might be helpful.
https://flashsplace.webs.com/accidentallitters.htm

 

[CharlieRae]

Thank you!