Pregnant or false pregnancy?

[lenavlp]

Hello there! I’m a new bunny mum! Almost one week before a friend of mine gifted me one female rabbit of his. Note that she is unspayed. We’re doing all well until 3 days ago, when she went into her cage (she roams freely in my house but I have her cage open to rest whenever she wants) and started digging in the corners, gathering hay with her mouth. The day after and all night she was pulling out fur from her belly and it was obvious that she was building a nest. I provided her a nest box and she transferred the nest inside. called my friend immediately and said to me that a couple of weeks before handing me the rabbit one of the male rabbits went in females’ hutch accidentally. He saw him breed with Muffin (my rabbit) but he interrupted them thinking that she couldn’t get pregnant.
The nestbuilding finished yesterday morning but no signs of babies yet. So here comes the question, is she pregnant or she thinks she is because of the unsuccessful breeding? Can a rabbit get pregnant if breeding is interrupted?
What I’m thinking is if they bred more before my friend noticed them. If so, she could be pregnant. How do I know? I’ve read in some sites that from the time she pulls fur she gives birth in a day. So I’m concerned because no signs of birth behavior yet.

 

[zuppa]

Hi, false pregnancies are also very common so it could be they usually start around day 17 and last a couple days they she should go back to normal. If it is true pregnancy they start nesting usually before day 31, sometimes little earlier so you just can wait a few days and see if there are babies or she 's back to normal in a few days.
There's no need to worry in both cases you gave her a nestbox and she will know what to do by nature they don't really need any assistance. If there are babies you'd need to check on them once a day preferably in the morning to make sure they are all alive, fed and warm. You need to provide good food for her so she can produce enough milk to feed them, you can gradually change her food to junior food which is alfalfa based and has higher level of protein 16% and calcium.

But for now just check her nest twice a day and give her more water and unlimited hay, if she is pregnant she can have poor appetite for pellets a couple days before kindling so don't worry about it.

 

[Apollo’s Slave]

It is possible that it's a false pregnancy, @Button had a similar situation recently, Prgnant bun?
Zuppa explained it all before I could get there

 

[lenavlp]

Hi, false pregnancies are also very common so it could be they usually start around day 17 and last a couple days they she should go back to normal. If it is true pregnancy they start nesting usually before day 31, sometimes little earlier so you just can wait a few days and see if there are babies or she 's back to normal in a few days.
There's no need to worry in both cases you gave her a nestbox and she will know what to do by nature they don't really need any assistance. If there are babies you'd need to check on them once a day preferably in the morning to make sure they are all alive, fed and warm. You need to provide good food for her so she can produce enough milk to feed them, you can gradually change her food to junior food which is alfalfa based and has higher level of protein 16% and calcium.

But for now just check her nest twice a day and give her more water and unlimited hay, if she is pregnant she can have poor appetite for pellets a couple days before kindling so don't worry about it.

Thanks for your advice! Truth is I was very anxious about her for both cases because I don’t know a lot about rabbit pregnancies. I’ve had one male years before who was neutered.
I’m checking her a lot of times a day. After she finished her nest yesterday she is quietly sitting next to it. She’s very interested in her veggies and hay but she doesn’t touches the pellets. She seems very calm compared to yesterday when she was frantically getting her nest ready, that’s why I thought the case of the false pregnancy. If it is false, is there anything I can do about her? Or she just stops the behavior and goes back to normal?

 

[zuppa]

She will just go back to normal, most likely.

Can you post some pics of her setup, nestbox etc? I would suggest to leave her be for now, cover her place with a blanket or maybe cardboard or something so she can have some privacy. Rabbits don't like being watched, especially when kindling and nursing so she would usually do it during the night or early morning when no one can see her. If she feels you are constantly watching her she will wait or can get stressed.

 

[lenavlp]

She will just go back to normal, most likely.

Can you post some pics of her setup, nestbox etc? I would suggest to leave her be for now, cover her place with a blanket or maybe cardboard or something so she can have some privacy. Rabbits don't like being watched, especially when kindling and nursing so she would usually do it during the night or early morning when no one can see her. If she feels you are constantly watching her she will wait or can get stressed.

This is her cage and inside of it I placed a cardboard box for the nest. She’s spending most of her day lying next to the cage or inside of it. I’ve covered the cage with some cardboard and newspapers so that she feels safe and protected. I’ve checked nest twice today but still nothing.

 

[Preitler]

Just wait it out and keep checking on her. There isn't much else to do either way.