How to Tell If Your Rabbit is Pregnant

by Riche Goldmann

Whether you are a new rabbit breeder or a rabbit owner whose rabbits has recently gone out for an un-chaperoned stroll, you may be wondering whether or not your rabbit is pregnant. Rabbits do carry quite the reputation for being professional maters, but there may be no need to worry, so why do it. Look for a few easy sign and the worrying will be left to the birds. For most professional breeders or people knowledgeable about the reproductive cycle of rabbits, then these sign may seem quite obvious. But for regular folks, here is what you absolutely need to know.

Just like humans, rabbits that are pregnant will begin to make preparations for the babies that are on the way. She will begin to build a nest. She may begin to actually gather materials for the nest, including fur that she will pull from her own body. If your rabbit has never done this before then this may be a telling sign. However, be careful because some does will do this even when they are not pregnant, which is usually called a false pregnancy because they think that they are pregnant.

Moreover, you must begin the practice of counting. For the time of conception to the point of birth, rabbits will be pregnant for around thirty five days. Therefore, if it has been more than thirty five days since the assumed time of conception and your rabbit hasn’t even begun nesting, then she probably is not pregnant. Consequently, if you were trying to breed, then you may want to try again because it didn’t take.

You may also notice a marked temperament difference in those who are getting ready to have kits. Some owners find that does that had been perfectly docile and friendly end up turning fairly temperamental and angry when touched or in any way bothered. Pay attention if she becomes especially sensitive about her belly, which can be a good sign that she is pregnant. You may also notice that she begins digging or chewing in strange places. Not only will she build nests with her own fur, she might pull threads from toys or clothing.

Another thing you can do is to gently touch your rabbits stomach. Pregnant rabbits usually have tiny jelly bean sized lumps in their stomachs which are the actual babies themselves. However, if you do not have experience with this sort of thing, then you may not want to try it. Touching the stomach and the lumps too hard could cause injury to any babies inside or could even kill them.

Finally, proof positive about whether your rabbit is pregnant or not can come in the form of an x-ray from the vet. An x-ray will tell you for sure if your doe is going to have kits. Take some time and make sure that you recognize the signs of pregnancy in your rabbit. This can make all the difference when you want to look after your rabbit’s health.

About the Author:
Riche Goldmann is a pet lover and has several pets of his own including a german sheperd, a bichon frise, and a rabbit. He likes to teach his pets lots of tricks, but also likes to make sure that they are healthy and orders their petmeds from 1800PetMeds. They always give his pets what they need and PetMeds even offers the generic forms of most prescription drugs.
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