Pregnant rabbits

Because this is a wiki dedicated to general pet rabbit care, we believe all pet rabbits should be spayed and neutered and not given the opportunity to make more babies. With the amount of rabbits available for adoption in local shelters and rabbit rescues, we do not encourage the casual breeding of rabbits without obtaining the healthiest of stock available from reputable breeders as well as a responsible plan for the babies that does not encourage dumping intact unwanted rabbits in the streets or in the shelters. See Breeding for more details.

However, in the event of an accidental pregnancy because you placed two intact rabbits together of the opposite sex out of ignorance or on accident, we will provide the following helpful information to deal with the situation.

Detecting a Pregnancy
Fetal palpation is possible from 10-14 days. Pregnancies can be detected radiologically at 11 days.

If your rabbit is nesting and has pulled out fur, expect babies within the next week unless it is a false pregnancy.

The links below contain more information about how to detect a rabbit pregnancy.


 * Pet Rabbits, How to Care for Pregnant and Baby Rabbits

The following pages are from rabbit breeding sites. Please do not take this referral as condoning rabbit breeding for the common house rabbit owner. We provide these links purely for information.
 * Raising-Rabbits.com, 5 Clues to the Pregnant Rabbit
 * Rabbit Breeding for Beginners, Gestation and Birth > Telling if She's Pregnant
 * ARBA, Charlcie Gill, The Art of Palpation

Discovering a pregnancy
If you have discovered that one of your intact female rabbits has become pregnant, please consider giving the doe an emergency spay to terminate the pregnancy. A pregnancy detected after 2.5 weeks is probably too far along for an emergency spay without harming the mother, but talk to your local rabbit-savvy veterinarian to get a professional opinion. There are enough unwanted pet rabbits in shelters all over the world, and there is no need to bring more into life without the firm knowledge there will be loving permanent homes for every single one of them until the end of their natural lifespan.

Taking Care of a Pregnant Rabbit and Her Litter
Dandelion greens, dill, and borage are believed to help a doe produce more milk for a large litter.

Necessary Supplies
Nestbox. The nestbox should be about 12x14 inches, and the bottom should have a couple of drain holes. The sides can be about 8 inches high, but the front should be no more than 4 inches where the mother rabbit will enter and exit. A cardboard box may do temporarily but will get soggy and need to be replaced.

Bedding. Line the nestbox with a 3-inch layer of clean hay, straw, or shredded paper.

Fur-lined hollow. Make a small bowl-shaped hollow in the middle of the bedding in the nestbox and fill it with fur from the mother rabbit. If she has not pulled any out herself, either try gently pulling it out of her dewlap or clipping some off.

Babies. Place the babies in the hollow you made. They will burrow to the bottom and remain there until the mother rabbit stands over them to nurse.