Bunny fur in the cage?

by Tammy
(Texas)

Hi, this is Tammy from Texas again. Ok, we found a beautiful female Himalayan rabbit about two weeks ago. People in her neighborhood say she was hopping around for a week or two prior but would not let anyone pick her up until she hopped up to me. No one claimed her from the posting at the animal shelter. We bought her an indoor rabbit hutch and have her nicely set up in our sunroom. This afternoon I went to clean out her bottom tray and she has pulled a bit of fur out. Could she possibly be pregnant? This is an indoor hutch...will she have enough room? What size nesting box would she need? I am definitely out of my element now. Thank you.


****Karen Sez****
Yep, pulling fur is definitely an indication of pregnancy. But, does experiencing a FALSE pregnancy also pull fur.

What to do: Since you don't have any idea if or when she was bred, you might assume for now that she might be pregnant. If so, she'll need larger living quarters and a nest box...

Is she a Himalayan the breed (3-4 pounds) or himalayan-marked (more like 10 pounds)? The smaller rabbit will do fine with a 30"x24" cage or living space, and the larger rabbit could use a cage that is 36"x30" in size, in order to raise her kits. Since it's indoors, you might could put heavy plastic down, and use something like plywood to fence off a corner of the room for her to live in for now (as long as there are no pets that might harm her or the kits).

She'll need a nest box that is only a little bit bigger than she is: 8-10" wide, 6" high, and 16-20" long - those are roughly the dimensions of most rabbit nest boxes. (The commercial ones are actually 10" deep at the back and 6" deep in front.) You can use a 6" deep plastic dishpan for now - but it'll need to be secured in one spot so the doe can't flip it over. Prepare it according to the directions at our Rabbit Nest Box page.

After that, it's a waiting game. No telling when she could kindle. But, if no babies in 2-3 more weeks, then it was a false alarm...

Good luck, and enjoy your new rabbit,
K

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Nov 26, 2011
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by: Becca

Oh absolutely she COULD be bred but like said previously, could be a false pregnancy. My purposely bred does have been playing those games for the last few years with me...grrrr

I don't know anything about rabbits but you can also just get the plastic containers at the dollar store that are slightly bigger than her to use as a nestbox but I would not dilly dally.

My does tend to pull hair HOURs before kindling, not days. So MOVE !! LOL Meanwhile put a bunch of hay in the cage until you can find or provide an adequate nestbox. It's better than having babies on the wire to freeze. You can always move the nest into the box.

I don't know anything about the Himalayans... but my French Angoras run around 8 - 10 lbs and my cages are 24 x 36 and 18" high. I'm hoping to get all mine in cages that size but I've had just as much success with a 24 x 24 cage.

Above all DON'T PANIC. She will do it herself... all babies should come within about half hour of each other and she will only feed twice a day.

DON'T PANIC. Have a cup of tea and enjoy. If she has babies.. clean all the garbage out of the box, check for dead babies and put the box back in. She will not abandon them as so many people think and the babies will be sweeter for your attention.

Let the doe smell your hand (watch for the typical "mother mode") and if she seems protective give her a sprig of herbs or a piece of apple to take her mind off you taking her nestbox out.

ENJOY, RELAX and keep us posted. :) I'm sure no expert but I do have fun with my litters when I am blessed with them.

Becca

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