How To Care For Pregnant Rabbits

Hi. My name's Marie, and I'm the deputy manager of the small animal department at Wood Green Animal Shelters, and I'm going to advise you how to care for a pregnant rabbit. Pregnant rabbits are pregnant for around thirty to thirty-three days.

During this time, they can be a little bit on the grumpy side, so be cautious with them. They also really demand a really big variety of foods, so really fill up their accommodation with lots and lots of hay and all sorts of different types of grasses and encourage them to be out in the run feeding. They will demand a fair amount of attention from you.

Some rabbits really don't want to be near you; others want to have lots of fuss made of them during this period. But towards the last few days, they can become a little bit dominant, and a little bit wary of you, and try and sort of shush you away from their area. Rabbits will build a nest, and they'll choose an area where this is going to be.

It's really, really important that the rabbits have a hutch and a run joined together at all times. Rabbits naturally do not like predators to be aware of where their babies are, and you are a predator to them. So they need to feel safe and comfortable to them, otherwise they can feel very distressed and may even harm the babies.

The best option is to have a hutch and a run joined together and then they'll choose to litter down within the hutch and they can be away from the babies in the run and therefore, not draw any attention to them. What they tend to do is strip away quite a lot of fur underneath them, and this will line the nest. So don't be alarmed if you feel that they've lost quite a lot of hair underneath during this period.

They are also likely to do this during what's called phantom pregnancies, so if they're not pregnant, they may also still build a nest. This is another reason why it's really important to neuter rabbits, to prevent this from happening, because it is quite a stressful thing for them. During the time, and whilst the baby's in their nest, they will come up to you for fuss and they will want a lot of food, so really keep filling them up with this.

The babies will emerge from the nest at about three weeks to four weeks, but again, the mum will still be fairly protective of them. Make sure that your hutch and your run is really secure, and no predators can get in there, and also, it is vital that the male is removed from the female's accommodation several days prior to her giving birth even, not straight way. A female can become pregnant hours within giving birth, so please do make sure that they are separate, because there are thousands and thousands of rabbits in rescue shelters. .