My eco solution to rat problems

[Becky 22]

This may sound irresponsible, but I accidently let two rabbits meet in the garden and mate.

(You see - one of them, the female, had escaped from her hutch at some point in the night. She's a huge Rex Otter, but it was still a miracle that she survived the night with so many cats and foxes out. I didn't realise she had escaped when I let another ''female'' out in the garden for her morning 10 minute run before school. I honestly had no idea that this was a male, who met the female, grunted, sniffed, wandered about, and then eventually they mated. They travelled for a while, mated again, and again. Only when they had finished did I pick up the male, a Dutch, and carry him back to the hutch.)

The female was having a false pregnancy, and had already made her nest and pulled out fur, etc, and had been doing so for some time. She used to live with her mother and father, her father being neutered, but her parents were brother and sister. All 8 of my rabbits are resuced, and this breeding did not occur when I owned them, but before, with previous owners. The Dutch was originally from a pet shop, and the Rex Otter was from a breeder.

The girl is a year old - have her pelvic bones fused, like in guinea pigs?

She spends all her time in the bedroom/nest, eats lots, drinks lots, is sleepy, but grumpy and vicious.

Is she pregnant?

 

Also - what will the babies look like? Will they be OK? The mum, Dinah, is twice the size of the Dad!

 

Here are some pictures, has anyone ever heard of this combination before?

http://www.freewebs.com/gerbilgirl22/apps/photos/photo?photoid=72798612

http://www.freewebs.com/gerbilgirl22/apps/photos/photo?photoid=49333754

 

What do I need to feed her if she IS pregnant?

 

Thank you!!!

Becky.

[victoriabunny]

If the boy is definitely a boy (are you absolutely sure? Females do mount each other to show dominance. Does he have obvious testicles?), then I would say the odds are very high she's pregnant if they mated. You'll know in a month or so...don't worry, rabbits are usually OK. Feed her normal diet, but don't restrict her pellets - give her as many as she wants to eat. When she delivers, she should make a nest for the babies - if she doesn't, you will need to pluck some fur and make one for her. If any babies fall out of the nest they will chill and die, so you must check at least twice daily and put them back if they fall out (it's a myth that you can't handle them - it won't make her any more likely to eat them. She will do this anyway if she's going to, sadly. You should handle them daily and check they're growing properly). You will find she is quite a neglectful mother - she will suckle them only once or twice a day, usually at night, and the rest of the time will generally leave them alone. This is normal and nothing to worry about - in the wild it helps them survive as it means predators are not drawn to the nest by the presence of the mother. So let her out for a graze if that's what she normally does. Whatever you do, don't let her mix with any males from now on as she can get pregnant within 24 hours of giving birth! Once the babies are weaned and she's fully recovered, I would have her spayed - this will stop her having any more false pregnancies and also protect her from uterine cancer, which is sadly extremely common in rabbits.

[Chucky Mama]

I agree that if she has been mated she will almost certainly be pregnant. A vet would be able to confirm this for you by scanning her but you would need to check the best stage of pregnancy to do this.

[Becky 22]

He is definetely a boy, I have discovered, after testing out this theory on a spayed female and lifting him up quickly, to part his legs and look. I would never have guessed, quite honestly, he was such a happy bunny...

 

Thank you for the advice, should I section off the bottom part of the hutch? It is a hutch for Giant Rabbits, and is high enough for her to stand up and has plenty of roaming room without the bottom floor - would I need to do this to make sure she keeps the babies safe and upstairs in the nest while they are young?

Also, should I move the male and other rabbits away from her? She's not exactly in a quiet area as it is, but is against the house and foxes shouldn't come near her.

 

Is there a site where I can work out the genes and try and predict what the babies are going to look like? The father's ears? The mother's soft fur? What are the dominanting features of each breed - will the babies be big like the mother, small like the father, or in between? Will they be black and fawn, with the Rex Otter pattern, as the mother? Or black and white, as the Dutch?

 

Thank you,

 

Becky.