Caring For A Pregnant Rabbit

A pregnant rabbit needs a lot of attention and care. Providing them a lot of healthy rabbit pellet, unlimited amount of hay and water will keep them healthy as their body need to prepare to give birth and nurse the newborn rabbit. On my personal experience when rabbit is pregnant she tends to be aggressive when I'm touching her which is I completely understand as she need to protect her babies. Once you are sure your rabbit is pregnant immediately prepare her environment where she will give birth.

Here are some steps in caring a pregnant rabbit.

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.



Birthing process

The nestbox should be provided at around 28 days of gestation. Nest-building behavior from the pregnant rabbit will involve burrowing and pulling of fur from the dewlap, flanks, and belly to line the nest and expose the nipples.

The birthing, or parturition, usually occurs in the early morning during their normal resting period. Even in large litters, parturition will take only 10 or 15 minutes. The rabbit kits will be born hairless with ears and eyes closed. A mother will sometimes lick the babies as they are born and quickly eat their placentas.


Nursing process

After the babies are born, a mother rabbit will leave the nest and return once every 24 hours at night for 3 to 4 minutes to allow the babies to nurse. Only rarely does the mother rabbit immediately nurse the babies after they are born. Usually the first nursing will occur the night after the kindling. The preferred mealtime is between midnight and 5 am.

When she arrives, the mother rabbit will immediately hunch over the young in a nursing posture. She will not lie down like a cat does to nurse. The babies will rear up, find a nipple, and suckle rapidly. Typically, significant amounts of milk are obtained only during the second minute of nursing -- a baby can gain up to a third of its body weight in this short session.

When the time is up, the mother rabbit may lick the babies to stimulate urination and defecation, then jump away, defecate a few hard feces, and leaves the nest, even if some babies may not have received any milk at all due to competition.

Once your rabbit gave birth be sure to provide them a quite and comfortable place for the mother and babies. This will lessen the stress of the mother rabbit. Avoid touching newborn rabbits.

My next blog will tackle how to care for newborn rabbits. Hope you learn from this blog.

How to Know if Your Rabbit is Pregnant

They say rabbits multiply in seconds. I wouldn't say I do not believe in that saying but since I have a rabbits in a year for now. I started from 2 rabbits then now after a year I somehow I have roughly more than 50 rabbits some rabbit I gave to a friend whom loves rabbits also and some sad to say died. A female can carry 2 to 12 babies in their womb but it really depends on the rabbit breed.

For a female pregnancy is always a high risk. So be sure to check out for the signs if your bunny is pregnant.

Below are the signs to check if your rabbit is pregnant. 

First clue a doe is pregnant is her mood - she gets cranky.  A doe who was your best friend might suddenly flee to the back of the cage when she sees you coming. She might growl a little if you open the door to her cage.  Does can get grouchy as early as a few days into her pregnancy.


The surest way to know if your rabbit is pregnant is to "palpate" her abdomen - meaning to feel for little baby lumps.  You do this as early as day 10 or as late as day 14. This requires some practice, usually.

Some pregnant rabbits start trying to 'dig' inside their cage from 2 weeks pregnant and beyond.  You might notice the doe scratching quite diligently at the far corners of her cage.

Another pregnant rabbit clue occurs a week or less before she's ready to give birth (3-4 weeks pregnant).  Some pregnant rabbits become desperate to build their nest.

Pregnant rabbits don't always 'look' pregnant, not even on the day they kindle (give birth).  Of course, if there's 15 kits in her belly, you might wonder if you oughtta duck and cover - she'll look big enough to pop.  Most frequently, they'll lose their waistline along about the last few days of the pregnancy.  That's why it's helpful to know these pregnant rabbit clues for confirming your suspicions.

The pregnant rabbit usually gives birth on day 31 without fail.  But the bunnies can arrive on day 28 up to day 34.  If I've bred the doe and buck in the evening, I can expect the kits on the morning of day 32.  If no babies by day 35, the doe was probably not pregnant.

Lionhead Rabbit

What is Lionhead Rabbit?

It is a small rabbit with a compact and rounded body and weighs around 3 pounds (1.36 kg). Their average lifespan is around 8 years but that depends heavily on the care they received. What distinguishes it from other breeds is that the rabbit has a wool mane around the head and ears and occasionally also around their chest and rump. As a result these rabbits have some similarities with the king of the animal kingdom, the lion. The Lionhead Rabbit owes his name to the manes of this also beautiful animal. Normally their mane is around 2 inch (5 cm) long.

There are two different types of manes, single mane and double mane in which the latter features a thick mane that covers the head of the rabbit and and almost always their flanks also referred to as their “skirts”. The single mane features a thin mane around the head and ears of which it is possible that it diminishes as the rabbit becomes older. They can be either single mane or double mane, it depends on whether they have one or two copies of the mane gene.

Care for Lionhead Rabbits

• Give your bunny daily care. It should be fed twice a day with rabbit pellets (alfalfa if the rabbit is less than seven months; Timothy if the rabbit is older) and have unlimited access to Timothy hay (or alfalfa hay if the rabbit is less than seven months).
• Lionhead should never be in a cage with cedar bedding because it can cause respiratory problems; choose a safe, recycled brand or use a towel that is soft. A good choice is fleece especially if your lionhead is litter trained.
• Make sure your rabbit has plenty of fiber to help prevent against wool block (hairballs), and groom your lionhead daily for the same reason.
• Brush you lionhead daily, as it will prevent hair balls.
• If you see a bunny with pink or pink rimmed eyes slowly rocking its head back and forth, this is only because they can't process light well.
• Feed your bunny carrots that are thin as treats for it. They will give the animal the healthiness he/she needs.

My experience with my Lionhead Rabbit

Currently I have 2 male lionhead rabbits. My first lionhead was super aggressive one I named him Cotton. He has his own cage in his own room because then tend super angry and stump his feet all the time the moment he sees other rabbits. I love Cotton but he loves to bit. He eat lots of rabbit pellet and hay but he hates to eat vegetables and fruits. The other one is a male also named him Angel Locsin (Gray one on the images below)  name came from famous celeb here in my country. He had girl name cause I thought he was really a girl when he is still a baby. Unlike Cotton my Angel Locsin is super sweet he loves to cuddle and loves so much attention.  Lionhead rabbits are known to be like lion aggressive and always angry. But with proper care and love they can be super sweet and loving.

Feel free to share your experiences with your lionhead rabbits.

Indoor Rabbit Cage Ideas

We all love our bunnies to roam around inside our house. So I'll be giving you some ideas for an indoor rabbit cage. All my rabbits are all indoor type so they love to play inside my place however I are super afraid to go outside maybe they do not feel safe if the moment they step outside there room. An indoor type rabbits need a large cage and well ventilated place my rabbits loves to stay on a place air conditioned.

An indoor cage must be composed of hay feeder with hay, litter box, food bowl, water feeder and a play area. The image below is perfect example what the indoor cage look like. Always put the food near to the litter box cause bunnies has a super fast metabolism when they eat they poop the same time.
                                    

They type of cage are perfect a smaller type rabbits like dwarf then can still stand up and play inside the cage.

The two cages below are perfect for couple bunnies and you are avoiding the doe to get pregnant. When a buck is in heat they tend to be aggressive when it comes in humping the doe.

Cages below are suited for all breeds of rabbits. Complete cage with a space where they can play and enjoy.

Rabbits are like human they also need a comfortable place to stay wherein they can feel they are safe. You can say if your bunnies are comfortable on the place where they stay if they sleep on their eyes close, eat a lot and jump a lot. If you will put your rabbit in the indoor type cage be sure to provide them couple of hours to play outside the cage. 

Amazing Facts About Rabbits

Read and enjoy a variety of interesting information about rabbits.

• Baby domestic rabbits are actually born fur-less.
• Rabbits have 28 teeth.
• The World’s oldest rabbit on record lived to be 16 years old.
• The average lifespan of a domesticated rabbit is around 5 to 8 years.
• Pet rabbits generally live longer than rabbits used for production and those living in the wild.
• With the right guidance rabbits can be trained to live indoors perfectly.
• In the UK the rabbit is the third most popular pet option.
• The average heart rate of a rabbit ranges between 130-325 beats per minute.
• It is estimated that over 2 million U.S. households own a pet rabbit.
• Thousands of rabbit shows take place annually in the Continental United States alone, each year.
• Male rabbits are referred to as “bucks” and female rabbits are referred to as “does”.
• Believe it or not, a rabbit’s teeth never stop growing throughout its life.
• Rabbits can jump up to 36 inches or higher.
• The European rabbit lives underground, in burrows. A group of burrows is known as a warren.
• More than half of the world’s rabbits live in North America.
• Rabbits have long ears which can be as long as 10 cm (4 in).
• Rabbits are herbivores (plant eaters).
• Pet rabbits that live inside are often referred to as ‘house rabbits’.
• Rabbits reproduce very quickly. 

What can I give my rabbit as a treat?

Rabbits loves to eat anything like me babies they love to eat desserts like biscuits and sugar free cookies, vegetables down to the most unusual electric wires, earphone wires and sides of my tables. At first I was kinda annoyed and nervous what if they ate a wires and it retains it in they body it will lead to sudden death.

When I started having a rabbits in my house I would give whatever I have in my place. But I kept thinking what should I give my rabbit as a treat? When I tried to give them super sweet treat they became super active like the chocolates activated there body to be energetic. So I had gave them vegetables I did noticed some vegetable makes their poop wet, then I did experimentation I found out lettuce, carrots and water crest (the leaves only). Do not give them cabbage according to the vet. cabbage contain high amount of sugar and makes their poop wet.

Do rabbits love to eat fruits? A big YES they love to eat fruits also. In my case my babies loves to dig in strawberries and cherries (expensive fruits in our country). Maybe the thingy sweet sensation the strawberries gave them is the key why they love to eat strawberries. I do have one rabbits who loves to eat bananas I tried giving them to other rabbits but they do not like it. So I come to thinking rabbits also have different taste buds.

We always wanted to see our bunnies to be happy but be careful what to feed them. It may cause them health issues so always give treats in minimal amount and do an experimentation. 

What do you give your rabbits as a treat?

Feel free to share your experiences and ask any questions you may have in mind I will to answer those.

Food For My Bunnies/Rabbits

Rabbits needs a well balanced food. They love to eat fresh fruits, vegetables and rabbit pellets (mostly can be found in pet store). The main part of rabbit's diets should include Hay (timothy ot alfalfa) and freshest grass. And plenty of clean water (my rabbits love to drink cold water).  Owners should be careful what to give on they rabbit, it varies on how old is your rabbits.

For newborn up to 2 months old rabbit they need a milk from their mother. On my personal experience rabbit that to do not receive milk from their mother mostly suffer from death. Nutrients that mother rabbit gave to there babies is important to make them strong and alive.

For rabbit 2 months until 6 months need a well balanced diet that composed of vegetable, rabbit pellet, hay and fresh grass. You can see if your bunny is healthy on their poop, the frequency, consistency and color. Healthy rabbit should be be pooping every now and then, round, dry and color black indicates your rabbit is healthy, if you see changes in their poop be sure to consult vet immediately.

Adult rabbit for 6 months and up needs more nutrient as they need their body is preparing to be spayed and neuter. Also do not forget to give them plenty of water. 

For rabbit treats I will be posting on my next blog.