Part Two: Rabbit Pregnancy & Birth

In Part One of my rabbit breeding series, we discussed how to tell the difference between bucks and does as well as how to breed rabbits. In Part Two, we’ll go over the pregnancy of the doe and the birth (or “kindling”) of her kits, as well as a couple other helpful tidbits of information.

If you haven’t read Part One yet, CLICK HERE!

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Get Organized

Keeping Records

One of the most important things that you need to do as a responsible rabbit breeder is take good records. I am always amazed at the amount of people who say they forget what day they bred their rabbit, and then they suffer the consequences when they never put a nest box in with their doe. Animals depend on us to thrive and do well at their job. One of the most basic things we need to do for them is remember dates! I write dates down in several different ways. I like to set alerts in my calendar, take notes on the Notes app, and even write down the dates on my doe and buck’s record cards. Whatever way you choose to take down records, make sure it is consistent and something that you will remember to do.

Here are my record cards I keep with pedigrees in my rabbit record binder. I find these to be extremely useful in tracking patterns for each rabbit!

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Doe Record Card

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Buck Record Card

Timeline

Here is a general timeline of dates to remember. We will go over all of these in more detail below.

• Day 1 - Breeding

• Day 15 - Palpating

• Day 27-28 - Nestbox

• Day 31-35 - Birth

Pregnancy

The First Couple of Weeks

In the first couple of weeks after breeding your doe, you probably won’t notice any drastic changes. You might see subtle mood changes or changes in eating habits, but for the most part, your doe probably won’t seem all that different! If you handle your rabbits often, you can continue to handle her gently at this time.

Palpating

Palpating is feeling the doe’s abdomen for babies around day 15-20. Now I’ll be honest - I’m probably not going to be very helpful in this area of rabbit pregnancy. Despite my years of experience, reading books, and trying to put this into practice, I have just never been able to properly palpate a doe. I can typically put my hands around her and feel that her abdomen is a bit tighter, maybe a tad wider, but I have never been able to actually feel kits. I’ve known of people that are so confident in palpating that they say they can count the number of kits inside! Truthfully I’m skeptical… but maybe also a bit jealous :)

Any form of palpating or feeling around for differences should be done with the utmost care. Pressing too hard can result in the injury of one or more babies inside her, which can be dangerous for both them and her.

False Pregnancy: My Opinions

One of the most frustrating and discouraging things to happen in rabbit breeding is a false pregnancy. False pregnancies can present in several different ways, but the most common thing to see is very early nesting behavior. Most rabbits are notorious for procrastinating on nesting behavior until the last couple of days of pregnancy, so if your rabbit is pulling fur and stashing hay in a nest just a week or two after breeding her, I would suspect a false pregnancy.

Many well-intentioned breeders say that if you witness this type of behavior, to rebreed her immediately because she probably didn’t take. However, I am going to advocate that you NOT do that for the following reasons:

• Some rabbits are naturally early nesters. It’s not as common, but there are some out there that will start pulling fur around week two because those mama instincts kick in early. This is another reason why good record and note-taking is so helpful.

• If your rabbit is actually pregnant, but you rebreed her thinking she is having a false pregnancy, she might get pregnant again. Rabbits have the strange ability to carry two litters at once, which is why it’s crucial to not let your does live with bucks. Many times, unfortunately, these “double pregnancies” can confuse the doe. Double pregnancies can be dangerous and should be avoided. It’s not very often that double pregnancies have favorable outcomes.

• Assuming a false pregnancy usually means that nest boxes are not put in the doe’s enclosure when they should be. Unfortunately, without a proper place to nest, the doe may not know what to do and have her babies scattered on the cage floor. Babies cannot survive without the warmth of a nest or their littermates, so unless you witness this happening, the kits will probably not make it.

If you experience a false pregnancy, I want you to know that I feel your pain. Most breeders that have been doing this for at least a year or two have usually experienced at least one false pregnancy. If your doe has a real false pregnancy, try addressing some of the weight or nutrition suggestions that I listed in Part One for getting your doe to be receptive in breeding. False pregnancies are most commonly caused by obesity or poor nutrition.

The Last Two Weeks

In the last two weeks of pregnancy you are bound to see the most changes in the your doe. Personality is a big one. If you are observant with your rabbits, you can usually tell a shift in mood. A skittish rabbit can suddenly seem lovey and affectionate. A doe that is normally calm can become somewhat territorial. Not all does exhibit drastic mood changes, but usually you can notice somewhat of a change, even if it is subtle.

You might also see a change in your doe’s eating habits. Suddenly she’s ravenously hungry all the time, or maybe she stops eating her pellets for a couple of days. My advice on pregnant does (and rabbits in general, actually) is to always have unlimited hay available to munch on. I know a lot of people say hay isn’t necessary, and I have my own feelings about that, but hay is something that rabbits seem to enjoy even when pellets aren’t appetizing to them.

The Nest Box

On day 27-28, it is time to give your doe her nest box. Giving your doe the nest box before this might encourage her to use it as a litter box, and that’s not what we want! Giving her the nest box later than this can sometimes be too late. Day 27-28 seems to be the sweet spot for most does.

Specifications

I use 1/2” thick plywood for the sides and top, and 1/4” x 1/4” hardware cloth for the bottom. I have used nest boxes with solid bottoms, and I have used nest boxes with 1/2” x 1/2” hardware cloth for the bottom, and I find that neither option is ideal for my situation. Solid bottoms quickly become soiled and there’s no way to clean it while the litter is still young. Solid bottoms can also cause kits to overheat in the hot days of summer. With 1/2” x 1/2” wire, bedding seems to fall through too easily, especially if you want to add pine shavings to the box. Not to mention I always worry about a kit getting their foot stuck in 1/2” x 1/2” openings. So I prefer 1/4” x 1/4” wire. It holds bedding in but urine falls through, keeping the kits dry for a longer period of time. With any option, you can add a layer of cardboard to the bottom in the colder months and change it out for clean cardboard if it becomes soiled.

Winter Nesting Material

In the winter, like I said above, you can use cardboard as extra insulation in the bottom of the nest box. On top of the cardboard I like to add 2-3” of flake pine shaving bedding, and on top of the pine shavings I add some hay. Your doe is probably going to get in there and kick everything around and rearrange it, so don’t worry about making it too pretty. Every day up until birth I give my doe some extra hay on her cage floor to use as bedding.

Summer Nesting Material

In the summer, I take a minimal approach on helping my doe prepare her nest. I don’t add cardboard to the bottom of the box, but I do add a shallow layer of pine shavings and a bit of hay. Some does live to make giant nests and don’t understand how it might be too much during those hot days. Just make sure that when her babies are born, they’re not insulated TOO much. Babies can overheat in really hot and humid weather. Does will typically understand this and uncover their babies, but if she doesn’t, feel free to do so for her.

Nesting Behavior

During the last couple of days, there are two things you might begin to notice. The doe will probably start “hay-stashing” first. This is when she gathers up as much hay in her mouth as she possibly can, and then she will take it to the nest box and use it to construct a nest. I always find it extremely amusing, and I love watching this part!

The second thing you might see is fur-pulling. Rabbits will pull fur from their own bodies to create a fluffy nest for their babies. Some does do this days in advance, while others choose to wait until half an hour before giving birth! I’m always so amazed at how differently each doe’s nest looks.

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Kindling

When a doe gives birth, it is called “kindling.” Does typically give birth on Day 31 or 32, and usually they will wait until nightfall or early morning.

Do Not Disturb

When your doe is giving birth, try your hardest not to disturb her. Don’t open her cage and pet her, and don’t hover around. It’s important to remember that rabbits are prey animals and they feel very vulnerable during this time. Disturbing your doe while she is kindling can cause her to stress and abort her kits, so it’s best to leave her to do her thing.

Give Her a Treat

When you notice that your doe is out of the nest box and she’s done cleaning herself off, it’s time to give her a treat. My favorites to give are leaf lettuce, parsley, kale, or an apple slice. I always give my mama rabbits treats right after birth. The first reason is because she’s earned it! She’s done a good job, and she would love a reward. The second reason is that fresh foods like this, especially parsley and kale, have higher amounts of calcium in them, and after giving birth it’s never a bad idea to give your mama bun an extra boost of calcium.

Check on the Babies

While your doe is busy enjoying her treats, you can remove the nest box and see what’s inside. Checking on the babies is crucial for the first couple of days so that you can remove any casualties. Baby bunnies are born bald, and need to stay warm, and any baby that that dies can turn cold and can chill the litter. During this time you can use a bowl with a towel inside and remove the babies to count them. Once you’re done, put them back in the does nest and cover them back up with fur.

A Few Other Notes…

Supplemental Heat?

If you are new to raising rabbits, you might be wondering if they require the use of a heat lamp or any supplemental heat source like baby chicks do. The answer is no! I would highly advise against using supplemental heat for baby rabbits. Heat lamps can easily overheat and kill baby bunnies or their mama, and they are also a fire hazard. It is best to avoid using them altogether and instead, just make sure that they are kept out of the wind and are dry. Most rabbits are cold-weather animals by nature, and they do much better in the winter than in the heat of the summer. If you need any inspiration on winterizing your rabbit hutch, go check out my WINTERIZING blog post!

Fostering

If you’ve bred two does at once and they give birth within a couple of days of each other, you have the option to foster kits if one doe has too many or not enough.

If you have one doe that has 12 babies and another that has 4, it might be wise to take a couple babies from the larger litter and put them in the smaller litter so that everyone gets a little more milk. Vice versa, in the winter, if you have a doe give birth to a singleton and another has a normal sized litter, it might be a good idea to move the singleton in with a normal sized litter so it can stay warm.

For the most part though, if both does have between 4-10 babies, I would advise just letting them raise their own kits. It can get tedious trying to keep track of who’s who!

Final Notes

Don’t forget what I said above. Good record keeping is ESSENTIAL! Keep track of dates and write down how many kits were born, how many casualties there were (if any), what colors the kits were, and any other info you can think to write down. Writing these records down help me to spot patterns in certain pairings and it helps me know what to expect when I breed my doe again.

Part Three will be all about raising kits! Drop a comment below if you have any questions, and I will try to answer them as best as I can.