Rabbits are pregnant for around a month (31 to 33 days) from the day of conception, but this is not an exact answer to the question: How long are rabbits pregnant for? There are many factors that influence the exact duration of the pregnancy in all living beings. The time of mating is not the time of conception; it takes time for the female body to process everything and fertilise the egg. Let’s understand the rabbit gestation period in detail.{1}
When Can Rabbits Get Pregnant
Female rabbits can become pregnant around the age of 12 weeks, and they can continue having babies upto the age of 4 years. On the other hand, male rabbits can mate till the age of 7 years. Rabbits can conceive at any time of the year. So, if you do not want rabbit babies in the house, consider neutering or keeping your doe (female rabbit) away from the buck (male rabbit).{3}
How to Tell if a Rabbit Is Pregnant?
Initially, rabbit pregnancies are not obvious and you may find out about it a couple of days before delivery. That too because of the changes in her behaviour and an increased size of her belly.
Pregnant rabbits may show some behavioural changes during pregnancy such as nesting, pulling their own hair to keep the babies warm, excessive aggression, etc. If you see such behavioural differences, consider visiting the vet to confirm pregnancy.{1}
How Many Rabbit Babies You Can Expect
Well, the answer is: You never know! The number could be anywhere between 1 to 14. Typically, a rabbit gives birth to 5 to 8 kits (baby rabbits). These will be hairless kittens who won’t look like rabbits right after their birth. In a few weeks, these kittens will start looking like rabbits.{1}{2}
How Long Are Rabbits in Labour For
Rabbit labour and delivery is pretty smooth. You might compare the labour pain and struggle with humans, but it doesn’t work that way with rabbits. Within just around 15 minutes, your rabbit will deliver her babies very smoothly and you won’t need to do much for helping. Usually, rabbits deliver during the early hours of the morning. So most probably, you will just wake up to see new raabits in your house.{1}
Post Delivery Suggestions
- Did you know that a doe (female rabbit) can get pregnant again after a few hours of giving birth? The number of babies and possibility of getting pregnant makes a doe capable of reproducing around 30 baby rabbits in just one season! If you want to stop your doe from getting pregnant again right after her delivery, keep the male rabbit away from her. But yes, you will have to manage their proximity so that they can smell each other and keep the bond intact.{2}
- If you notice the rabbit mother spending time away from her litter, do not worry because it is normal. It is rather healthy because the doe may end up injuring or killing one of her babies accidently if spent too much time together. You should also encourage this behavior because it is an anti-predator tactic. The contact must be broken in visual, auditory, and scent as well occasionally. In the wild, by staying away from litter, mother rabbits draw less attention from predators, which keeps the litter safe. To keep this behaviour working right, the mother rabbit should also get enough space. Typically, the doe visits her litter once a day (mostly around evening) to feed them. Rabbit milk is very rich in nutrients and kits can drink 20% of their body weight in one go.{2}
- Maintain a distance from your rabbit’s litter; mother rabbits do not like any kind of intervention. Just make sure that the babies are breathing and look fine by checking them visually; leave the rest on their mother, or she might reject them. In case you doubt a baby’s health, consider calling a vet. You may be able to handle them personally after around 10 days at least.{1}{2}
- Sometimes, a kit may come out of the nest and need putting back. Before doing that, stroking the mother rabbit will transfer her scent, which will keep the sense of familiarity and reduce the chances of rejection. In case your rabbit rejects her kits, speak to the vet because it can be very difficult for you.{2}
Conclusion
In this blog, we tried to answer the major questions related to rabbit pregnancy. However, there is a lot to know more before handling a rabbit pregnancy independently. We recommend you to consider taking vet’s consultations regularly to manage your rabbit’s pregnancy like a pro.
If your rabbit is already pregnant, we will suggest you to start using the DuePet app. For any query or situation, you may create records, notes, folders, etc. Also, you may set the required reminders. The app has several trackers including pregnancy tracker to help you manage your rabbit’s pregnancy. With these features, you can log each and every detail, which also helps vets in diagnosing the situation better. Try the app and do share your feedback.
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FAQs
Your rabbit may eat her own babies due to nutritional deficiencies. Take care of her nutrition and feed her alfalfa hay in the final days of her pregnancy.{4}
Stay away from the litter because mother rabbits reject their babies if someone else intervenes. Keep an eye on the litter to check if all the babies look fine.
Pulling fur begins before the rabbits give birth, as the mother rabbit uses her fur to keep the babies warm in the nest.
Yes, rabbits may also show signs of phantom pregnancy, so consult a vet to confirm the pregnancy.{3}
