Pregnancy

The gestation period for a rabbit can range between 28 and 35 days. Average being 31 days. Most of our does deliver on day 31. We have never had one go any sooner then this, we have had some go to day 33.

You don't need to feed any special diet during pregnancy. Keep her on her regular feed with plenty of fresh water and hay. A few days before delivery cut back on the feed a little bit until a two to three days after giving birth. Most does naturally cut back on their own before giving birth

The doe should be kept in a stress free environment to avoid miscarriages or reabsorbing of the fetuses (see information on this below). Some rabbits become aggressive and irritable during pregnancy others don't change in personality at all. We have a brood doe that becomes vicious in the last weeks of her pregnancy until the kits are a few weeks old. Then she goes back to her old, calm self.

The nest box should be added to the doe's cage around day 28 of pregnancy. If you see her starting to gather sooner, then add the box. 'Gather' means to collect hay and build a nest in the nest box.

Near her due date she will begin to pull fur from her body, mostly her stomach, and gather hay to make a nest. Leave her alone. She will handle this all by her self.

A miscarriage can happen at any time during the pregnancy. The reasons can be many such as poor nutrition or stress. Sometimes it just happens for no explanation at all. It is important to make sure all the fetuses have been expelled. Retained fetuses can cause infection and the life of the doe is in danger. If you suspect this in your rabbit, it should be taken to a veterinarian.

The doe can reabsorb one or more of the fetuses during pregnancy for the same explanations as above.

A false pregnancy means the doe shows all signs of being pregnant but she is in fact not pregnant. She will gather, build a nest, pull fur, but no kits will be delivered. This is due to hormones in the doe's body.

After a miscarriage or a false pregnancy, the doe can be re-bred right away.