A few weeks ago we suspected that one or both of our females had been bred. Without knowing for sure, I was given advice to observe them for any behavior changes. Such as, were they drinking more water, or gaining weight?
Opal and Silvia were the same size when they arrived, Opal started growing faster. She is noticeably larger than Silvia now. I also have noticed her drinking more often. Is Opal pregnant? I'm still not positive, but wanting to be prepared, I purchased a nesting box.
Then I started checking into how to prepare the box. The first step is to line the bottom of your box with cardboard. This helps keep any potty messes pulled away from the kits, the strong amonia smell can be harmful.
Next, fill your box with as much hay as you can. I had some grass hay that the bunnies didn't care to eat. I used that and added Timothy hay also. The female will eat and move the hay until she has made a nest. She will also pull her hair to make her nest extra warm for her kits.
Rabbits have a gestation period of 30 days. The box should be put into her cage around day 28 of pregnancy. Without being sure what day she was bred I decided two days ago to put it in. This is about 3 weeks after my suspicions. It is a few days early. Many articles I read do not reccomend putting in that soon, because they may use it as a litter box. But I figured better safe then sorry.
The last few days I've been checking for signs of fur being pulled. So far no hair, but noticed the hay has been burrowed into a nest.
Any guess of how many she may have? Or is Opal even pregnant? Or is Silvia pregnant ? I will keep you updated!
UPDATE: No kits, we were not pregnant this time.
How exciting!
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