How long do rabbits stay pregnant

Breeding age in rabbits can vary depending on the species, however, some females can become pregnant as early as 3 months old. After this age, any un-spayed female rabbit kept with an intact male rabbit for any length of time may lead to a pregnancy. Whether intentional or accidental, your pregnant rabbit needs special care before and after the babies are born to ensure health of mom and babies. 

How to Tell Your Rabbit is Pregnant

Although a rabbit’s gestation period is generally 31-33 days, pregnant rabbits may not have noticeable weight gain or a visibly rounded belly until the end of the pregnancy, which may make it difficult to tell early on if your rabbit is pregnant. Some other signs of pregnancy you can look for include an increased appetite, weight gain, and nesting behaviors, such creating burrow by digging and carrying bedding or hay to a specific corner of her habitat. Your rabbit will also likely experience behavioral changes with pregnancy, including pulling fur to make a nest and mood swings that can include heightened aggression. Even if your female rabbit is not kept with an intact male, false pregnancies are not unusual in rabbits and can bring on all the same behavioral changes and weight gain.

Caring for a Pregnant Rabbit

As soon as you suspect your rabbit may be pregnant, isolate her to a habitat by herself to reduce stress and prevent continued breeding. Rabbits can re-breed within 24 hours of a litter being born, so even if you were unaware your female rabbit was pregnant, she should be moved to her own enclosure as soon as possible. A nest box with nesting material, such as hay, should be provided for privacy to help her feel secure to give birth and care for the newborn babies. This should be cleaned daily until babies are born to prevent build-up of feces or urine that would discourage mother from using the next box as intended. Feeding a high-quality diet is essential during pregnancy and nursing as the babies may deplete mother of many vitamins and minerals. Extra fresh vegetables and alfalfa hay as well as unlimited timothy hay and pellets will help ensure your rabbit receives all the nutrition she needs.

Baby Bunny Care

Baby rabbits, also known as kittens, are born completely dependent on their mother. They have no hair to keep them warm and are unable to hear or see.  You will want to keep a close eye on them, especially with a first-time mother, to make sure she is properly taking care of them, however you should not handle the babies unless absolutely necessary until they are old enough to move around the nest and habitat on their own. Mother rabbits will only nurse babies 1-2 times a day, but well-fed babies should have full bellies that are not sunken in. If you have any concerns that mother is not lactating or feeding the babies, you should contact a veterinarian experienced with rabbits immediately. Baby rabbits are generally weaned by around 6 weeks of age and will then soon be ready to find new homes of their own away from mom.

The Importance of Spaying and Neutering your Rabbit

Spaying or neutering your rabbit is important for the health of your rabbit, even if you are not keeping males and females together. Both males and females have significantly higher chances of developing several types of cancer by mid-age if they are not altered. They can also display behavioral issues and increased aggression if left intact. Rabbits should generally be spayed or neutered at sexual maturity, around 4-6 months, depending on what your veterinarian recommends.

Related articles

• Rabbit

  Rabbits are intelligent, affectionate and social animals that need daily interaction with humans or other Rabbits. Spayed or neutered Rabbits tend to be healthier, live longer, and are better companions.

• Signs of a Healthy Rabbit

  Get to know your pet rabbit by understanding the signs of both a healthy and sick rabbit.

• Health Tips & Exercise for Rabbits

  Read more about different types of play & exercise for rabbits to provide them with an active lifestyle & help prevent obesity.

Petco’s ACE team is a passionate group of experienced pet care experts dedicated to supporting the overall health & wellness of pets. The ACE team works to develop animal care operations and standards across the organization and promote proper animal care and education for Pet Care Center partners and pet parents, while also ensuring regulatory compliance.

Pet Owner Version

Rabbit breeds of medium to large size are sexually mature at 4 to 4.5 months, giant breeds at 6 to 9 months, and small breeds (such as the Polish Dwarf and Dutch) at 3.5 to 4 months of age. The release of eggs in female rabbits is triggered by sexual intercourse, not by a cycle of hormones as in humans. The rabbit has a cycle of mating receptivity; rabbits are receptive to mating about 14 of every 16 days. A doe is most receptive when the vagina is red and moist. Does that are not receptive have a whitish pink vaginal color with little or no moisture. A veterinarian may be able to feel fetuses in a pregnant doe's abdomen 12 days after breeding. False pregnancy, during which the rabbit shows signs of pregnancy but is not actually pregnant, is common in rabbits.

Pregnancy lasts about 31 to 33 days. Does with a small litter (usually 4 or fewer kits) seem to have longer pregnancies than those that produce larger litters. If a doe has not given birth by day 32 of her pregnancy, your veterinarian may induce labor; otherwise, a dead litter may be delivered sometime after day 34. Occasionally, pregnant does abort or reabsorb the fetuses because of nutritional deficiencies or disease.

Nest boxes should be added to the cage 28 to 29 days after breeding. If boxes are added too soon, they become contaminated with urine and feces. A day or so before giving birth, the doe pulls fur from her body and builds a nest in the nest box.

Rabbit kits are born naked, blind, and deaf. They begin to show hair a few days after birth, and their eyes and ears are open by day 10. Newborn rabbits are unable to regulate their own body temperature until about day 7. The doe can become pregnant again 24 hours after giving birth. Most people raising rabbits for show or as pets rebreed does 35 to 42 days after the birth of a litter.

Most medium- to large-sized female rabbits have 8 to 10 nipples, and many give birth to 12 or more young. If a doe is unable to nurse all the kits effectively, kits may be fostered by removing them from the nest box during the first 3 days and giving them to a doe of about the same age with a smaller litter. If the fostered kits are mixed with the doe’s own kits and covered with hair of the doe, they are generally accepted. Moving the larger kits instead of the smaller kits to the new litter increases the chance of success. Does nurse only once or twice daily, and kits nurse for less than 3 minutes at a time. Kits are weaned around 4 to 5 weeks of age.

Kits can be reared by hand, but the death rate is high. They should be kept warm, dry, and quiet. If a lactating doe is not available to foster the kits, they can be given kitten milk replacer twice a day. Feedings vary from ½ teaspoon to 1 tablespoon, depending on the age and breed of the kits. Domestic rabbit kits are weaned at about 6 weeks old.

Young does may kill and eat their young for a number of reasons, including nervousness, neglect (failure to nurse), and severe cold. Dogs or predators entering a rabbitry often cause nervous does to kill and eat the young. Cannibalism of the dead young occurs as a natural nest-cleaning instinct. If all management practices are proper and the doe kills 2 litters in a row, she should not be used for breeding.

Copyright © 2022 Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA and its affiliates. All rights reserved.

How long does a rabbit carry its pregnancy?

How do you know your rabbit is pregnant?

Can a 2 month rabbit get pregnant?

How long before rabbits give birth do they make a nest?