What to Expect When Your Rabbit is Expecting

When I was a little girl I had a pet rabbit, the rabbit was female and eventually became a mother rabbit. Whether you have purposely bred your rabbits or think that a rabbit that you have is pregnant there are some things that you can expect with a rabbit pregnancy.

The time that a rabbit is pregnant is roughly 31 days, a mere ninth of what a human pregnancy last. At about half way through their pregnancy a rabbit will begin to show signs that they are indeed having baby rabbits, which are actually called kittens, as the mother rabbit will show an increase in size. Professional breeders are able to feel the litter around the third week of pregnancy. You can often also tell when the time of birth is nearing because the mother rabbit, which is called a doe, will begin to make the nest where she intends to give birth.

During the time that your rabbit is pregnant it is important to keep their cage or hutch very clean to avoid any chances of infections. Also you will want your rabbit's cage or hutch to be clean right before the rabbit decides to make her nest. This is because once the mother rabbit has made her nest the cage or hutch should not be cleaned, in fact the mother rabbit should be left alone with the exception of having plenty of clean water and fresh food. Some breeders will add a nesting box to the mother rabbit's home during her pregnancy.

During the time that your rabbit is pregnant and while she is lactating her diet will not change all that much from when she is not lactating or pregnant, as long as the diet that your rabbit has is full of plenty of fiber, protein and calcium. Look on the back of the food bag of the rabbit food that you feed your rabbit and make sure that the protein is at least at 16%. Alfalfa is a good snack for a rabbit that will provide them with some calcium. During the pregnancy you will want to increase the amount of food that your rabbit eats.

It can be very exciting for you when your rabbit is pregnant and only having to wait a month, maybe even less if you were surprised by the pregnancy of your pet rabbit, the birth of the kittens will be there before you know it.