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Why, oh why did this have to happen?

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Moxie

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I went to take care of my rabbit today and I found them both out of their cages! I have two unaltered rabbits. I got home late last night from vacation. I went and said hi to them, all was fine. Today I went down and discovered their cages weren’t closed properly. I am so disappointed. I really don't want her to have babies. It is all my fault. :(
 

VoodooJoint

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Ug! I will cross my finger that your female wasn't in heat. Keep an eye on her and feed her well. Take her into a vet in a week or so to have her checked out to find out if she's pregnant. Meanwhile find out all you can about what she and the kits will need to be healthy and stay happy (just in case). Here is a great place to start https://rabbit.org/care/babies.html
 

Moxie

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I am so hoping she is not pregnant. Hopefully in a week or so the vet will be able to tell. Thank you for the link voodoo.
 

kimberly78

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A rabbit can pretty much get pregnant anytime, this article is from www.rabbit.org
Please spay/neuter your rabbits, its better for their health and keeps the over population thats already a terrbile issue under control.

Rabbits reach sexual maturity between three and six months of age. A rabbit differs from other mammals in that the female ovulates after being mounted by a male. This is called induced ovulation. This is the only time she produces an egg. This also means that after a rabbit has given birth, if the male is still present, she can and most likely will become pregnant within 24 hours of giving birth. Just imagine how you would feel if you had a baby and within 24 hours you were pregnant again!
 

JackSpicerRules

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I also did not need to see that now! It's true but I just ate, so...
 

Moxie

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kimberly78 said:
A rabbit can pretty much get pregnant anytime, this article is from www.rabbit.org
Please spay/neuter your rabbits, its better for their health and keeps the over population thats already a terrbile issue under control.

Rabbits reach sexual maturity between three and six months of age. A rabbit differs from other mammals in that the female ovulates after being mounted by a male. This is called induced ovulation. This is the only time she produces an egg. This also means that after a rabbit has given birth, if the male is still present, she can and most likely will become pregnant within 24 hours of giving birth. Just imagine how you would feel if you had a baby and within 24 hours you were pregnant again!

I was planning on getting them spayed and neutered in a couple weeks before this happened. :grumpy: My female is about 1 1/2 years old and my male is about 4 years old. My guess would be that she is pregnant. Does she need alfalfa hay/food in her diet now? I was planning on moving her up to my room so I can keep a close eye on her. Would this be ok or would it just stress her out? I have no idea what I am doing. :confused: Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I will have to be doing a lot of research for a while!
 

april

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Good luck-I hope it all works out ok. Maybe she isn't preggo? Keep us updated.
 

kimberly78

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If you bunnies are house bunnies you can move her to your room, this wont stress her. To answer your quetion on diet see article below:

From (broken link removed)

A breeding rabbit should be getting about once ounce of quality alfalfa pellets per pound of body weight. If they seem to be getting fat on such a diet, reduce the feed slightly. If they are a little thin, increase the amount of feed slighly until the rabbit is keeping proper condition. Quality timothy hay will help keep the fibre intake high enough to prevent digestive problems. Vegetables and fruits are an excellent addition, but not absolutely necessary. Vegetables and fruits should be introduced slowly. See below for instructions on introducing vegetables and fruits. Pregnant rabbits should stay on their normal, adult diet. A slight increase in alfalfa pellets may be needed. A large increase in feed before the actual birth can cause problems with the pregnancy and the birth. Females with babies should have unlimited alfalfa pellets and timothy hay.

Daily Feed Requirements For Breeding/Show Rabbits, Indoors or Outdoors * Birth to 3 weeks: Mother's milk
* 3 to 4 weeks: Mother's milk, access to timothy hay and alfalfa pellets.
* 4 to 7 weeksMother milk, unlimited timothy hay and alfalfa pellets.
* 7 weeks to 3 months: Unlimited timothy hay and alfalfa pellets. * 3 months to 6 months: Unlimited timothy hay and alfalfa pellets, unless the rabbit tends to get fat. In this case, limit the pellets to one ounce of pellet per every pound of body weight. Adjust the amount as needed (If the rabbit is a little thin, increase the amount. If it is still fat, decrease a little.) Also, this is the appropriate time to introduce fruits and vegetables, with no more than 2 ounces of fruit per 6 pounds.
* 6 months to 1 year: Once ounce of alfalfa pellets per pound of body weight. A large handful to unlimited amounts of timothy hay. Up to two cups of chopped fruits and vegitables (mostly veggies) is ideal, but not absolutely necessary. No more than 2 ounces of fruit per 6 pounds.
* 1 to 2 years: Continue the diet from 6 months to 1 year. A higher amount of alfalfa pellets and/or timothy hay may be needed. Up to two cups of chopped fruits and vegitables (mostly veggies) is ideal, but not absolutely necessary. No more than 2 ounces of fruit per 6 pounds
* 2 years to 5 years: An increase in the amount of alfalfa pellets and timothy hay is generally required to keep approriate adult weight and to prevent digestive problems. Up to two cups of chopped fruits and vegitables (mostly veggies) is ideal, but not absolutely necessary. No more than 2 ounces of fruit per 6 pounds
* 5 years and older: After 5 years (preferably no later than 4 years for does), a rabbit should be retired from breeding. Some bucks can continue until 6 years without problems. Once retired, it is recommended that the rabbit be spayed or neutered (altered) and placed on the recommended diet for altered rabbits of 6 years or more.
 
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Moxie

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Yes, she is a house rabbit. Should I start feeding her alfalfa now or wait untill I know for sure she is pregant? Would bunny basic 15/23 be ok to use? Thank you so much! You have been such a big help.
 

VoodooJoint

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Kimberly, Good info. I edited your post to add the link of the site you got it from. When you copy/paste info from another site always include the link. It's needed for copyright reasons.
 

kimberly78

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oops! Sorry about that voodoo! I would say stick with the bunny basics until you know for sure that she is preggo then if she is gradually add in some alfalfa. Hope this helps!
 

bunnyluv17

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Since this just occured, you can still have her spayed but it needs to be done soon. This would prevent an unwanted litter. If you are going to allow her to have babies, how are you going to find homes for them and pay for all the spay/neuter surgeries? If you allow them to go to homes without being fixed, more unwanted litters will occur. It is very difficult to find quality indoor homes for rabbits, even baby rabbits. Thousands upon thousands of rabbits are euthanized every year, and I would advise you to seriously consider spaying your rabbit now, before she adds to the problem.
 

Zeander

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bunnyluv17 said:
Since this just occured, you can still have her spayed but it needs to be done soon. This would prevent an unwanted litter. If you are going to allow her to have babies, how are you going to find homes for them and pay for all the spay/neuter surgeries? If you allow them to go to homes without being fixed, more unwanted litters will occur. It is very difficult to find quality indoor homes for rabbits, even baby rabbits. Thousands upon thousands of rabbits are euthanized every year, and I would advise you to seriously consider spaying your rabbit now, before she adds to the problem.

So basicly rabbit abortion? Now there is a topic to debate.
 

Slap Maxwell

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I agree with bunnyluv.
 

VoodooJoint

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If you were planning to spay her anyway, BunnyLuv's option is a good one. The babies wouldn't suffer and you remove the chance of complications of the birth causing illness or death to mom. Plus rabbits can have huge litters. Placing potentially 12 baby rabbits can be a real challenge.
 

Moxie

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I simply can't lead my self to basically do a bunny abortion on her. I know many of you will not agree with me but I simply can't find myself doing that. I don't want to get into a huge argument over this but I simply do not want to do this with her.
 

Rachy1412

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I too could never give my rabbit an abortion. I don't believe in them anyway, but I don't think abortions should be used because of mistakes that could have been avoided. (And no offence Moxie, I know it was an accident.)

Edit: I would personally get the male neutered now and then wait to see if the female is pregnant before getting her speyed.
 

Moxie

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No offence taken Rachy. The pet sitter was actually the last person to close the cage. But I didn't check it before I went to bed so it is my fault as well.
 

VoodooJoint

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Moxie
No one is going to give you a hard time about not having her spayed/aborting the babies. It's simply an option that a few of us wanted to let you know we would support you in. I probably couldn't do it either (poor babies). It's just good to know that if you decided to go that route you wouldn't get yelled at about it.

So, you may be a grandma. Keep an eye on her and get her that vet check in a while to find out if she really is pregnant. We'll help you through this as best we can.
 

Moxie

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