Terrified of accidental litter

[Sunrise]

Hello, I am new to rabbits but not to dogs. I have been learning the very hard way that rabbits are often mis-sexed even at a breeder. I rescued a female from a young girl who didn’t want her female lionhead anymore and so I took it in. This girl had bought her rabbit from a breeder. The girl had kept the lionhead thinking it was a male and named it a boy’s name for the whole 6 months or so that she had it because the breeder told her it was a male. I had taken it to the vet to get it neutered when they broke the news to me and said it was a female instead. It was all right and I had a good chuckle with the staff at the clinic, bundled my little joy home and a month passed before I decided it would be nice for her to have a companion. 

In previous visits to a local pet store getting food and litter, I noticed one particular lop bunny that didn’t seem to sell or budge. Its head hung down, it seemed a little too big for its cage and I felt so sorry for it. I don’t support pet store animals but this animal looked so much in need of love and a home that I sat with it for awhile. It immediately began coming up to me and the store clerk asked me if I’d like to hold it. I said ok. I spent some time…maybe an hour playing with the lop and chatting with the staff. She said to me to take him home with me and she’d try and get the manager to work the price down to less than half what he was originally. I wasn’t expecting to take home a rabbit that day but I did have the materials and all the xpens at home and tons of blankets, loads of hay, food and toys as the female had lots of attention. I agreed anyway, the clerk said she named it Suzie Q and ”she” was a such a friendly creature. Great, I thought, another female for a companion for my first one. Took it home, let them relax, next day I carefully introduced them in a separate pen, neutral area. Well they got on well…a little TOO well. The new one Suzie Q whom I hadn’t named yet kept humping the first female I had NON-STOP, dropping and rolling in a ball in a behaviour that I was not familiar with. I panicked and immediately separated them. There was no fight, nothing from either one. They were calm as anything. I picked up the new rabbit and was shocked and horrified to find two big balls and an erect penis that had obviously just had some excitement. I was so upset I called my partner and after that immediately booked a neuter for the following weekend. I kept thinking ‘how could I be so stupid and naive believing anyone after the first rabbit turned out to be female??’ I felt like such an idiot. It’s been 2 weeks now since it happened (they are separated in different pens still and the boy is neutered as of yesterday and healing nicely). I’m absolutely terrified. I have never had a litter of anything before and always had my animals spayed and neutered (dogs). 

I’m sorry for the long post. To cut the story short, does anyone have advice or has been in a similar situation? I certainly have enough pens and panels and accommodations. I also have the space, all the feed and hay in the world (I know someone in animal feed business for horses and other farm animals so hay and such are never expensive for me). I just keep kicking myself how stupid and naive I was to believe the clerk OR the young girl and twice I was misled. I love both bunnies very much and they’re well-taken care of. I am just very nervous about a possible litter. What can I do to prepare myself for this?

[natno]

Well, I wouldn’t worry if the lion head is fixed anyways. She can’t bear a litter after the operation. Males are different theu can be fertile weeks after being fixed. You can always check with your vet if you are still worried. Male/female bonds are very common for bunnies and work out great if they’re fixed. I would still neuter the male, but you should be litter free.

[LBJ10]

Wait, so she isn’t spayed then? You said you took “him” to be neutered and then the vet told you “he” was really a she. So… didn’t they just do a spay then? That’s what normally happens in this situation.

[Sunrise]

She is not spayed…never been spayed. Sorry for the confusion. I am definitely getting her spayed as soon as I save up for it in the new year. The actual female is not spayed. The male (who was mistaken for female) is now neutered as of this weekend. But he was not neutered last week when this all happened – neither of them were fixed.

Of course I wouldn’t be worried about the female if she was spayed. I’m curious if there are people here who have raised baby bunnies and what I can do to prepare for an accidental litter. I heard that female bunnies make nest boxes. Has anyone fashioned this on their own?

[Bam]

Most people here have no experience with pregnancy and bunny litters, since we’re not a forum for breeders or breeding. That said, accidents do happen, and what’s done is done. The likelihood of pregnancy in your case is of course huge, since rabbits are induced ovulators (they ovulate upon being bred). I read through this WikiHow and found the advice to be mostly sound (except for the recommendation to keep baby bunnies on a pellet-only diet until they’re 8 months old. That’s weird.): http://www.wikihow.com/Take-Care-of-a-Pregnant-Rabbit

First-time mum’s may be a little bit confused at first, like “What is this??” so she will need you to assist her some. That said, most buns are excellent mums once they get the hang of it. The main difficulty with having a litter of bunnies is probably finding good homes for all the kits.

[natno]

Sorry. I got confused.

Call your local rabbit rescue or even a breeder in the area. Both should be able to offer you advice.

[Bam]

Of course a rescue will have the expertise, and so will a vet. Rabbits Online is a forum that has a breeding section called The Rabbitry and Show Room. You may find answers by reading old posts there or you can of course register and ask your own questions.

[Author]

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