How to know if my rabbit is pregnant

Do you have a rabbit as a pet? Well, if you have a female, it will be convenient to know if your pet is going to have offspring, especially if you usually have it in outdoor spaces such as gardens because it is more likely to be fertilized by a male of your species. You must be prepared for this fact and the more you know your physiology, the less surprises you will have with the reproduction. In .com we tell you how to know if your rabbit is pregnant and so you can start planning your future.

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The best method to know if your rabbit is pregnant is with the palpation because if your pet expects a considerable litter sure there will be some external signal. Veterinarians often gently inspect the abdomen of the rabbit with their hands to see if they expect offspring; It will be possible to feel the babies after 2 weeks of pregnancy.

You must be very careful and skillful to notice the fetuses without doing any harm and, if you do not see yourself capable, go to a doctor to do so. It is not recommended to feel a pregnant rabbit once 2 weeks have passed since the last reproduction because you could harm the development of the fetuses.

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To do the palpation you have to catch your rabbit and, with the right hand, grab its ears and one of its shoulders, this way you will keep the upper part of its body immobile. With your left hand gently grasp the lower part of your body between the pelvis and the hind legs; then place your thumb in the right area and the rest in the left. If your female is pregnant you will surely feel the embryos inside, they will be very small, the size of a grape or a cherry.

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Another way to know if your rabbit is waiting for cubs, is weighing it. The normal thing is that if your female is pregnant, she gains weight, although that variation will not be very drastic. To detect, use a precision scale to compare your weight with the current one.

A pregnant rabbit fattens an average of 0.030 kilos in the first week of pregnancy. And at the end of the second week, it will increase its weight by approximately 0.060 kg. After these small changes, few more oscillations will be observed. If at the end yes it is in a state, we recommend the following article in which we give you some tips to care for a pregnant rabbit.

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The safest option to know if your rabbit is pregnant is to go to the vet to perform the exploration and palpation. A good professional will know how to touch the body of your pet without harming their progeny; In addition, you can also do some tests such as ultrasound or ultrasound to be 100% certain after the first 6 days of pregnancy. With this test you will have a definitive answer of the state of your rabbit.

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If you can not afford this alternative every two to three, it is convenient that you learn the life cycle of rabbits: in general, rabbits reach sexual maturity between three and six months of age.

It is very important that you know that rabbits can start to conceive from the first 12 weeks of life, although it is not recommended for their safety and welfare, that is, if your pet is not yet 3 months old, she will not be pregnant. But from that moment, and until 6 months begin to increase the chances of conceiving. Once your rabbit is more than 2 or 3 years old, it is considered too old to have babies, so the probability of pregnancy is much lower.

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It is also convenient that you know the reproduction patterns of this species. Rabbits can breed throughout the year, although males are less fertile in both high and low temperatures, the most common is that they conceive in autumn and spring .

Despite all this, the reality is that rabbits are able to reproduce at any time. The rabbits do not have a period of estrus, they have what is known as induced ovulation, that is, the female prepares for conception 8 hours after having interacted with the male.

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Another sign that your rabbit is pregnant is that you find some type of nest because, instinctively, they usually build nests when they expect babies. The usual thing is for a pregnant female to cover her nest with hair and protect it very carefully so if you have noticed that your rabbit protects an area, it may be in a state of grace. Here are some tips so you know how to care for a newborn rabbit in case, in the end, it turns out that she is pregnant.

This fact is not very definitive because there are many females that experience psychological pregnancies. A nest assumes that the female is developing her maternal instinct and may be a clue.