april

Question
hi I'm bonnie from Wales UK , I'm beginning to get worried that my bun is having problems in knowing what to do, shes stacked her nest box up with hay but has not put any fur in it yet and shes a pure bred mini-lop and is so the father , her mother was a great mother and had the nest ready at least days before birth, but April is over due by 3 days , i am taking her down to the vets ASAP but would like to know if this is normal or if it may just be a false pregnancy, this is her first litter, thank you
Bonnie

Answer
Hi Bonnie,

How are you calculating the dates?  Don't forget that June only had 30 days.  A rabbit that has not had babies after 35 days is probably not going to have them.  It is very common for rabbits to have false pregnancies.  Do you know anyone that can teach you how to palpate?  I don't know any vets that have enough practice at it but who knows if your vet sees a lot of rabbits he/she may be good at it.  There isn't much a vet can do unless the rabbit is having obvious difficulties.  Is your rabbit still eating and drinking?  Most does will stop eating while they are in labor.  Also many rabbits do not build their nest until 5 minutes before the babies are delivered.  First time mothers will often get confused and sometimes experienced mothers decide they don't want babies and have them all over the wire.  Breeding rabbits is not as easy as everyone thinks.  I can not in good conscious tell you not to take your rabbit to the vet for an exam but I can tell you that personally I would not unless my rabbit had stopped eating, pooping or showed obvious signs of distress.  

Good luck

Pam