rabbit in heat

Question
we have a rabbit we know is a girl we have had her for six months but she was a few months old when we got her i have been told she is in heat because she as startted to get mouthfuls of straw and hay mixed with her fur into her mouth it is ment to be her making a nest i would like to know if this is true as she has never done this before.

Answer
Hi Cath,

Rabbits are induced ovulators and therefore do not go into heat or have heat cycles.  If your rabbit has not been around a male she is having a phantom pregnancy.  This is just an influx of hormones making her think she wants babies.

A phantom pregnancy will not hurt a rabbit and they happen quite frequently.  If this is your pet rabbit and you are not a responsible breeder I strongly suggest that you have the rabbit spayed.  This will reduce the phantom pregnancies and will also prevent her from getting dangerous reproductive cancers that are very common in non spayed does.

If you do not already have a vet you can try this site;

http://www.rabbit.org/vets

Good luck

Pam