rabbit nesting?

Question
my friend has a rabbit and it stays inside all the time so theres no way shes pregnant...but she said the other day miss lily(rabbits name) was looking at her and her face looked really weird....it was actually full of fur....her own fur. shes been shedding lately and apparantly collected this fur and stuffed it in her mouth...is that nesting? we just arent really sure...and if that is a sign of nesting...why would she be doing this if she wasnt pregnant and never around other rabbits. do you think its a choking hazard also....

thanks so much for your input

-jen
-miss lily

Answer
Rabbits can go through what is called a false pregnancy, where their hormones tell them to start building a nest.  However, this is often triggered by having an intact male in the vicinity.  So I don't think false pregnancy or a real pregnancy is the answer here.  

You mentioned that she is shedding.  Rabbits often go through a major coat shed at least once a year.  When this happens, you can usually see a "line" on her body where the new fur has come in and the old fur is coming loose.  When the major shed takes place, you can often just pluck her fur and get a bunch of fur to easily come out.  This is very predominant when the shed line gets down to the butt area.

When she is doing a lot of shedding, it's helpful for her to move the extra fur out of her system by making sure she has a good quantity of vegetables and always has hay available.

This article has more information on fur loss in rabbits.
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/furloss.html

I hope this helps