doe - fur loss not pregnant

Question
my doe who we have had for about four years has built a kind of nest out of fur in the bedroom of her hutch. why would she do this. she isn't pregnant having had no contact with a buck ever, or at least since we bought her. she recently lost her companion a doe who was around 8 who she had lived with for 4 years. she has recently moved hutch and has a new run and is allowed on the grass more. if that gives any clues

Answer
Dear Tamara,

She is probably having a false pregnancy.  This will last a couple of days after the nest-building, and then she'll go back to normal for a while. But once these start, they continue, and they can foster things like mastitis and grumpy behavior.

Unspayed, unbred female rabbits have a very high risk of uterine cancer.  At her age, she's a very high risk.  Please read:

www.rabbit.org/health/spay.html


So although no surgery is 100% risk free, I would seriously urge you to contact a good rabbit vet:

www.rabbit.org/vets

and have preliminary health checks and bloodwork done so she can be spayed.  Our vets have spayed thousands of rabbits her age and older, and it could save her life.

Once she's spayed, you can set up a "blind date" for her with some of your local rabbit rescuer's neutered male fosters.  She may still be grieving for the loss of her companion, and this will help her overall health and psychological wellbeing.  You can contact your local rescuer here:

www.rabbit.org/chapters

or call the local Humane Society and ask about rescued rabbits.

I hope this helps.

Dana