How to tell if a dwarf lop is pregnant or has had babies.

Question
Hi, We have a dwarf lop (female) and mini  lop (male)  who are both almost 12months old.  So far, no babies.  I was just wondering how you can tell when they are pregant, or if she has had babies.  (They do like hiding under the house to which we have no access).  Sometimes the female's temperant is cranky/aggressive, but there was only one hair pulling incident, and this was when she was 5months old, and very much at all.  I had not cleaned her cage for a week so I quickly cleaned the cage when we saw the fur, but no babies came.  I am now worried she does not feel that her cage is the place for babies (although it has been 7 months since then) and they have only recently discovered under the house. I have discovered her nipples but they are not enlarged or anything.  OUr main concern is that when we go away, we don't want to leave undiscovered babies behind!!  If she had had babies, when would they come out from under the house?Thanks so much

Answer
Many times first time mothers will have their babies in very strange places.  If they are in a cage they will spread them all over.  Then other times they are perfect mothers.  You just can't ever tell.  If you are planning on having litters I would suggest that you keep her in a cage so that you can keep an eye on her.  If they are allowed to roam free she could have her babies just about anywhere.

If there are babies and they are healthy you should see them wandering about 3 weeks after birth.  It is so much safer to keep them confined if you can find them.  You should provide her with a nest box which is just a little bit bigger than she is.  Line it with aspen chips and then fill it with hay.  If she starts pulling her hair in strange places try moving her cage and the box to that area.

The incident at 5 months was probably a false pregnancy.  Female rabbits have them often.  They are just telling you that they are ready to be good mothers and many times no babies arrive.  

If you would like to try to feel for pregnancy you can try palpating.  I am attaching a website that might be helpful.  Even some of the more experienced breeder's have difficulty with this but it doesn't hurt to try.

http://www.freewebs.com/hgrabbitry/frequentlyaskeds.htm

If you need anything else please let me know

Pam