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False pregnancy or something bad?

22 11:18:37

Question
Hi,
I have a buck and doe that are usually separated, but they accidentally made contact and mated for a few seconds.
Now a few weeks later, the doe was very fat,very affectionate, her teats  swelled, she dug a nest....but no babies. I read up on false pregnancy, but I'm worried. Her stomach did get smaller suddenly and feels kind of stretched/distended, so I figured she maybe cannibalized, but I could find no evidence. Also, her stomach feels very lumpy, but I'm not sure if it's her stomach or maybe a buildup of milk (the lumps feel to be under her teats). What do you think? Might it have been a real or false pregnancy? Or is something wrong with her?
Thanks

Answer
Dear Pam,

Although it *could* be a false pregnancy, it is far more likely that she actually gave birth if she became big, and then suddenly became small.  (Rabbits are induced ovulators; if they mate, they ovulate, and pregnancy is usually assured.)  

If she is running loose, then it's quite possible that she dug a burrow for her litter, and is caring for them now.  She will usually plug the entrance to the burrow when she's not feeding the babies (which is only once or twice a day), and it might be very hard for you to find the burrow if she's in a large area.

If she's in a hutch, and there's no nest, then she might have cannibalized the litter out of stress (for lack of proper equipment to bear her babies), and still be lactating.  It might take a week or so for her milk to dry up.  But if her breasts are still large in a week, then please get her to a good rabbit vet ASAP to check for mastitis (infection of the mammary glands), which would have to be treated with antibiotics.

You can find a good rabbit vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

and please read:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/breeding.html

and

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/spay.html

I hope this helps.

Dana