Rabbit Breeding & Reproduction

One Option: Get your vet to do it for you.

Take them to your vet and ask for a vet nurse to clip them. Rabbits don't really like having their nails cut so sometimes it's best to let the professionals do the job.

When you do something your rabbit doesn't like, he'll struggle against you, and then he can easily injure himself or you can accidentally injure him. Rabbits are delicate animals and easier to injure than cats or dogs. If you aren't confident handling a struggling rabbit, don't do it!

If you're new to clipping rabbit nails, go to the vet the first few times. Observe the vet and ask him or her to teach you. After the first few times, you might be comfortable doing it at home yourself.

Another Option: Do it yourself.

Use special nail clippers for rabbits that look like scissors, but the razor is round and small. You also need to occupy your rabbit with something like a carrot.

It takes some practice, but after the first nail or so you feel more comfortable about doing it. I begin by flipping the rabbit onto its back and holding it like a baby, tight against my body. I start with the bottom feet as they are easiest to do. With white colored nails you will easily see a pink line. This is the quick, and if you cut it, it will bleed and cause slight pain for the rabbit (similar to cutting too far on your own nails).

If you can't see the quick (if the nail is black), shine a flashlight under the nail and the quick will be revealed, or use the "squeeze-squeeze-clip" method: squeeze the nail twice with the scissors without clipping, and if the rabbit doesn't flinch that means you're safely above the quick.

Once you feel comfortable with the bottom feet give the front a try exactly the same as the back.

You should have some styptic powder or blood stopper for nails (at most pet stores) on hand in case you cut the quick and the rabbit bleeds: just dab it on the end of the nail to stop the bleeding. Flour and cornstarch also work to stop the bleeding, but they don't stop the pain like styptic powder does.

NOTE: It is helpful to have a second person hold the bunny.

You also don't have to turn the rabbit over. In fact, with many rabbits it's better not to because they might panic and injure themselves. Instead, sit your rabbit on a towel (on your lap, on the ground, or on a table surface) and hold her firmly. Some rabbits won't sit still and will need to be restrained. Have someone with you to help. Covering the rabbit's eyes (lightly, with your hands) may be enough to calm her; if not, something more advanced is necessary. Next time you're at the vet, ask them to show you how to restrain your rabbit. You can also type the phrase "bunny burrito" into a search engine - this is one method many people find useful.

Good to Know - Why Clip the Nails? If you don't clip your bunny's nails, they'll grow too long and injury will result. For example, the nail could get easily caught and torn out. Or, the long nails could cause the rabbit to stand with more pressure on the back of the feet, resulting in a condition called "sore hocks."

Baby bunnies should be left alone: their mother will take care of them. People often find wild baby bunnies and think they have been abandoned when in fact they haven't.

If baby bunnies have been abandoned and need to be hand-reared, it's likely they won't survive. They have the best chance with someone who has experience raising bunnies: a rabbit rescuer or wildlife rehabilitator. If you find abandoned baby rabbits or have any in your care, call a local rabbit organization, wildlife rehab organization, government wildlife department, humane society, or SPCA for advice.

The babies will have to be fed with a milk replacer until they're weaned. Cow milk is dangerous for rabbits. Safe milk replacers include KMR Kitten powder (for domestic babies) or goat milk (for wild babies).

When they start to wean (between 4 and 6 weeks old) they can start on pellets and hay. Fresh greens can be introduced in small amounts when they're about 12 weeks. Treats (fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains) should wait until they're ready to begin transitioning to an adult diet (at about 7 months).

See the links below for more information on caring for baby rabbits.

The saliva of the short-tailed shrew is poisonous - it is the only mammal with such an adaptation. The poison can kill a rabbit and cause a burning sensation and severe swelling in humans.

Not all shrews are poisonous, just Short-tailed, check the appearance of the species and use gloves when handling it. If you are bitten by a poisonous shrew, I wouldn't worry either. You probably won't die.

Shrews are NOT rodents. They are small and furry, but they are nothing like rats and mice. They are in the family Soricomorpha, which is a much more ancient group of mammals.

Caring for a Shrew:

If anyone means to take care of a shrew, the first thing he/she needs to understand is that shrews have an extremely high metabolism. The reason some shrews have venom is so that they can more easily hunt in order to satisfy their voracious appetite. They have to eat at least once every few hours in order not to starve to death. The second aspect of shrews to understand is that they are entirely carnivorous, and are known for their fierce disposition while hunting. Ever wonder why Shakespeare named his play The Taming of the Shrew? Shrews are not easy creatures to tame.

Probably the best thing to do is to release it into the wild once it is well again. However, if one does want to keep a shrew in captivity in the long-term or just until it is recovered, this is how.

Shrews are the smallest mammals on earth, so keeping it in a wire cage is not advisable, because it could slip out, and if it is poisonous, that could be dangerous to other pets in the house. Contain it in a normal terrarium, as you would a lizard or snake or rat. When choosing such an enclosure, more emphasis should be placed upon the length of the terrarium, rather than the height, because shrews are not known for climbing, although a few live plants wouldn't go amiss. Following the model of a snake's terrarium is the best way to go, including the small locks, rocks and logs sold at pet stores to place in their cages.

Feeding your shrew would probably be the most difficult thing, and something you should really consider if you want to keep a shrew in captivity permanently. In the wild, shrews are mainly insectivores, but laboratories keeping shrews often feed them dead voles and mice. Crickets and mealworms would probably be the best way to feed a shrew, and the easiest, because most pet shops carry them. Unless you can handle seeing your "pet" killing another mammal, I would not recommend buying baby mice, though the shrew would probably like it. Shrew would definitely prefer live prey. Don't be tempted to buy a shrew a water-dispenser like those for mice. It is usually too small, and it might not figure it out otherwise. Again, the rock-like water bowls sold for snakes and lizards will do just fine, and you should probably find the smallest one available.

If you keep a shrew in captivity, you should remember that it is not a pet. Not only was it born in the wild, it's brain capacity, as well as social behavior, make it almost impossible to tame a shrew. It will not want to be touched, nor would I recommend trying to touch it. Its terrarium would be a decorative, exotic effect only. Also, most shrews are reasonably territorial and highly solitary. Some species of shrew die when kept in close quarters together, without being attacked by the other.

Don't get too attached to your shrew. Although, as said above, some shrews can live be about three years old, most don't last longer than a year or two. If you feed it and care for it, take comfort in the fact that you have, at least, made its little life easier by providing it with food.

Lastly, research your shrew as much as possible. Try to figure out its species by judging on the area in which you live, its coloring and size, and then adjust its feeding schedule and diet accordingly.

I have never kept a shrew personally for myself. I merely know about them as wild animals, I don't know what to expect of a shrew in captivity.

The average gestation period for rabbits is 28-32 days.
Rabbits carry kits for 28 - 32 days from mating.

Rabbits will usually give birth in the dead of the night, some time before dawn. They do not nurture their young, by which I mean they will ignore them and stay away from them as a protective measure, because they are prey animals it is safer to lure predators away from their nest. But they will feed, wash and organise their kits and nest twice a day, before dawn and after dusk when noone can see them.

Make sure all the kits are warm and snuggled in the nest on day one and remove any remaining afterbirth, dead kits or soiled matter so as to keep ants away. Check again after 24hrs to be sure the babies have rounded little tummies, you should see a white patch where the milk is. If you can, weight the kits with a 1gm digital scale every day at the same time and for the first week they should put on 2+ gm a day. If their tummies are concave or they have lost weight by day 2 the mother may not be feeding all or some of them. Sometimes there are one or two weak kits that get pushed out of the way. Now it is your decision whether to let nature take its course, two days without fluids and the kit(s) will surely die as it will be too weak to fight the other kits to nurse and will dehydrate. Or you can pull the kit(s) from the nest and hand raise or just supplement returning the kit between feeds in the hope it will gain enough strength to feed from the mother. If you chose to return the kit be sure it does not get dragged out, a hungry kit will hang on to a teat, get dragged out of the nest and as the mother can not put it back it will die of hypothermia. If you are thinking of handraising the kit you will need a lot of time and patience, the first two weeks it will need 5 feeds a day and it takes about 15 minutes per kit or longer if you are learning how. You need to get some Wombaroo rabbit rearing powder from a vet or stockfeeder and initially use a 50% mix with more water so as to hydrate the bunny then on the second day a 75% up to the normal recommended mix on day 3, continue to weight the bunny daily and feed according to weight. Use a 3ml syringe and go very slowly, a tiny drop at a time so it doesn't breath it in and suffocate or develop a lung infection, I haven't had this happen, just go slowly and keep a tissue on hand to dab excess from the mouth and nose area constantly. Use a warm wet cotton wool ball to clean the sticky milk off after and slowly massage the tummy down gently to stimulate urination as the mother would by licking the kit. I find they do usually go on their own when they need to as soon as you pick them up and it squirts! But better that than soiling the nesting material. Hopefully you won't need to as they do not thrive but can be successfully raised in this way and make up their weight once they are eating. Also you need to use a probiotic like acidophilus capsule broken to use the powder at two weeks as they start eating and try to collect your adult rabbits cecotropes, the dark soft night poo that they eat, they all stick together like grapes. These provide the correct gut flora for the bunnies to colonise their digestive tracts, I mix two or three in with a feed and they don't like it but they need it, for about four nights running at around 2 weeks and anytime they seem to not be doing well. You can cut feeds down to 4 after 2 weeks and monitor them closely so they keep gaining weight until about 4 weeks down to three feeds, 5 weeks down to two feeds and 6 weeks 1 feed either first thing or last thing depending on when you know they eat the most. By 6-7 weeks they can be completely weaned and only give hay initially, it is best for the bunnies. Some chaff and pellets after 8 weeks and NO vegetables until three or four months old. They're little stomachs can't handle it. Always give unlimited hay to keep their teeth in good health. Good luck!

If you hover over a rabbit (who is not obese and gets out of its cage a lot) then you'll find that a rabbit is more pear shaped. If you look at the belly and it comes out more rounder, then there is a possibility your rabbit could be pregnant. I'm sure there are other ways to tell but my bunny has never been pregnant. You may also find that your rabbit is more protective of her stomach, when you put your hand down to touch her. If you want to know ahead of time or find out more so you're prepared, I would suggest maybe going to the vet.

If you can, very carefully feel the rabbit's stomach area. If you feel lumps they might be babies. Also, the doe will become a bit more feisty and aggressive but that is normal. A doe will be pregnant for 31 days tops. and towards the end of the pregnancy, the doe will pull loose fur from her stomach to create a nest. Try to keep the male away from the female if she is pregnant.

she will start drinking and eating alot more she will also start making a nest and start ripping her fur out to make her nest warm and soft for the baby bunny's she also might start getting a little bit grumpy. animals are just like humans the mummy bunny will kinda act like a human mummy hope i helped you oh and if your bunny is doing all of this the best thing to do is to feed her and give her time to herself. and if the male is still in the cage with her get him out of there. it will be a blood bath

There is no guaranteed way of telling. Palpating (feeling for young) is not 100% reliable. Does may kindle (give birth) anywhere from 28-34 days after breeding. The average is 31. You may re-breed her if she does not kindle by the 35th day. In the mean time, give her peace and quiet, and check on her nestbox morning and night. If she starts to build a nest on the floor, pick it up and place it in a hollow at the back of the nest box. That will dicourage her from birthing her kits on the wire. If you see her in the nest box, do not come near her cage. Check again in half an hour. If the doe is in the nest with kits and you try to check, she may squash them by accident. A normal birth only takes about fifteen minutes, but some does will be in labour for more than twelve hours. When she kindles, quietly and calmly check the kits to ensure that there are not dead babies or birthing debris. If she births her litter on the floor, SHE WILL NOT MOVE THEM. Rabbits do not pick up their kits for ANY reason. Pick up any that are alive, warm them up, and place them in the box, She will find them. The same can be done for any kits that are found outside the box within the first few weeks. Warm newborns by dipping their bodies (don't submerse their heads!!!) in warm water and then drying them; Warm older kits with hot water bottles and warm hands- don't get their fur wet. If She will not kill the kits if you touch them, though she may try to bite you. A few greens placed well away from the nest box will distract her long enough for you to check. Don't startle her. Check on them daily to ensure that they are alive, warm, and have full stomachs. It is quite common to lose one or two, so don't be discouraged. If the doe loses her litter, you may rebreed her four days after the litter was born- no matter if she loses them on the first or fourth day. Before you re-breed her, check that she is in condition. If she is underweight, wait to breed her again. NEVER re-breed a doe mid-way through her pregnancy. Many people will tell you that if the doe does not refuse the buck, she was not pregnant, but this is NOT true. Rabbits have two uteres horns, and sometimes they will only get pregnant in one. A re-bred doe may find herself carrying two different litters of completely different ages. The second litter may die after the first one is born, and that decomposition will kill the doe.
When a rabbit is pregnant she will increase the amount of water that she drinks. also, after about two or three weeks, you can flip your rabbit over on her back and hold her like you would a baby. then place your fingers on her stomach closer to her back legs. apply a small amount of pressure and rub. if she is pregnant you will feel small round balls.
We had bunnies before. If you put them all in the same cage, they make many babies very quickly. My mom says that bunnies are always pregnant, and I believe her. But you have to watch out because sometimes, bunnies like to eat baby bunnies. I don't know why, because when they're small, there's hardly any meat on their bones. I would rather eat a full grown bunny than a little tiny baby bunny.

If you are or will soon be caring for baby rabbits, there's a lot you need to know! How to care for them also depends on their age: 1 week old bunnies, 2 month old bunnies, and 8 month old bunnies need very different kinds of care! See the related questions and links below for more information.

Here's some very basic introductory information about how to care for newborn babies:

Make sure the mother is safe, comfortable, healthy, well-fed and watered so she can produce milk for her babies and take care of them. The mother will do a lot of the work. Keep the mother and her babies away from other rabbits, including the father, because there's the risk of accident and injury. (Other rabbits may accidentally crush or even eat the babies!) The mother will often leave the nest during the day and feed her babies in the early morning and late at night. You can check she is doing this by looking in the nest and seeing if her babies have round bellies. Round means they are being fed.

If babies manage to find their way out of the nest it is important that they are put back. The mother will not do this. You will have to. Also another key thing to remember is to remove any dead bunnies.

The babies can be separated from their mother after 6-9 weeks.