Your female rabbit has been with a male, but you’re not sure if she’s pregnant. Here are some clues to indicate that she is pregnant.
Irritability– Often the first clue that your female rabbit is pregnant is irritability and crankiness towards you. She may growl at you when you open her cage door. Don’t worry. After her babies are born, she’ll go back to her sweet self. A rabbit’s gestation period is 30 to 32 days, so you don’t have long of a wait.
Lumps-Put your rabbit in your lap with her head towards you. Carefully, put your right hand under her stomach with your palm up and cupped a bit. Gently feel around her tummy with four fingers on one side of her stomach and your thumb on the other. Push softly, lifting up her back legs a little. Slide your hand up and down her stomach. If you feel soft little grape-sized lumps in a row on both on the sides of her abdomen, she’s pregnant.
Digging- Around the two week pregnancy mark, your female rabbit will dig in her cage. She’ll frantically scratch the bottom of the cage, but it’s actually a good sign that she’s taking motherhood seriously. In the wild, rabbits dig burrows when they’re pregnant, your rabbit is following her instincts.
Nest- A pregnant rabbit will begin to make her nest around 28-29 days into her pregnancy. She’ll pull fur from her stomach to line the nest. You can add extra straw or hay for her to add to the nest. Pregnant mother rabbits gather hay in their mouths like a bird builds his nest. Usually a doe clams down after she’s built her nest.
Jerks and kicks-As the day for birthing approaches, you’ll see jerks or kicks on your mother rabbit’s sides when she’s laying down. These are the baby rabbits announcing their presence and desire to come out. If you see this, your rabbit is definitely pregnant!
