We have exciting news! I think I was wrong about the peanut in Bella's litter! Yay! There is still a possibility something could happen to it soon, but I don't think it is an actual peanut. I think it was just a runt! In fact, one of the babies is double/triple the size of some of the babies. So I have a new theory on what I think happened, which brings me to another topic to write about....

The Rabbit's Unique Reproduction Process

A rabbit's reproduction process is very different than a human's. First, the gestation of a Holland Lop rabbit is about 31 days, and their labor/delivery lasts about 5 minutes! They birth and clean the babies, eat the afterbirth, clean themselves up, and then they feed their babies and make sure they are all covered up, warm, and all together. Some mother rabbits don't feed their babies immediately, that is ok. I tend to see the experienced moms feeding sooner than the new moms. As long as the bunnies bellies are full within the first 12 hours, momma is doing her job. Their gestation and birth is so fast, it's definitely unique, but what is truly unique, and what relates to the situation I have found myself, is their actual uterus, and reproduction abilities. 

A rabbit actually has two uterine horns that are connected. What this means, is that it is possible for a rabbit to become pregnant in one side of her uterus, but not the other. Which then makes it possible for her to get pregnant at two separate times! I think this is what happened with Bella. 

When we mate a doe and buck, we do it in a neutral outside space we have that is safe and protected. We do this so that the territory is neutral for them both, to minimize territorial behavior, and encourage them to get along more easily. In this instance with Bella and Benji, we first mated them on February 18th. The intent was to mate them a second time on February 19th. This is something we typically do, put them together two days in a row for limited amounts of time to try and ensure a pregnancy. We did not get to put them together on February 19th. So instead I put them together again on February 20th. This is probably why one baby is significantly bigger, or possibly why one is significantly smaller. It is possible that either the very large baby was actually 2 days older in the gestation process and was developing in the one side of the uterus. While the significantly smaller baby started development 2 days later, on the other side of the uterus, and therefore born 2 days early. When the babies were born, two were a good bit larger, and two were much smaller. So where those two were in the process, I'm not sure, but there are a number of possibilities. 

A situation like this, is why it is very important to be consistent with the timing of mating, and to keep track of everything thoroughly. I am very happy the situation seems to be turning out well, but we will be extra cautious in the future. It could have been a lot worse. It is possible for a doe to be pregnant in one side, and a week or so later become pregnant on the other side as well. It is vitally important to make sure the doe and buck do not have access to each other for this very purpose. When a rabbit gives birth, she expels the entire contents of her uterus. So if this were to happen, more than likely you would have extremely premature babies, that would not survive. It is also possible that she waits until the latter babies are developed to give birth. That would result in the others being overdue, and they more than likely would not survive in that instance either.

I know with our situation that Bella gave birth exactly 31 days after the first mating because I kept track of the dates. I was also home and knew she would be giving birth when she did because of her behaviors, so I was keeping an extra eye on her, and am able to pinpoint the day and time. This is also why I was hopeful that tiny baby might be a runt, and not a peanut. I knew the difference in days, and was hoping the baby would start to catch up, which would be a sign that it was a runt. I'm so happy to report, so far they are just over a week and the baby has definitely grown! It continues to grow every day just like it's siblings. I have a feeling the chunker is a milk hog!  It always has a massively full belly when I check it. I'm also pretty sure that chunker is a blue fawn harlequin. It is going to be gorgeous, but they all have beautiful markings so far, and any day now they will start to open their eyes! We can't wait to see if we will have any blues!