My female rabbit has disappeared down a burrow

We have two female rabbits. Three days ago one of the rabbits dug a burrow and although she initially came up for food and company she now hasn't been seen for two days. The second rabbit has not gone down the hole. I am wondering if this second rabbit is a he and if they are having babies.


If this is the case how do I get my rabbit and her babies out of the burrow? How is she feeding herself? And will she bring babies up if she has any?

***** Karen Sez *****
I suspect your suspicions are suspiciously correct! For confirmation, you could grab the rabbit not in the burrow, flip it over and inspect its equipment. By this age, you should have no trouble recognizing its gender. Check out https://www.raising-rabbits.com/sexing-rabbits.html.

If it's a girl, then the rabbit in the burrow is in the throes of a false pregnancy, which feels every bit as real to her as a real one. But once she builds her nest, her hormones will relent, she'll rejoin your family, and you can fill in the hole.

If it's a boy...fun fun! The doe's instincts are apparently very healthy - you can let her take care of everything. She knows what she is doing instinctively. I would actually expect the doe to come out of the burrow and stay out of it every day, going back once or twice to feed the kits. In this manner you can let nature take its course and not try to dig up the burrow and pull the kits out.

(As an aside, there IS the chance the doe has a burrow AND a resting den underground, in which case she may only surface in the evenings so she can forage.)

If she comes out and acts as if nothing is going on, AND if the second rabbit is a buck, don't just lock her up in a cage and forget about the burrow. You will want to ensure she has opportunity every day to feed her babies. See her go down there, stay there for, say, 10 minutes, and then come back up. You could even check her tummy for signs of recent suckling.

The doe will feed herself by eating grass, bushes and other forages in your garden. Until she decides she can rejoin your family, you could put out dishes of rabbit pellets and water near the burrow.

The babies will start poking their heads out of the burrow once they are 2, or 2 1/2 weeks old. By 3 weeks old, the kits will probably be cavorting around the garden, and you can then catch them all and put them in the doe's cage. (Will you need a second, bigger, cage??)

I hope you enjoy the whole process! It can be very rewarding to experience nature and new life evolve.

One last note: It might be tempting to allow your doe to live permanently in your garden in her burrow. But don't forget:

Rabbit society is matriarchal, and it is the does that do the digging. If that doe decides she needs to remodel, nothing stops her from tunneling for 60, 100, 150 feet. Domestic rabbits are absolutely known to dig for 'miles.' The fact that you are her BFF does not trump the rabbit-y instincts ingrained in her DNA. Just sayin'...!

Comments for My female rabbit has disappeared down a burrow

Average Rating starstarstarstarstar

Click here to add your own comments

Jul 28, 2020
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		One of my female rabbits has disappeared into her burrow.
by: Anonymous

Hi, I have two female rabbits living in a nice big open garden space together. They get along great and love each other a lot. Last week, one of my rabbits dug a burrow underground, and she’s now been missing for 2 days.

I’m a bit worried that she’s been caved in or buried alive. she cannot possibly be pregnant as we don’t have a male rabbit. She could have gotten out somewhere else in the garden, but my best guess is that she got out through her burrow. I’ve looked all over the backyard for tunnels going out, but I’ve found nothing. My other rabbit has been a bit lonely, and goes in and out of the burrow sometimes.

I’m very concerned and have no idea what to do. I don’t want to dig the burrow back up in case she’s down there.

***** Karen Sez *****

Well, clearly I don't know exactly what has happened since I'm way over here, but you've given me some clues. Plus, it is July, and rabbit reproductive systems have been in full swing since springtime and may be getting a little desperate!

Your two rabbits live together. Even the act of physical contact - sniffing the back of the other, resting flopped over one another - can trigger a false pregnancy. Given the absence of a buck (unless one snuck into the garden behind your back), I'm guessing your missing doe is in the throes of a false pregnancy. Her hormones SWEAR to her that she's pregnant, but without the presence of sperm, no babies will form. The whole charade will come crashing down within two and a half weeks. If this is the case, I would expect your doe eventually to come waltzing back into your life like nothing happened. And actually, if she's made a tunnel and is nesting so seriously already, her hormones should be crashing and snapping her back into reality within just a few more days at most.

I doubt the fear of a tunnel collapse, except in the case of heavy rains.

You're concerned that she might have escaped into the great outdoors. Yes, this is a concern, as does can tunnel for long distances to your neighbors three doors down. But, if her friend rabbit hasn't also disappeared, then I'm back to theory #1 - the false pregnancy.

Praying for a happy ending to your story!

Find a lot more info about rabbits in the wild, false pregnancies, and pregnant rabbits in either of these two resources:

Rabbit Raising Problem Solver.
Rabbit Reproduction.
Apr 13, 2019
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Rabbit gone underground three days not seen
by: Anonymous

Two female rabbits - the dominant one has gone underground and has not been seen for three days now. They were enclosed in a greenhouse which apart from the soil in surrounding beds I believed to be safe. How long can they survive underground as no good of water has been touched. We have taken the other rabbit back in doors, is there anymore I can be doing? Thank you.
Jun 02, 2017
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Filling in hole
by: Anonymous

Hi.. we have two rabbits over a space of a couple of weeks have dug a massive hole and just last night I only have one rabbit on the surface and he or she has filled in the hole with the other one inside (well, nowhere to be seen). Is this normal? I'm afraid the other one will be trapped and suffocate. I was originally told that the one who is outside was the female so now I am really confused?
Feb 23, 2017
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Both doe and buck can make a burrow together
by: Anonymous

Regarding your comment that it is the female rabbit who burrows, I would like to add information with my experience. I have a male and female rabbit. After breeding, both of them started to work on the burrow. They seemed to be helping each other. One would dig infront. The other would dig away the sand piling up behind. Both would go into the burrow and keep digging inwards. It was a delightful sight. It went on for a week or more.
Jun 04, 2016
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		My rabbit had babies down a deep hole
by: Anonymous

Hi guys can anyone help me i think my girl rabbit had babies down a very deep hole but i think maybe some have passed away because there is a dead smell ... i can not get to the babies because i am scared all the dirt will fill in ... also ants are starting to enter but i feel there is still live kits because my rabbit still goes down the hole .. what to do?

***** Karen Sez *****
Ugh, I keep my rabbits in cages, I am not sure what your options are. I suppose you could attempt to dig, as long as you could plug the hole while digging. Dunno, there's got to be a way.

Other than that, one can wait out the situation. Ants are not a good sign, but they'll probably be interested in the dead kits, rather than the live ones....I hope!

Anyone here that manages a rabbit colony and can offer suggestions?

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Comments.

Protected by Copyscape Plagiarism Check Software

Double-Value Guarantee

Our policy is to always OVER-deliver on value,
which is why your purchase is fully covered by our
Double-Value Guarantee.

Go ahead - take any of our e-books for a test drive. Peruse our detailed informational and educational e-books. Examine our plans for building rabbit cages, runs, or metal or PVC hutch frames. Check out the Rabbit Husbandry info e-books.

If you aren't completely satisfied that your e-book purchase is worth at least double, triple or even quadruple the price you paid, just drop us a note within 45 days, and we'll refund you the entire cost. That's our Double-Value Guarantee.

Note: When you purchase your e-books, they will be in PDF format, so you can download them to any device that supports PDF format. We advise making a back-up copy to a drive or cloud account. If the books are lost, you can also purchase another copy from Raising-Rabbits.