\[ **BT: [[zoology]] | [[animals]] | [[mammals]] | [[lagomorphs]]** ] --- # Rabbits Baby rabbits are called *kits*.[^1] [[Rabbits do not have an ovulatory cycle; they are, instead, induced to ovulate via copulation.]][^2] [[Suckling induces oxytocin production in all mammals.]][^3] [[In rabbits, the amount of oxytocin produced when suckling is correlated with litter size.]][^4] [[Rabbits nurse their young just once per day, in a set (circadian) rhythm, at night.]][^5] [[Rabbits mothers nurse their kits within a nest; this nest is constructed by the rabbit mother during the course of her pregnancy.]][^6] ![[Caba et al. 'Circadian Rhythms and Clock Genes in Reproduction', 2018, p. 2.png]] <small>Source: [[Caba et al., ‘Circadian Rhythms and Clock Genes in Reproduction’, 2018]], p. 2.</small> [[The rabbit mammary pheromone, 2-methylbut-2-enal, triggers rabbit pups to suckle.]][^7] (*see:* [[2-methylbut-2-enal]]) [^1]: Mario Caba et al., ‘[[Caba et al., ‘Circadian Rhythms and Clock Genes in Reproduction’, 2018|Circadian Rhythms and Clock Genes in Reproduction: Insights from Behavior and the Female Rabbit’s Brain]]’, *Frontiers in Endocrinology*, vol. 9, 106 (March 2018). https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2018.00106. [^2]: A. Dal Bosco et al., ‘[[Dal Bosco et al., ‘Ovulation Induction in Rabbit Does’, 2011|Ovulation Induction in Rabbit Does: Current Knowledge and Perspectives]]’, *Animal Reproductive Science*, vol. 129, nos. 3–4 (2011), p. 107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anireprosci.2011.11.007; ‘Estrous cycle’, Wikipedia, last updated 19 February 2025, 09:28 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estrous_cycle. [^3]: Caba et al., ‘[[Caba et al., ‘Circadian Rhythms and Clock Genes in Reproduction’, 2018|Circadian Rhythms and Clock Genes in Reproduction]]’, p. 4.; Jennifer Denver, *[[Denver, Female Biology, 2024|Female Biology]]*, 2nd edition, All USF Faculty Authored Books 108 (2024), p. 354. USF Scholarship Repository, [https://repository.usfca.edu/faculty_books_all/108](https://repository.usfca.edu/faculty_books_all/108); Cat Bohannon, *[[Bohannon, Eve, 2023|Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution]]* (Hutchinson Heinemann, 2023), p. 43. [^4]: Caba et al., ‘[[Caba et al., ‘Circadian Rhythms and Clock Genes in Reproduction’, 2018|Circadian Rhythms and Clock Genes in Reproduction]]’, p. 4. [^5]: Caba et al., ‘[[Caba et al., ‘Circadian Rhythms and Clock Genes in Reproduction’, 2018|Circadian Rhythms and Clock Genes in Reproduction]]’, p. 3. [^6]: Caba et al., ‘[[Caba et al., ‘Circadian Rhythms and Clock Genes in Reproduction’, 2018|Circadian Rhythms and Clock Genes in Reproduction]]’, p. 3. [^7]: Tristram D. Wyatt, ‘[[Wyatt, ‘Pheromones’, 2017|Pheromones]]’, *Current Biology*, vol. 27, no. 15 (2017), R740. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2017.06.039](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2017.06.039).