baby rabbit trouble(i need help)

[Cochinwomen]

I have a rabbit and she gave birth three days ago and when i walked in the barn to go do chore she was eating one. So what i did is take them away and took care of them myself. Well today i went to go do chores and she was making a nest with her fur like she was when she gave birth. I put her babies back in there and i was wondering if you think she will eat them again, or was she making a nest because she wanted them back. When i put the babies in there at first she went on top of them and i think she was trying to make them nurse because she would nudge them under here, well now shes not by them she just lays in the opposite side of the cage and every so often i go and check on them and shes by them sometimes not all the time, I'm not sure what to do, i don't know much about rabbits/bunnies so help me.

She had 8 babies she ate one and one died so i only have 6 left.

 

[tiffanyh]

Are you sure she killed it? I dont know much about rabbit babies but maybe it died and it is an instinctive thing not to attract predators.

Hopefully some bunny peopel come along soon.

 

[redhen]

They eat their young!??

I didnt know rabbits ate meat??

 

[Cochinwomen]

Quote:
I'm not sure if it came out dead or alive I wasn't there, but she ate half the body when I went out there.

 

[RabbitMage]

Yes RedHen, rabbits do eat their young.

She may have eaten the other one because something was wrong with it, or it was born dead. The fact that she's made a nest does show she has some maternal instinct. Rabbits don't hover over their babies like most other animals, she'll only hop in the box a few times a day to nurse and clean them, and then leave them alone.

If you're really worried, you can keep the nestbox inside, and just take the babies out three or four times a day to be with mom and nurse.

 

[Cochinwomen]

Quote:
Ok thank you so much i was worried and It could of been maybe there was the dad in the same cage when she had them but hes not in there anymore. Thank you.

 

[TACEYPERKINS]

Yea sometimes they eat them! It kinda sounds like she is lacking in some trace minerals. What do you feed her? And does she have a salt lick?
So did you leave the babies in there with her? You can watch them if she isn't jumping in there to feed them every couple of hours you will need to feed them. She may start to eat them again if she doesn't get what she needs. I always gave my rabbits 2 salt licks, the white one and the red one. They both provide different vitimins and trace minerals that her body needs right now for lactating and in the heat.
Also, if she is a new mommy and has never done this before, that may be why she is not helping them. Or it could because you have touched them and your scent is all over them. Some rabbits are real quirky about things like that. Just watch them and if she is not feeding them, you will have to. And if she is not harming them you can keep them in there. Just make sure you get hersome salt licks. Good luck~ Tacey

 

[Cochinwomen]

Quote:
Well i had to feed them for 2 days and then all of a sudden she started to make another nest so i thought she wanted them back and when i first put them in there she had them feed on her she would nudge them under her and she would stand over them.

 

[Sachasmom]

Did she nurse them at all for those two days? Odds are very high her milk has already dried up, I would double check them either tonight or tomorrow morning.

A well fed kit will look like its swallowed a grape, so nice and fat. Not wrinkly and skinny. If you go out there and they are making lots of squeaking noises, this is BAD. Prey animals do not make "'Come eat me" noises. That usually means that they are (pick one) wet, cold, hot, hungry.

Rabbits will eat the dead stuff normally. Its how they keep the nest clean and keep it from attracting predators, perfectly normal. Sometimes they will also kill their newborns in an attempt to "protect" them from danger (I know, its odd but true) I don't breed anything that kills their young. I also will give them a pass for their first litter since sometimes they don't quite have the hang of it, but they best get with the program after.

Oh, and don't forget to increase the does feed too if she still has milk and is feeding her litter!

 

[TACEYPERKINS]

also agree with SASHASMOM! You can also pick up the doe to see if she is engorged with milk. That too will give a clue if she has been feeding her kits or not.