My family has meat rabbits all different breeds..well anyway in our breeding pens my white female rabbit is due any day now with her 3rd litter ....her first 2 litters she either stop feeding them or ate the babies... and my dad said if she doesn't take care of these babies he's gonna kill her and i don't want that to happen .. so do any of you have any ideas i can use to help her??
Theres some does that just dont make good mammas. There's really nothing you can do about it. It probly wasnt wise to breed her a 3rd time. Its more then likey that she will eat them or not feed them again.
We had one like this. She would kill hers if we even looked in the box at them. Leave them alone. Don't touch them or the fur they are in. Chris
Is she alone in her own pen to have her litter in? If there are others in nearby pens or if there are other animals of any type nearby she will eat them rather than think that something else may get them. Rabbit paranoia. I would make sure that she is in a very private and quiet place. I've had Hollands flake out on their litters multiple times and finally come around and become good mothers. Last ditch effort you separate her from the babies, pull the mom out once or twice a day and hold her upside down in your lap with teats up, hold the kits to her belly and let them nurse until you see fat little milk bellies. I've successfully done this with very important litters, but it's not very practical for a meat breed rabbit. If she eats them or doesn't feed them this time around though it's probably for the best that she be culled. Best of luck.
Thanks everyone yea we have her in her own pen away from the other rabbits i will try what you all said to do but if she still kills them then i guess like you guys said it's for the best
we have a female lionhead "Darla" who had eatten a few of her babies...What I did was add just a few drops of vinegar into her water and she stopped. Now I don't know if it was just by accident that she stopped eatting them when I put the vinegar in the water or not...Have been told by other breeders that it actually does help...(That's where I got the idea from was a breeder). And as a little side note.....The vinegar in the water helps prevent the water from freezing in the winter.... It's just like 2-5 drops per rabbit water bottle...Don't wanna pickle her..hahaha Forgot to add...The vinegar helps so they can't taste the blood too...Which might be a trick for the rabbits....Vinegar=Blood='s Nasty taste...
