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- #11
That's a doe that is being protective, which makes me even more sure that she is worried by something - rats or other wild animals in the rabbitry, maybe? Does that are this protective may be a pain in the neck to deal with, but they are generally good mothers.
It's pretty clear that you do not like this animal, and you want validation of your decision to get rid of her. Fair enough; for whatever reason, she isn't working well for you (though most breeders have a "3 strikes and you are out" rule, and as I read it, she really only has, like, half a strike against her). But 7 kits is a fairly large litter on its own (commercial breeders consider 6 to be the "ideal" litter size, and often cull down to that many). Do you have 3 or 4 other does that have kindled within a day or two of this doe, and have small litters that you can add a couple of extras to? Dumping the whole bunch on one doe, especially if she has kits that are significantly bigger than these, will most likely end in the loss of most of them, anyway.
ETA: by the way, I have been breeding rabbits for over 30 years. This is going to sound harsh, but you need to get used to seeing dead baby bunnies - they happen, a lot. If your other does haven't been losing significant numbers, you have been very lucky during your short time breeding.
Also: you said the babies are being found "outside the cage." Those babies are crawling out and falling out on their own, which is what "baby saver" wire is designed to prevent. Some breeders use dropped nest boxes - the nest box is in a hole, under the cage floor - so babies that may get pulled out can fall back into the nest as they crawl around. Those that have tried this design say it almost entirely eliminates the "pulled out" losses.
The babay saver wire is in place and the nesting box is sufficient and in place and today there are two more dead. Now shes down to 5 but oh well guess i should get use to seeing dead babies and just deal with it
