Need Some Rabbit Mother Behaivor Help

[Hucklekree]

My mama rabbit kindled 9 healthy baby rabbits on the 2nd of April. I've been checking in on them everyday making sure that there are still nine and that mama is healthy. Today I went in a little later than usual and there were only eight upon examination and when I searched the box and the hutch no sign of the 9th kit. I'm afraid that the mother would have eaten it except I'm not certain that it's something even possible for mama rabbit behavior with 4 day old kits. Could anyone weigh in on this?

 

[lava]

They could.
Aine is an awful lot for one mama (so is 8). Is she stressed by you looking at them? Or she could just push it out somewhere else in the cage?
Unless you have another doe with babies of similar age, it's awful hard to hand-raise baby bunnies, so hopefully she won't do it again.

 

[Munkey]

I have never had a mama eat the babies, mutilate, our throw out of the cage. It's not easy to do but I have pulled babies from their mother and have had every baby survive. The only thing is you have to pick one or two times a day you can pin the mother down and let the babies nurse. Depending on how friendly she is it may just take you to do this but if she is crazy when you hold her you may want help. You just hold her down on her side and place the babies right in front of her and let them nurse it typically only takes about 5 minuets (at least in my experience)

She also could be stressed because your in and out of the cage, or something could have been wrong with the baby (example when you moved the nest you hurt it's leg, or it was was not nursing, could also have had one to many babies)

I wish you the best with your babies!!!

 

[Bunnylady]

In 20+ years of raising rabbits, I have had exactly one doe that would deliberately savage her (living) kits. Not to be too graphic, there would be some sign that something like that had taken place. Kits are surprisingly mobile at an early age; are you sure that the kit couldn't have been accidentally pulled out of the nest, and fallen out of the cage?

 

[[email protected]]

Hello,

I have raised rabbits for around 20 years. I have encountered does that will cannibalize there litters on occasion. The causes are usually that they are young and in cleaning their babies get carried away, I give does 3 chances and if they continue they are culled. They will also engage in this practice if they feel threatened such as there is a lot of noise and unusual traffic around their cages, dogs, cats or other predators bothering them or well sometimes they just do it. Occasionally a kit will stay attached to the nipple when the doe exits her box and end up on the wire and crawls out of the cage....look around on the ground around your cages. It is amazing how far the little guys can get. Sometimes you can warm them up and save them, sometimes not. It sounds to me like this may be the case if your missing kit. Also dig through the nest box and see if it isn't under the bedding someplace.

 

[Hucklekree]

thanks everyone for you help and experience. I haven't been able to locate the missing kit anywhere and I'm beginning to think that I may have miscounted!? No more are missing and they are all healthy and as far as I can tell thriving. She is maternal in her actions and seems quite protective of them so I'll have to chalk this one up to pregnancy brain or...