Rabbits

[BBK]

what kind of rabbit was it? how old? maybe too young.

We have dwarf buns. and our very first rabbit finally had a litter. this was the 5th time we tried, long and painful road. She ate part of one the first litter and left the others to died.
the other litters came on really super cold days and then one litter was a really hot spell. my son didn't want to get rid of her either...

This litter, the nest in the far corner so we couldn't peek.

Rule of thumb is not to bother with them till the 3rd day.

or rub your hands with carrots if you must check, we did this, mom didn't bother with us and didn't hurt the babies.

now her lil buns are running around and are sooo cute!
hope you have luck the next time.
Melinda

 

[gypsy2621]

Quote:
Did the doe die?

Most rabbits kill their babys because they are protecting them, either from the buck or form some strange noise.
Illnesses will prompt them to naturally cull the litter. its perfectly normal for a first time mother to kill her babies either from direct kill or by not feeding them,
first time mothers are notorious for being stupid also. they just have no clue what to do with those wiggly things.

If the doe was sick and you didnt know it , she wold kill the babies for that reason also.

need more info,
type of nesting area,
feed
living area,
if they are underground she could have picked up anything from the soi that would make the babeis not develope right. another reason for a naural cull.

Most people do not realize that domesticated rabbits are not like their wild cousins.
most cannot adapt to living under ground. they do not have the immune system to handle the parasite load that lives in soil.

get them out of the ground and into cages and I bet you will have better luck and better mortality rates.

 

[chixie]

most of the time when they eat their babies there is either something wrong with the babies or something upset the mother

 

[Jessika]

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/orphan.html#The%20Bunny%20is%20Domestic%20and%20Really%20Orphaned%20-%20How%20do%20I%20care%20for%20it?


2/3 the way down it talks about orphaned domestic rabbits.....

 

[roosters97]

Baby

 

[Jessika]

I am sorry honey. It just happens. You didn't do anything wrong. First time Moms can be bad Moms. I would breed her again in a few weeks if it were me. But you have to hope for the best and prepare for the worst....

Sorry hun.....

 

[lemmr]

my doe's second litter had a really cute gray baby which I picked up and held because it was so darn cute....this was at about four weeks old...the next day my favorite gray was gone...we couldn't find it anywhere...so the mom ate it, the other four were fine....proves that they may eat them if you handle them....

 

[bossynbella]

my doe's second litter had a really cute gray baby which I picked up and held because it was so darn cute....this was at about four weeks old...the next day my favorite gray was gone...we couldn't find it anywhere...so the mom ate it, the other four were fine....proves that they may eat them if you handle them....

We handle our babies from day one on. We may not handle every baby every day but our hand goes into that nest to be sure everyone is alive and warm and fed. If your rabbits are use to you handling them it really isn't an issue. First time moms sometimes kill their babies. It's like they just don't have a clue what is happening. Second time they are usually just fine. If your mother rabbit ate a four week old baby bunny, there is more wrong there then you touching it. My guess is it got out somehow. Four week old bunnies are pretty mobile. I have had them slip out through the feeders on the sides of the cages if I forget to close the tops.

Sorry you lost your litter of babies. If she is on the ground put her in a cage with a nest box next time. I bet things will go much better.