In 30+ years of breeding rabbits, I have had exactly one doe that intentionally killed her babies - she did it more than once, and at least one time with no changes in routine or other obvious provocation. I have seen an awful lot of what appeared to be accidental killings, including a couple of 2-week-old kits that were fatally injured when their mother died in convulsions in the nest box (apparently of a calcium deficiency).
While the natural history of a wild rabbit makes a good starting point to understand our domestic animals, there are a few things that should be kept in mind. The vast majority of wild rabbits never get a chance to breed; most of the babies that are born get eaten by something before they get old enough. The land can only support so many; of the few that make it to breeding age, most won't survive their first breeding season. With a little luck, one or two of their offspring will carry their genes into the next year. In the wild, an animal hardly ever dies of old age, most small animals are perfectly healthy when a lapse in alertness results in their death.
So though a wild doe may rebreed quickly, raising several litters in rapid succession is a fairly rare event, and one that won't get repeated year after year. Another thing to consider is litter size. Wild rabbits have smaller litters than their much larger domestic counterparts. While it is true that commercial breeders push their does at a pretty hard pace, they are all about the numbers - a doe that doesn't pull her weight gets culled; only animals that can take that pace stick around. They only work with young does, too - there are no pets in a commercial operation.
Incidentally, a doe will have a slight bloody discharge for about a day immediately after kindling, but other than that, rabbits only bleed from wounds.
While the natural history of a wild rabbit makes a good starting point to understand our domestic animals, there are a few things that should be kept in mind. The vast majority of wild rabbits never get a chance to breed; most of the babies that are born get eaten by something before they get old enough. The land can only support so many; of the few that make it to breeding age, most won't survive their first breeding season. With a little luck, one or two of their offspring will carry their genes into the next year. In the wild, an animal hardly ever dies of old age, most small animals are perfectly healthy when a lapse in alertness results in their death.
So though a wild doe may rebreed quickly, raising several litters in rapid succession is a fairly rare event, and one that won't get repeated year after year. Another thing to consider is litter size. Wild rabbits have smaller litters than their much larger domestic counterparts. While it is true that commercial breeders push their does at a pretty hard pace, they are all about the numbers - a doe that doesn't pull her weight gets culled; only animals that can take that pace stick around. They only work with young does, too - there are no pets in a commercial operation.
Incidentally, a doe will have a slight bloody discharge for about a day immediately after kindling, but other than that, rabbits only bleed from wounds.
