my rabbit had five kits 5 days ago. two died last night and the other three died this morning.
story - we got two rabbits about 7 months ago and were told they were two girls. everything was fine until we found four kits lying on the bottom of the cage about 4 weeks ago. unfortunately they had all died but i was quite accepting of this as first litters can die very easily.
I gave the male to a friend to try and make sure there was no more accidents. I did a bit of internet research on rabbit pregnancy and kits and found out that because the male was there when she gave birth then she was probably pregnant again and due in 28-33 days. i did loads of research on how to breed rabbits and the kits arrived 5 days ago. everything looked great until yesterday when we noticed they hadn't been fed. up till then everything had been looking great .. big round tummy's.
I don't understand what went wrong ... she was given a nest box and loads of bedding materials to make her nest and we were just having a quick peek when she needed new food and water but we were not touching the kits.
sometimes it takes a few tries for new moms to learn what to do. was she feeding them daily? are they kept inside or out? If they are outside the cold could have done it. if they are inside then that shouldn't have been a concern unless they were near a draft. also, what breeds were the mom and dad? sometimes when you breed 2 dwarfs you get what's called a peanut which is a baby that has a double dwarf gene. these all die, none every live past a few weeks, because they cannot digest food and will never grow. they die of starvation.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
were there any scratches or bites on the babies? sometimes if mom doesn't want to be a mom or feels threatened then she will kill the babies to save herself or she may have accidentally stepped on them or kicked them too hard. another possiblity is disease. it's rare that all the babies die twice from this, but it can happen.
it's actually ok to touch the babies after they are born. just let mom sniff you first. you should check them twice a day (once in the morning and once at night) to make sure they are being fed and that if any died they are removed.
I'm so sorry to hear about this. My rabbits gave birth in May to 8 beautiful babies, we were fortunate enough that she was a natural at being a mom. All of the babies survive but sadly 2 recently died: (it's hard when these things happen. Remember the babies for the good times you had (if any) and try to move on. It probably wasn't your fault, these things happen.
if you have any rabbit questions feel free to email me any time. I rescue rabbits and have been studying them for years so i know what i'm doing.
Hi,
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
It always happens, sometimes mums just get a shock or a fright if they have seen something or herd anything that is a predator to them, and that is it they can abandon their babies. It is hard to make sure that the mum is looking after her kits well, but sometimes you just have to let nature take its cause. You shouldn't look into the kits nest at all in the first week, otherwise the mum wont think that they are hers and kill them, it sounds horrible, but it is true.
Good luck
x
