Good day all. I have just started raising rabbits (New Zealand Whites). My does are 6 and 7 months old. This is their first time being bred. One is not due until later this month. The other one just kindled. It was the weirdest thing. She had 2 babies on Sunday. One was dead the other alive. She laid the dead one away from the live one. Okay, I thought this was weird because I was expecting at least 7 or 8 babies. I thought maybe being her first time and the buck is only 6 mos. old and inexperienced had something to do with it. Then I went back to the rabbit barn to check on the remaining baby the next morning and the doe had had another baby. This one also was dead and laying on the cage floor. Neither of the dead babies had any evidence of being killed. Then I found a spot on the floor of a decent amount of blood. I am assuming she probably ate a baby. I'm not sure though. Is this strange behavior? How long does it take for a rabbit to deliver it's babies?

-- Tammy Bunger (jbunger@zoomnet.net), June 28, 2000

Answers

Response to rabbits

I had a pair of white rabbits years ago and the mama had babies twice and ate them all everytime. So I ate her and went out of the rabbit business.

-- Joe Cole (jcole@apha.com), June 28, 2000.

Response to rabbits

Joe -- That sounds like either the food chain at it's best, or the survival of the...hungriest.

-- Tracy (trimmer@westzone.com), June 28, 2000.

Response to rabbits

Tammy, sounds like she's had problems, and you are probably right that she ate one or more dead babies. Try her one more time -- wait a week or two to re-breed her -- and if she does the same thing again eat her! Then try different stock.

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), June 28, 2000.

Response to rabbits

It seems like the first time, the doe does sometimes have trouble. Since yours was still young, she may have had more. That could have been the reason for the blood and late baby.

One of my better producing does had alot of blood with her last litter and she does not eat her babies. I never see alot of blood when they eat the babies. Maybe because they are small or cold.

I did find, however, that if I feed a few kibbles of hairball remedy dried cat food twice a day, they will not eat their babies and they look forward to the extra protein. One baby eater had this one chance left and it worked for her.

I would wait a couple of months more after the baby that lived is weaned before breeding her again. Let her be a little older and have a rest.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), June 29, 2000.

Response to rabbits

are you sure there was not another baby in there? i had a litter not to long ago that after 2 weeks we found a dead baby under the hay. hope this will help.=^)

-- mb (minilop89@aol.com), January 05, 2001.

Hi. I did something really stupid. I raise rabbits all sort. I had two litters due. It had been warm so I stopped checking the nest. Well the temp dropped real fast I didn't check the nest eight dead babies. So I check the other mother, brought them in. Put them on the heating pad and like the idiot that I am forgot to turn it off before I went to bed. Nine more dead bunnies. I feel really really bad.

-- Shelly White (trixies_spot@yahoo.com), March 22, 2002.