john slack 0 Posted June 24, 2006 Report Share Posted June 24, 2006 you may think this is a daft thread to be putting on this site but my daughters rabbit has just had babies and had seven but 4 were dead i was just wondering if anyone knows of any reason why they would be dead or if she would smother them if she thought that there was too many for her to manage. i think they were born alive. it's not her first litter. she has reared some before. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest oldskool Posted July 2, 2006 Report Share Posted July 2, 2006 i was always told that if the owner had touched them in any way then the mother wud do them in becuz of the different scent. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest lurch Posted July 2, 2006 Report Share Posted July 2, 2006 you may think this is a daft thread to be putting on this site but my daughters rabbit has just had babies and had seven but 4 were dead i was just wondering if anyone knows of any reason why they would be dead or if she would smother them if she thought that there was too many for her to manage. i think they were born alive. it's not her first litter. she has reared some before. have a look at the toes of the dead ones if they are tangled together its myxytosies Quote Link to post Share on other sites
COMPO 54 Posted July 2, 2006 Report Share Posted July 2, 2006 Saxon i used to breed rabbits, english butterflies and new zealand whites. (one half of the garden was rabbit hutches and the ferrets were opposite looking menacingly at the bunnies :11: ) rabbit mothers are notoriously bad (some reckon that's why they breed so prolifically cos the chances of them reaching adulthood is slim) i found a lot of doe's lost part or all of there first (and occasionally second) litter, you dont want to be disturbing them , unless you absolutely have to as smell can stop the mother from feeding them, a lot of breeders rub their hands in the rabbit's shite first so that they smell of the rabbit and not humans. i never did this i just kept contact to a minimum until the kittens were mobile. Did the doe make a nest with the hair from her chest? a lot of inexperienced mothers dont and then the kittens die of cold/neglect. as a rule animals that have large litters have more infant mortality, so it is a sad fact you will lose some baby rabbits. she may have also had mastitis etc...in some nipples, or just not produced enough milk full stop (illness/infection/diet) what kind of rabbit is she? how many were in her last litter? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.