Hello,

Im new to this forum, i always used this for advice and tips but never became a member until today.

I have 4 rabbits (3 females and 1 male) All kept outdoors. I woke up yesterday morning to feed the rabbits and let them out and found 5 little babies! I was so excited after seeing them, so i started preparing and kept the nest warm with plenty of hay etc etc.

I kept the mother with the babies..gave plenty of food. I had to figure out who the mother was, I did this by matching the fur used to make the nest and the only rabbit to have nipples was her, so I thought it must be her. I kept the father rabbit away from rest.

This morning I went to check on them and found all 5 babies dead I was so sad and I just couldn't believe it. When I picked one of the other female rabbits (not the mother), I felt nipples and I thought how could that be possible? Both female rabbits have nipples? Could it be I mixed the mothers up? Is this the reason why all 5 died overnight?

I am upset and I just don't know whats happening. I have so many questions and I would really appreciate any advice or help.

Thanks

why do you have 5 intact female rabbits living together? and why are they allowed loose with an intact male?

im sorry you lost the litter but there are many reasons why this could have happened, mum may have felt stressed due to the sudden change of environment and abandoned them
if you dont know the genetics of the rabbits involved they could well have had underlying genetic abnormalities, leading to mum rejecting them
you could well have mixed mum up
many first time mums reject their litters

as for the other, she could well be pregnant or phantoming

the BEST advice i can gibe you, is to get the buck neutered now, wait 31 days (keeping the girls away from the buck) to rule out pregnancy, then get them spayed

80% of all intact does will develop uterine cancer by the age of just 4, so it really is in their best interest to have them spayed
it also means they will be much happier with each others company

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I'm sorry this has happened as lil miss said there are a variety of factors that could have resulted in rejecting the litter. also its pretty cold at this time of year and many breeders close down over winter as the risk is too high. It is not uncommon to loose a litter given the best chances.

Females rabbits can be very territorial and there behavior defiantly improves once you have them spayed. this costs appox £60 per rabbit but each vets varies.

Also if the female has been with the male since giving birth she could very well be pregnant again. I would book her in for a spay.

females can get pregnant straight after giving birth and it would be exhausting on their bodies to be having a litter every 4 weeks, unfair on the litters if they have no privacy and protection from the other rabbits. and unfair on the other rabbits too.

She could have made the nest using fur from the other rabbits.

You need to put all 4 rabbits in to single hutches I'm afraid and book a pre-op vets appointment

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Hi

Thanks for you advice.

I guess there are a number of different factors. The reason why i seperated them was because I was afraid that the other rabbits may not be happy with the new litters and potentially harm them. I will have to book the females and the male in to the vet asap. I have got a feeling they might be pregnant again as I have not seperated male rabbit from the females.

Is there such thing as a false pregnancy?

I'm sorry but simple questions like this should be researched BEFORE you breed, I suggest you separate them now

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If you have 3 intact females with 1 male, you are likely to have 2 pregnant females, with possibly the mother of the litter pregnant again if the male was with her when she gave birth.

The male needs to be separated and castrated ASAP. And the females should have emergency spays, depending on how close they are to giving birth. The mother of the litter could definitely be spayed now to prevent her having another litter.

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