Baby bunnies found in the cage!

yellowcrayon

As the title suggest, myself and my partner went out to the rabbit hutches this evening and discovered 3 kits in there.

We have been trying to breed some of our rabbits for a while, but have had no success. The 2 rabbits in question are 2 and 3 years old and both a vet, and a recognised breeder we have been in contact with said the female rabbit was too old to breed at all as her pelvis has fused together so it was just not gonna happen. These 2 have been together in a hutch for the bones of a year and they havent ever tried to do the deed.

About an hour ago we went out and saw she had pulled out a lot of her fur (this wasnt there only 2 hours previously when i was last out to their hutch to give them some treats). When i saw this I knew there had to be babies somewhere so after searching through the fur, we saw 2 who I imagine were stillborn, and 1 who was dead but had been injured (there was some blood on its little leg).

I separated the 2 of them straight away and they are in separate hutches now and have removed the babies from the hutch.

My questions are:

Should I remove the 'nest' she has built in the last couple of hours in the corner of the hutch. All the babies are dead so it doesnt have a purpose at the moment.

And, how soon would you recommend allowing her to actually breed (in a controlled situation, of course). Ive read some conflicting info online; some saying they can breed straight away, some saying to wait a few weeks.

Id appreciate some info on this if anyone has knowledge in this area.

Thanks.

mymo

So far as I understand its the birth is the problem, not the breeding.
Females should be bred young, once the pelvis fuses it causes problems giving birth and you can loose the kits or the mother.

yellowcrayon

Thank you for the reply.

I was sure they were fine to be in the hutch together after getting advice from a breeder and a vet.

The mother was absolutely fine straight after.. Moving around fine and still coming up to us for a rub.. she was just extra hungry.

Does anyone know if this means that all future babies chances of survival are low?

mymo

I would get her vet checked to make sure there are no babies left inside her and ask about spaying. The first litter should be born between 6 to 12 months depending on the breed and when they are mature, it's fine then to breed later on.
I would worry about the mothers health first, I suspect the same would happen if you bred her again.
I never bred my rabbits, was too worried about the risks.

Cherry Blossom

Not exactly, all future babies chances of survival are non-existent. I assume you have taken your rabbit to the vet to make sure there are no more babies stuck inside?

Knine

If the male was in the same hutch as mammy when the babies were born, then that is why one may have been injured.

Some females will actually attack and injure the male if she thinks her young are at risk.

yellowcrayon

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

Not exactly, all future babies chances of survival are non-existent. I assume you have taken your rabbit to the vet to make sure there are no more babies stuck inside?

I have indeed.. First thing this morning. According to vet; mother is in perfect health and ready for breeding again!?!?

I posted on another forum and a well known breeder from Cork said no way should she be bred again, it could endanger her health.

I dont think I will breed her in the future; I wouldnt want to do it if there is risks when I have 3 other perfectly healthy females for breeding.

mymo

I would get her spayed just in case, if she isn't spayed there's a risk of her mating again and you don't want that.

yellowcrayon

Thanks for the advice mymo.. The vet didnt mention anything this morning but her belly feels very very big so im wondering is she actually got more babies in there (pregnant twice) so I dont want to spay her if she's still pregnant.

I'll probably have to being her back to the vets again for her to check if she's still pregnant (im gathering the vet hasnt much experience with small animals so if someone could recommend a good one in Cork that specialises in small animals Id appreciate it).

mymo

I would be worried there's more she can't give birth to, I don't know any small animal vets in cork sorry, but as you probably know rabbits hide things well and be very ill before you see any signs.
If she has more kits in there it's very serious, can't believe the vet didn't check and recommend spaying.
To be honest many vets aren't great with smallies here, hopefully someone can recommend a good rabbit vet in cork.

Outkast_IRE

Abbeyville vets in cork city are great with small animals. i would reccomend them. Bring both my dog and guinea pigs there, and often see rabbits in there. http://abbeyvillevet.ie/

yellowcrayon

mymo wrote: »

I would be worried there's more she can't give birth to, I don't know any small animal vets in cork sorry, but as you probably know rabbits hide things well and be very ill before you see any signs

I think what might have happened is she got pregnant and then possibly pregnant again a week or 2 later due to the two wombs. Ive had one rabbit get sick before and he did hide it well and wasnt himself. But she's still up and running around and eating loads and drinking well which makes me think its a separate pregnancy.

Thanks for the recommendation Outkast, its hard to find someone good with small pets. I hate to ask,but are they expensive for a check up? Im after shelling out this morning for one already so just curious?

Outkast_IRE

yellowcrayon wrote: »

I think what might have happened is she got pregnant and then possibly pregnant again a week or 2 later due to the two wombs. Ive had one rabbit get sick before and he did hide it well and wasnt himself. But she's still up and running around and eating loads and drinking well which makes me think its a separate pregnancy.

Thanks for the recommendation Outkast, its hard to find someone good with small pets. I hate to ask,but are they expensive for a check up? Im after shelling out this morning for one already so just curious?

I always find them reasonable, but in your case they might want to do a scan or xray im not sure what they would charge. As far as i remember with the guinea pigs i paid 30 for a quick check up but it could be different depending on situations.

I can reccomend them for their knowledge. But as for prices you can always ask before you ring , usually there is a checkup price, and then extra if there needs to be any meds etc.

yellowcrayon

Outkast_IRE wrote: »

I always find them reasonable, but in your case they might want to do a scan or xray im not sure what they would charge. As far as i remember with the guinea pigs i paid 30 for a quick check up but it could be different depending on situations.

I can reccomend them for their knowledge. But as for prices you can always ask before you ring , usually there is a checkup price, and then extra if there needs to be any meds etc.

Thats great. Thanks a mill for the info. I'll defo give them a call on Monday morning as she seems quite content at the moment and doubt they're open on Sundays. Thanks again Outkast.

Magenta

yellowcrayon wrote: »

I think what might have happened is she got pregnant and then possibly pregnant again a week or 2 later due to the two wombs.

Rabbits don't have wombs. They carry their babies in their uterine horns. Best of luck with bunny.

yellowcrayon

Magenta wrote: »

Rabbits don't have wombs. They carry their babies in their uterine horns. Best of luck with bunny.

Apologies for the incorrect terminology.