Just had babies

by Eric
(Columbia, SC USA)

Hey my name is Eric - my Dutch rabbit gave birth to 5 kits within the last 30 min. Unfortunately when I found she had given birth, two didn't make it so set them aside to check the others. The mother came over and seemed to be trying to eat them so I removed them. Is this normal?

***Moderator Comment***
Eric, no--this is not normal. 2 things could be happening. 1) The doe is alarmed about something in her environment, and feels she needs to destroy her kits so she herself will have a chance to survive and have more babies. Or, 2) her mothering instincts are not yet strong. Is your dutch doe a young, first-time mom?

It's a hard thing to lose a litter when you've been excited about it. The bright side of the disappointment is that if you rebreed your doe now, you'll have another litter in a month. Maybe the doe will be more successful next time. In the meantime, can you foster the live kits to another doe? If no, check out our page on feeding wild rabbits. It will show you how to look after the kits yourself.

Good luck,
Karen