# Young and maybe a bad mother rabbit??



## S Rabbit Girl (Jan 31, 2007)

I have this doe that is 6 months old, she kept taking her hay out of her nest box and trying to make a nest on the wire. I tried to keep checking on her about ever 3 hours throught out the night, in hopes that I'd be able to save the babies. However she had them sometime in a 2 1/2 hour spread of my checking on them and they died. 
She only had two and I didn't even see any hair pull from her and they were apart from each other in the cage. I hated to lose them like that. I can stand to lose bunnys at birth for lots of reasons but to lose them because the mother is just stuiped really bothers me. I'm thinking that I should sale her and cut my loss, but she is a really pretty rabbit and I didn't know if she would come out of this maybe with the next litter or two, or maybe she will do the same thing every time. 

Anyone have a doe do this and if so should I get rid of her or try again??

S Rabbit Girl


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## SILEIGH (Jul 11, 2007)

this is pretty common for first timers 

i have a cali doe that has done this with her 2 litters 
luckily i found them quik enough to put them in the nest 
and she raised them fine
after this next litter shes going to be culled 

but it was your does first time so give her another chance 
around here it seems common to give them 3 chances 
before decideing to cull them

its frustrating to lose babies like this but its part of rabbit raising 
if you like her give her another chance or 2 she will probably catch on and do better next time around

and i think you can rebreed her the day or 2 after they lose a litter
someone who knows for sure will come along and cover this better i'm hope!

hope you have better luck next time 
leigh


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## KimTN (Jan 16, 2007)

Hi,
Next time you see a doe taking hay out of her nest box and putting it on the wire, place as many nest boxes as you can into the cage so that she has no choice but to put the kits in one of the boxes. I frequently have new does that try putting the nest anywhere but the box and that is how I handle the situation. I haven't lost a litter since learning this trick.


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## jil101ca (Jul 2, 2007)

I lost a litter of 8 flemish giant kits because the doe had them like that, it is common for a first time mom and does not make her stupid just in-experienced, she didn't know what to do. I have re-bred after 2 days a few times after losing a litter. Another thing you can do is to move the box where she wants to make her nest.


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

My *best* doe lost her first litter that way, according to her previous owners. But since then she has kindled and raised her litters flawlessly... and she enjoys it too! 

You have to keep in mind that rabbits do most things by instinct... and since nest boxes are not much like the burrows that their ancestors dug, they may not figure out what they are for in time. 

It seems to me that many first-time momma does are just completely confused... they don't know what is happening and don't know what they are supposed to do. Many will have the first one or two on the wire and then kindle the rest in the nest box. Sort of like: _Oh-oh! that's what that strange feeling is! Babies! Oh-oh... I'd better find a place for the rest of them..._

Six months old is still very young... She's a teenage mom and you can't expect too much from her. Chances are good that she will do better next time. Kim's advice is sound... if you don't have spare nest boxes, add cardboard cartons with nesting materials or plastic dishpans... anything that will give the kits sufficient shelter until you can get them into the proper nestbox.

Breed her back soon and hope for better things next time around... And by the way, welcome to the forum!


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## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

Nex time move the nest box to the corner of the does choice.
I've found out that Iv'e put the box in the does pee corner so they move the nest. Moving the box out of the pee corner fixes the problem.
One doe sat on top of the box so she could use her pee corner and made a mess of the box.


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

I've had the experience with "bad" mothers and slow-to-learn mothers. Gave the one who didn't get a clue a one-way ticket to Camp Kentucky Fried Rabbit; the other one was just a day or so in picking up what she needed to do, and she's the best doe for mothering and fostering.

You just never know. :shrug: Part of the challenge of rabbits.

Pony!


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## Beaniemom (May 25, 2007)

You may also consider a drop in box. Its more like a burrow, and if she has the kits on the wire, they'll circle til they drop in. Same goes for kits that hitch a ride out and cannot get back in, they'll crawl around til they fall back in the box.

I really wanted to use this kind, but it doesn't work with stacking cages. If I was handy I'd build my own brood cages with them in it and still stack them 2 or three high, just I don't think the top cages could have the boxes, where would the poo pan go then?


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## S Rabbit Girl (Jan 31, 2007)

I did try moving the next box a few times and I kept putting the hay back the box. I think that I will give her another chance and try putting a lot of nest boxes in with her. At worse case I could take her in the house everytime, but I'm not that commited to her to have to do that all the time. 
Thank you all for your help and you may have saved her for another day.

S Rabbit Girl


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## Laura Workman (May 10, 2002)

I had a first timer do that. She also ate one of the kits about halfway. The next time, she had 8 very nice kits, all tucked into a heavily fur-lined nestbox, and she weaned all eight. Just give the girl a chance, she's learning too.


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## white eagle (Feb 8, 2007)

Since this is the first time having babies it is so new to her she maybe just don't understand what is going on. Don't give up on her the next time she has kits she will do better. I have found if you have a doe that isn't a good mother after letting them have a second litter it is time to either not breed her back but need to cull her or sale her as a pet. I had one doe that didn't care for her babies so we sold her to someone as a pet. Having a rabbit that isn't a good mother don't need to have babies because they will keep loosing them.

Good Luck with your rabbits.


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