3 dead babies

Question
hi i have a regular rex rabbit i knew she was preg, and i was planning on the babies. this was not her first litter, she is a succesful mom. so i bought her from a lady and we bred her to a regular rex buck. she showed all the sighns of being preg., she made a wonderful nest and pulled fur. so i was expecting the babies, unforunaly i went down to give her fresh food and water this morning and there were 3 dead babies out side of the nesting box. so i quickly removed them. she was in the nesting box so i didn't bother her hoping more babies were under her but they weren't. is this all i should expect? or could more be on the way? i just checked on her and she looks like she might still be having minor contractions. what should i do? how do i prevent this from happening again? she is located in my basement away from everybody and away from my dog. what went wrong? is it something i did and need to change?

Answer
Dear Dianne,

There could be many reasons for the babies to have died, but without a necropsy, there is no way to  know for sure.  If she is still not quite herself by now, please have her checked by a good rabbit vet:

www.rabbit.org/vets

As far as preventing this from happening again, this is the best information I can give you:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/breeding.html

and

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/spay.html

I hope this helps.

Dana