Found dead kits

Question
QUESTION: My rabbit gave birth to two dead baby kits, and I don't know if she is done, or is she going to give birth to more. It's only been about 25 days or so. Her stomach is still very big. I've breed her before, and her first litter was wonderful. This is my second time breeding her, and I'm not sure what's going on. There were some blobs of blood next to the dead baby rabbits, so I isolated them with the mother. She also hasn't been eating for 3 days. She put pulled only a handful of fur and put it in her nest box. When she was giving birth the first time, she pulled a lot of fur. I really don't know if she is done, or is she going to have more kits. Please help.

ANSWER: Hi Amy,

I would suspect there are more kits.  It appears that some abnormality has occurred during her pregnancy and this might be some type of abortion rather than an actual birth.  You might be able to gently palpitate the abdomen to see if you can feel any kits remaining inside her.  The safest bet is to get her to a rabbit savvy vet regardless. If there are kits still inside, and with only 2 being born it is likely there are more, then she is going to need professional help in delivering the kits.  There are drugs (same as used in humans) that can stimulate the labor contractions.  This sounds like a very difficult situation in which involving a vet is in the rabbit's best interest.  Wish I could do more to help....but this is a case for a vet to become immedieately involved.


Randy

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QUESTION: Hi Randy, my pregnant rabbit is acting weird lately. She hasn't eating her food for about one to one and a half weeks, and I see her eating her poop a lot. She hasn't lost any weight, but she is losing her fur. Is this normal behavior for a rabbit whose pregnant? I'm worried that she is not feeding her babies, and she still hasn't pulled out her fur to make a nest yet. Thanks a bunch for the help.

ANSWER: Hi Amy...That has all the signs of a hormonal issue.  Maybe related to the pregnancy or maybe a separate medical issue.  What type of food do you have her on?  Do you feed her hay?  How about greens?  And rabbit do ingest cecals which are essential for good gut flora.  Give me a run down of what you are feeding her, the amounts, the number of times per day and anything else you think might be a clue.  As far as feeding kits....most rabbits nurse only once, some twice, per day.  Our rule in cottontail rescue (actually it's more of a kidnap) is that if the kits are fat and warm...mom is doing her job.  Same for the domestics.  An easy way to monitor feeding the kits is to invest in a small postal scale and weigh them every day...same as we do with wild animals in rehab.  Needs to be weighed in grams.  Just look for weight gain every day...doesn't matter how much...but there should be a gain.  Let me know about her eating habits.  And a hint for some really good nutrition....kale and dandelion greens.  Don't overdo it since too much too quickly can cause GI upset....but both those greens have lots of nutrition.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I usually feed her regular pellets. Sometimes the rabbit pellets comes with veggies such as carrots, peas, and grains. I feed her hay sometimes, but she usually doesn't each too much of it. She is a lion head rabbit. When she was young, I feed her three times a day, about a hand full or so each time. She usually finishes them, because she was a big eater, but she isn't overweight or anything. I let her run around the house. I've also given her apple peels. She hasn't given labor yet, I'm still not sure if she's pregnant or not. Sometimes I give her grass from my yard, she seems to like those a lot. Thanks for helping, I'll let you know if something else happens. Thank you again.

Answer
Hi Amy,

Do you keep her on the same pellets all the time?  Try to get her on a pellet only brand..without the little treats.  Much healthier.  And try different type of hays....timothy, bermuda, brome, orchard grass and other grass hays.  Even try some alfalfa.  Just try to keep the pellets at a minimum and really push the hay....makes for a much healthier rabbit.  And lionheads are so cool.  We have several including one that is going blind and another that will always have a tilted head since he didn't receive proper treatment from the people that had him.

Randy