pregnant again?

Question
We did not know our bunny was pregnant. She had a litter of 3, and all is well. The male was with the mom for about 8-12 hours after she had the litter. Everyone is telling me she is probably already pregnant again. If this is the case, the first litter will only be 4 weeks old when the new litter is born. What do I do in this case? My cage has a closed in house where the nest box is, and the rest is wire bottom and open on the front. (and outside) 30-40 degrees at night.Can the mother feed both litters? Any advise? and Thank you.

Answer
Hi,

There is a 99.9% chance that your doe is pregnant again.  Rabbits mate within minutes or at the most hours of birth.

First up, you need to separate the male and female otherwise it will happen all over again.

You will need to wean the litter a few days before the next litter is due (say at 25days).  I have known does to kill their first litter when they are due to have their second litter.  Apart from the danger to the kits, it's cruel to ask her to look after both litters.

You need to up her feed ALOT.  Get a high quality rabbit pellet at least 20% protein and let her eat as much as she wants.  Supplement with good quality hay and fresh vegetables and fruits.  She's doing alot of work, she needs good food.

By the time you wean them, the kits will be eating solid foods.  When you first separate offer them softer foods such as hay with a few pellets.  Offer unlimited pellets (same as what you are feeding the doe) until they are about 10 - 12 weeks old.  You can introduce fresh vegetables and fruit (slowly) at about 8 weeks.  Also watch the water.  Most kits will have learnt how to use a nipple or water bottle by this age, but at least once daily put in a crock of water.  If the kits rush to it to drink you know they haven't mastered it yet.  If they are not bothered, or if you've seen all of them have a drink at some point, then there is no need to supply a crock.

At 12+ weeks the kits will be old enough to find homes for.

Good luck!