mother rabbit after birth

Question
Ok my rabbit gave birth to a litter of 7 bunnies last night and only one of the survived. It has made a nest and fed the rabbit. We thought everything was fine but we see where she sits and leaves there are traces of blood. Also in her litter box there was a piece of what looked to be a piece of a placenta or something like it. The rabbit also makes theses noises in her stomach similar to that of the ones humans make when they are hungry. The mother also only made the nest today and she pulled a lot of her hair and stuffed it into her mouth. I am afraid she might have swallowed some of the hair and now every once in a while she makes these slight neck movements back as if she was choking. so what should I do about this and how long will it take the rabbits system to be clean of the bllod and the traces of placenta or whatever it was?

Answer
Hi Eric

The rabbits will put the fur in their mouths and they generally put quite a bit in there.  This is how they get it to the nest.  A small amount of blood is normal but if there is a large amount she will need to go to the vet immediately.  She may possibly still have kits or she could have a kit stuck.  If you have any doubt about her condition or she appears to be in pain, if she is just laying around or panting, isn't eating or drinking then please take her to the vet as soon as possible.  Occasionally one of the babies will not be delivered and the vet will have to help by giving the mother some pitocin.

If she is eating and drinking and pooping normally and not bleeding anymore and acting normal again then she is probably fine.  Make sure to give her as much fresh hay as she wants to help keep her GI system active.  

I hope the baby and mom are doing ok.  If you have any doubt at all please take her to the doctor.  It is far better to be safe than sorry.

Good luck

Pam