2nd time mother

Question
I bought a pet rabbit 3 years ago and was told she was a female, then we moved to a bigger house with a huge garden so decided to buy another rabbit again a female (they had free run of the whole garden), the oldest rabbit kept mounting my new one, i rang RSPCA and they told me it's normal for females to mount as show of dominancy and aslong as they were getting along to not to worry. Anyway about a month later i found blood in the shed where they bed down and rabbit fur about then i found a dead baby rabbit and further down the garden i found a smaller baby that was half eaten! I didn't even know she was pregnant, so i took her to the vet and he said she is fine and it is normal if they don't feel secure or worried they wil abandon or kill the babies, he also said the chances are the they mated again straight away, so to be on the safe side my husband built her a large enclosure with a cage inside where she could feel safe, we seperated the male to the other end of the garden to avoid his scent frightening her, i watched her very carefully and sure enough she began pulling fur and lining the cage with it, the cage only has a small entrance big enough for her so i cannot see the babies but i'm assuming  she gave birth because se topped eating and drinking for a while and i found small ammounts blood on top of the cage but she is uninjured, this was 4 days go i haven't opened the door to see if the babies are alive as i'm scared of worrying her, she is eating alot more than usual but i haven't seen her tend the nest. What should i do, should i leave her and wait and see or should i check the nest for babies? Sorry this was so long!

Answer
Hello Claire

First thing you need to do is check the nest box.  You need to pick up each kit and make sure it is alive and any that are dead you need to remove them right away.  Then you put all the live ones back in a pile together and cover them with her fur.  She won't care a bit and she won't hurt them or stop feeding them.  She knows you and trusts you.  It is very important to check the box almost daily because if a baby dies it can make the other one's sick and cause flies and all sorts of bad things.

You did an excellent job by providing her a nest.  Now all you have to do is let her do the work.  She will only feed them once a day and you might never see it.  As long as they are wiggling they are being fed.  

Please don't be surprised what you find when you go in the box.  She might be a very good mother and all the babies might be ok but it does get sad to find dead kits.  Just be aware that you never know whats going to be in there.  That is part of the reason it is really important to check every day.

I am so sorry you ended up with a buck.  This is sadly how we end up with so many babies that don't have homes.  It is obvious that you care for them and from another rabbit lover that just thrills me.

Good luck

Pam