Mothers killing Babies...

Question
I have 2 pairs of Rabbits... They both had babies last month and both killed their litters... One had a littler of 6 and one a litter of 8...

For the first mother - she was not interested in the babies at all. She was alone with the babies and she didn't feed them once. It looked like she thumped on them and they all died... She is 13 months old and an angora lop ear....

The second mother had her babies (8 babies) while i was away and their carer found them all dead, it looked like the buck had thrown them around and killed them. unfortunately nobody was there to see them and seperate the buck immediately...

The first mother has just had another litter and they are all dead again (3 babies)

This is pretty heartbreaking - my questions are:

Why are the rabbits killing their young?
What can i do about it?
If the second mother has another litter in the next few days - how do i care for the babies to stop her killing them....?

Thanks in advance
mel  

Answer
Dear Melanie,

It is not likely the male killed the babies.  It is far more common for a stressed female to do so.  The main reason is usually that she is housed in stressful conditions, and/or does not have the proper resources to make a good nest.

Be sure all your rabbits have large, private quarters where they can find peace to be alone.  Being crowded into a single space is stressful enough to cause the females to overgroom or even mutilate/kill their young. Each rabbit needs a private space *at least* 3' x 3' x 3', where they can stretch out and have peace and privacy. Although rabbits are social, they do like their privacy--especially when pregnant or nursing.

Please read this:

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

and this:

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

for complete information on how to properly prepare for an imminent birth.  I hope this helps.

Dana