Dead Baby Rabbits!

Question
Hi! I really need ur help and advice on this topic. I have two rabbits, a male and a female. They are both about 6-7 months old.They r litter-box trained. They have white fur and red, bright eyes. I'm not sure wat breed they r. The two rabbits haven't been nutured or spayed. They eat classic rabbits pellets everyday and I also give them carrots, grass, and different types of vegetation every day. They have fresh and clean water to drink everyday. I built a HUGE cage for them in my backyard and they seem happy and active. However, something has gone wrong. Just this morning I went to their cage and found the dead bodies of 3 little pink rabbits. I don't know what went wrong. I could tell the doe was pregnant because she gained a few pounds and she dug a hole in the earth and she took of a lot of her fur, and she made a nest inside the hole. However, I found the babies outside the hole. two were at the entrance of the hole and the other 1 was way in a corner somewhere. Wat happened! I thought she would give healthy babies becuase both rabbits collected fur and grass and made a nest. However she didn't give birth to the babies in the hole-nest. This is her first time pregnancy and there have been horrible results. And I think I'm to blame because the day before she gave birth I was holding the doe and I dropped her by accident....she seemed fine and she just hopped away. Could u tell me wat went wrong! I'm so worried!  

Answer
Lubna, no sense worrying about spilt milk.  What is done is done.  Sounds like you have New Zealand White rabbits.   If the doe was already building a nest her time was near.  Sometimes a first time Mother does not do what she should do right, and the results are dead kits.  Since she is a domestic rabbit I would suggest putting a floor on the huge cage for two reasons - letting her dig a hole to have the kits is not the best way to have healthy babies.  For a wild rabbit they have the instints necessary - a domesticated rabbit is lacking in them and she would do better with a nest box.  The other reason is for hygeine.  Rabbits have a parasite that is aggraviated by contact with their own poop - if the cage has a floor you can clean it regularly and the danger of coccsidiosis is much less.  Most probobly she is already pregnant again - count the days since you found the dead kits and on the 28th day give her a nice nest box full of dry hay.  The new kits should be born around day 31.

You did check the hole in the ground ?  No kits in there ?

Sheila