Bunnies Eat Young

Question
I awoke this morning to my bunny having a litter! there were 7 in all one has died. it looks as if she had bitten of their ears and their hind legs like one of them has a perfectly well hind leg and the other is a bloody stump and i dont know what to do shes a very young mother and this is her first litter and every vet i have called has said it is normal for them to do that. I have separated the bunny from her litter for fear of her cannibilizing them, but i cant see a vet until tommorow. I dont know if i should leave her with the kits or separated. please help.

Answer
Dear Holli,

While I wouldn't say that it's "normal" for a mother rabbit to accidentally mutilate her young, I would agree with the vets who say it's not uncommon.  This often happens with an inexperienced doe who is stressed by the birth, and who grooms the new babies so excessively that she harms them.  She is not intentionally harming them.  It's just her first time, and she doesn't really know what she's doing.  

The babies with missing ears and legs can probably do fine if mama will care for them, but there's no way to know for sure whether or not mama will feed them (my guess is...maybe.) or continue to overgroom them in her stressed state.  For the moment, unless you're prepared to feed the babies (which doesn't guarantee their survival), you might leave them with mama.  But don't be surprised if there are unhappy results.  If you really want to take on a project, the instructions for feeding baby rabbits can be found here:

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

What are the mama's conditions?  Does she have a nest box?  A quiet place to retreat?  It's very important that she have quiet and a stress-free environment.

In any case, I really can't encourage you to allow her to breed.  Please read the following for complete information:

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

as well as:

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

You can find a good rabbit vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

I hope this helps, and that the babies will be okay.  Even wee amputees tend to do well if they are pretty much that way from shortly after birth.  It's amazing how well they adapt!  And sometimes the "special" babies are the most special of all.  I hope they do well.

Please write back if you have any other questions.

Dana