# Surprise, not all females! Help



## mrsw (Mar 29, 2019)

I had three rabbits in an outside cage, I have had them for while and never had babies. So, imagine my surprise this morning when I went out to feed them and there were 3 babies. 2 had passed already, I brought the reaming one inside and warmed up on the heating pad. I am not sure who mom is? They both have pulled their fur, one has a swollen genital area, and I can feel her nipples clearly through the fur. Am I assuming correctly? Help, please!


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## B&B Happy goats (Mar 29, 2019)

mrsw said:


> I had three rabbits in an outside cage, I have had them for while and never had babies. So, imagine my surprise this morning when I went out to feed them and there were 3 babies. 2 had passed already, I brought the reaming one inside and warmed up on the heating pad. I am not sure who mom is? They both have pulled their fur, one has a swollen genital area, and I can feel her nipples clearly through the fur. Am I assuming correctly? Help, please!



I have rabbits, and yes that is who i would think gave birth. I would move the other rabbits out of the area so she can care for her kits....and keep the male away from the doe's  unless you want a rabbit population explosion ......


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## mrsw (Mar 29, 2019)

I moved her and the remaining kit inside the house. I have 5 (silver fox), We started breeding to have meat rabbits, but neither of us had the heart to cull any. We thought we had all girls. Ty for replying, and hello.


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## Bunnylady (Mar 29, 2019)

If the babies were delivered last night, the doe most likely still has a slightly bloody, watery discharge in addition to a little bit of swelling.

Single babies are hard to raise. Sometimes, the doe isn't stimulated enough, and just stops producing milk. Frequently, without other babies to share warmth with, the baby simply fades away due to hypothermia. If the does' milk supply holds, a single baby getting all of the milk intended for a litter may grow too fast, and wind up with deformed bones and/or digestive issues. Maybe this will be one of the lucky ones, but don't feel too bad if it doesn't make it - it's a tough situation.

Does will pull together nest material from whatever sources are available, and that often means pulling fur off of any rabbit that can't/doesn't run fast enough to avoid them (I still remember one owner's consternation when I informed them that they had the genders backward on their accidental pair; because the buck's fur was in the nest, they thought surely he was the mother). On the other hand, if your other doe actually_ did_ pull her own fur, she may be pregnant and about to deliver at any moment.

You do need to isolate the buck, though it may already be too late to avoid at least one more unintended pregnancy. Does become viable again immediately after kindling, and many are quite willing breeders at that time. If the buck was with the doe at the time of birth chances are excellent that she is already bred (the other doe, too!)


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## mrsw (Mar 29, 2019)

I am curious as to why it took so long for them to have babies? Is there anything that I can do to help the kit survive?


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## Bunnylady (Mar 29, 2019)

Why did it take so long? Who knows. It seems to happen a lot, and not just with rabbits (my younger brother had a pair of gerbils that lived together for well over a year before they had babies, then had 2 back-to-back litters and  lived together another couple of years without producing any more). The longer days of Springtime can get the ol' hormones going; though domestic rabbits can be induced to breed year-round, the species is historically a seasonal breeder (the association of rabbits and Easter has to do with the emergence of baby rabbits from their nests at about that time).


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