# Surprise babies on the ground this morning. I'm so perplexed.



## Legacy (May 7, 2011)

I was surprised to find new babies on the ground this morning. 

I bred the doe  to the buck 23 days ago. The babies do not look premature at all. They fell about 3 feet to the ground and crawled about 6ft away from the cage by the time I found them. They are all still alive now and at least 3 of the 5 have full tummies after I put a box in the cage and put them back in there. They are not small or week looking in anyway.

The momma was in a cage that was an individual cage, so no way a buck got to her through the wire.  I can't for the life of me figure out any way she could have been bred before I put  her with the buck 23 days ago.

If I count back, she would have to have been bred around the 6th. That would have been a week before I bred her. I put it in my calender the day I did it. I wasn't even keeping track based on memory.

Does 23 days of gestation ever happen in rabbits? I have gone over all the possibilities in my head 100 times and I just don't get it.

It sure does make me understand why she started getting mean to her babies about 4 days ago so I wound up removing them from her and weaning them.


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## Tracey (May 7, 2011)

I don't know anything about shorter gestation, but they sure are special to survive the fall and still be alive! Are they all named Lucky?


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## Legacy (May 7, 2011)

They are still alive today too. She is a good momma and taking good care of them.

I just wish I knew how she was bred. I only have one buck of breeding age at the moment so I know who the daddy has to be. The only other bucks I have are 5 weeks, certainly not breeding age. I just don't know how it happened.


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## DianeS (May 7, 2011)

LOL! I've had that happen, too. Thought that in my case, maybe I'd mixed up my does. But no, I referenced photos and that couldn't have happened. Who knows! All I'm sure of is that my rabbits sit up late at night and discuss ways to drive me crazy....


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## rabbitman (May 7, 2011)

I thought bucks weren't ready at 8 weeks old so I left my baby rabbit with its mom and he bred her. I was totally surprised and I didn't even have a nest box in there for her and she pulled pur and stacked it in the corner and had 2 babies but both died. So males will surprise you.


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## Legacy (May 7, 2011)

> All I'm sure of is that my rabbits sit up late at night and discuss ways to drive me crazy.... roll


That must be the answer!



> So males will surprise you.


It can't be that, my 5 (now)week old buck was so young then, he didn't even have his eyes open.


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