Bad mother...

[TheRabbitNewbee]

So I bred both of my American does about a month ago. One to a American buck and the other to my super huge NZ just to see what I would get. Anyway, one of the rabbits had 4 babies. They were all over the pen and I had to put them in the nest box. Next day they were all wrinkled up and 2 were dead. We realized she was not feeding them so forced her to feed the 2 that were alive. It was too little too late though and they died. Yesterday my other does had 8 babies (2 dead) also all over the pen. I put them in the nest box and she has been taking great care of them. They are all alive and lively. What should I do about the first does? My mom wants her to go right into the stew pot but I think she should get a second chance. Just so you know I have no problem butchering her I just feel it a waste. Is it worth giving her a second chance?

Edit: Btw they both share 1 8 foot by 3 foot rabbit tractor and my 2 bucks are free range. They mostly stick around the females.

 

[Pastor Dave]

I generally use a three strikes, you're out rule.

 

[Shorty]

My doe ate her whole first litter, I gave her a second chance and she had kits a little over a week ago and she is doing fantastic with them. Especially if it was her first litter I'd give her another chance

 

[Bunnylady]

Some people think it's a shame we humans can't just throw away the first kid, the one we do all the learning on . . . .

Seriously, instinct gets a mother only so far, and when you think about it, there is nothing natural about a cage/tractor/hutch/whatever, and the box-like things we choose as nests for them. They are adapting to the environments that we create for them, so is it really fair to accuse them of being "bad mothers" when they have problems with it? A lot of does mess up the first time out; I say any doe that gets everything right from the get-go is worth her weight in gold, and her daughters should get first priority when looking for replacements. I would re-breed this doe, and also look at your system of care to see what, if anything, you can do to make it more likely that your does will be successful.

 

[samssimonsays]

I agree with the above... I usually give the three strike policy as well. I ALWAYS assume the first litter will be a loss. It is the world of rabbits. COngrats on the healthy babies though!

THink about it this way, they are not perfect, they will make mistakes and just like humans, they may mess up big. I have had moms be amazing all the way through till litter 3 or 4 and then have a hiccup and the entire litter dies. It doesn't mean they were "bad moms" just had a hiccup.