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

[Legacy]

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.

 

[Tracey]

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?

 

[Legacy]

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.

 

[DianeS]

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....

 

[rabbitman]

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.

 

[Legacy]

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.