piningforarabbit
Mama Doe
Just wondering how female bunnies in a bonded group behave towards babies that are not their own
I had an accidental little a few years ago, and only realised the babies had arrived (or were even due), when I saw a pile of hay moving
By that time the babies had been born over 12 hours and the mother and their aunt had been in together without mishap. In fact the aunt loved the babies probably even more than the mother. Whilst the babies were growing up, I frequently saw the aunt licking the babies and protecting them
I assume in the wild this is quite common, with relatives being in the same burrow without any danger to the kits and maybe even defending the babies
But I thought I read a thread where the male was attacking his own offspring
Anyone have any experience in this area ?
I had an accidental little a few years ago, and only realised the babies had arrived (or were even due), when I saw a pile of hay moving
By that time the babies had been born over 12 hours and the mother and their aunt had been in together without mishap. In fact the aunt loved the babies probably even more than the mother. Whilst the babies were growing up, I frequently saw the aunt licking the babies and protecting them
I assume in the wild this is quite common, with relatives being in the same burrow without any danger to the kits and maybe even defending the babies
But I thought I read a thread where the male was attacking his own offspring
Anyone have any experience in this area ?