2 baby kits died

We had a surprise litter of kits born 2 weeks ago. We had rescued the doe only 3 days before. All was going ok, one of them seems to be a runt, so I have been supplement feeding him and is weight is increasing.
The mother wasn’t too well 2 days ago, she seemed to be in pain, had a bit of a temperature, off her food, so we took her to a vet, as I was thinking mastitis, her breasts felt a bit lumpy. He said he wasn’t sure (not a rabbit savvy vet) didn’t really want to give her antibiotics as she was nursing. So I took her home and gave her plenty of fluids, cooked her down and by morning she seemed a lot better. Eating again.
But this morning I went in to see them and 2 kits were out of the box and dead. Now I don’t know if it’s anything to do with her illness, or if they were suffocated by mum, as the ones in the nest seem ok. She is in an indoor cage, inside. There isn’t a lot of room for her particularly, as the nesting box is in, but she has a shelf to jump on to get away.
So I was wondering if they got trampled on by mum. Do they do this? Any thoughts, as I am upset and want to try and prevent whatever happened from happening again. Thanks.

I’m so sorry I don’t have any experience of this so I can’t advise, there is a sticky thread on here http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?327923-Accidental-Litters-and-Taking-on-Babies which may help. Sending lots of vibes for mum and remaining babies. I would try to find a rabbit savvy exotics vet to be able to get the best advice possible.

Yes, they can trample babies, especially if they get scared or are feeling pain. She also needs room to hop. However young kits are vulnerable to gut issues, so they may not have been well.
You need a vet that knows rabbits.
I hope your remaining kits and your doe are doing ok.
My Raven and his sibling were born at a rescue three days after the rescue obtained his mom from an auction. How many babies did your doe birth.?

Sometimes kits get dragged from the nest if they remain latched on when the Doe hops out. The kits then die of hypothermia I am sorry for your losses

The doe had 6 rabbits. So we took her to another vets today, who said the mother looked ok and the babies were checked and at the time they were not too bad, although one was a little lethargic. The vet checked her milk under a microscope for bacteria and said that was fine, but since coming home this evening 2 more became very ill and died. So now I am thinking, they didn’t get trampled on but something else is wrong. I was wondering whatever mum had the other day, maybe the babies now have and although she seemed to fight it off, they are too young to do so. I now have 2 kits left, have removed them from their nesting box and made a clean new one and taken them away from mum to hand feed until, I can speak with the vet in the morning.
Anyone have any ideas of what it could be?

VHD sounds like a possibility, from what you have described.

I am sorry for your losses. Does your vet have emergency hours?

So sorry you have lost 4 kits.

Bunny Buddy said:

VHD sounds like a possibility, from what you have described.

Click to expand...

https://veterinary-practice.com/article/rabbit-haemorrhagicdisease-1-and-2

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/articles/infectious-disease/rabbit-haemorrhagic-disease

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?472636-Vaccinations-2019&p=7160773#post7160773