Too many baby rabbits

In October I bought an 8 week old female lop from the petshop. They said she wouldnt be sexually mature until 6 months. I had an accidental litter of 4 in December and I still have 2 from that lot. Then this morning I find more babies! I don't understand it. My male rabbit (who I had rescued and is too old for castration) has no access to nutmegs hutch or run. The only thing i can think of is my little sister interfering, but she swears it wasnt her. Now I'm stuck with more rabbits and no space or money for them! I really worry i wont find homes for them and i feel too guilty sending them to a rescue.
I feel exhausted mentally and emotionally from the last litter.
What can i do and what happened?
ps anybody want a baby bunny? :shock:

Aww babies, i wish i could take one from you but i can't afford to get another rabbit neuterd as i'm still waiting on getting mine done I hope everything work out for your baby buns

Pet shops grrr :x

When did you seperate the male babies from Mum? They could have gotten her pregnant at 3 months old I think!

They should usually be seperated from siblings and Mum at 8- 10 weeks old if Ive got that right.

There needs to be a male involved to create babies so he got access some how. It only takes a couple of seconds.

How old is your male? Rescues routinely castrate males up to 5/6 years old. If he's otherwise healthy then he can have a blood test to check for problems and still be castrated.

Until then I suggest you padlook the cage so only you have access.

Unfortunately, there isn't much else you can do now the litter is here.

Tam

Sorry Im an idiot, I didnt read that the babies were only born in December.

Ok, when you realised there were babies, was the dad still in with mum? If the babies were born very late December, its possible they mated again straight after she gave birth, which is quite common apparently.

Rabbits are pregnant for approximately 4 weeks, so if you add up the dates you will be able to work out if this is likely.
(By the way they shouldnt be rehomed until they are at least 8 weeks old.)

Awww what a nightmare - they really are at it like rabbits. Got any pics?

Well the mum and dad were seperated to begin with, as i'd planned to keep them seperate til the female was old enough to get spayed. I will have to put a stern sign on the wall behind the hutch.
Fortunately i go to a college with an animal welfare unit, they'll be able to take all the females.
And don't worry, the 2 babies who have new homes havent gone yet
Oh yes, and i buying from a petshop is bad, but this petshop was appauling, she was in a cage with loads of guinea pigs and were sharing one small water bottle, so i thought i'd rescue her from it!

shnizball said:

Oh yes, and i buying from a petshop is bad, but this petshop was appauling, she was in a cage with loads of guinea pigs and were sharing one small water bottle, so i thought i'd rescue her from it!

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Aw I know, I understand how heartbreaking it is to see bunnies in such horrible places... but try to be strong and remember that if you buy one, they will simply get in another to replace it. It's so difficult, I know, but really the best thing you can do is walk away.

Good luck finding homes for the babies! I take it you'll be getting Dad neutered! :lol: :roll: Bunnies really are tremendous breeders, aren't they?!

AMETHYST

HI Have they found homes? If not whereabouts in Northants are you? Do you have any pics?

If you suspect your sister is putting them together, the safest thing to do is to get the rabbits neutered. If she's anything like my sister she probably thinks its funny :roll: .

Plus then the rabbits will be able to live together and enjoy each other's company. I think Tam already said it but it takes 6 weeks after neutering for the male to become completely infertile. Spaying means the female would be unable to have any more babies straight away. If you want them to live together for bunny company, though, really they both need to be done as an unneutered male has urges which will annoy the female and possibly make her attack him. Plus, of course, spaying female rabbits prevents uterine cancer!

Good luck!

In the meantime, get yourself on a Rescue waiting list. They will have heard the whole pet-shop advice thing a million times before, so will be understanding & will give you proper advice. You could give them a donation towards neutering costs. In the meantime get your males neutered & in 6 weeks, it won't happen again!! Boy baby buns can impregnate Mum from about 10 weeks, so need separating before then, but can be neutered at about 16 weeks if they are big enough & healthy.

Amethyst said:

try to be strong and remember that if you buy one, they will simply get in another to replace it. It's so difficult, I know, but really the best thing you can do is walk away.
AMETHYST

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The even better way is not to even go into shops which sell any livestock. That way you cannot be put into the position again. If enough people support the non livestock selling pet shops, the others will get a far reduced trade and will hopefully go under.