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.
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.