Question
I'm wondering what I am doing wrong. The mother, who is two years old, was in the great condition for giving babies. But, the babies started dying when they were 1 week old. The litter was 3 kits, and so far none have died yet, but it is coming close to one dying.
Note: This is only the second litter she's had.
The place where she gave her babies was about 70 degrees Fahrenheit, in a barn, and the place where she gave her babies was clean. Should we turn up the heat in the place or do something else?
We are feeding her rabbit food pellets that look like a brown tube which was recommended food by the store we bought it from. She went to the vet 2 days before she was going to have her kits and everything was good.
Answer
In any case of severer life threatening illness your vet should be your first choice for medical assistance in this case though you have indicated you are feeding timothy hay based dark colored food pellets. These three related questions can assist you in balancing the diet of rabbit as it relates to alfalfa consumption and weaning.
- Is it true that alfalfa hay is a treat and should not make up the majority of an adult rabbit's diet?
- What are the basic requirements of a healthy adult rabbit's diet?
- At what age can/should a baby rabbit (kit) be separated from its mother?
While the high food value of alfalfa is a concern, it may be a requirement for breeding rabbits (ref) it should be pointed out that there are many different lines of thought here, so discuss nutrition with your vet to make the best choices for your rabbits. Rabbits are dependent on a high volume low value food supply, but in captivity and in breeding programs there can be issues. In particular nutritional care for rabbits living in wire bottom cages can be problematic as it can interfere with cecotrope consumption.
Along with the other critical information you refuse to provide to assist in answering this question, you have neglected to include the breed. A litter size of 3 is small for most breeds of rabbits, which can also be an indicator of poor nutrition. Based on the available information and your second question My rabbit just had babies and they are dying. What can I do?, it is likely that you are failing to meet the nutritional requirements of your rabbits.
Lastly there are several variables in kit survival rates, not all are well understood. (ref) (ref) Mortality rates of 10% to 100% can occur, even if you are doing everything correctly, expecting all kits to survive is not realistic.
Answered By - James Jenkins