Litter of kits and a very defensive mother...

My Rabbit Ebony just had a litter of about 4 or 5 kits, Ebony is not letting me open the hutch to feed her with ought trying to bite me how can I stop this and also how should I clean the hutch?

You just need to distract her long enough so you can take the nestbox out and check on the kits. I wouldn't worry too much about the hutch right now...unless it's just filthy.

She has calmed down now and I managed to give her food but every time I come up to the hutch she sort of shows a little bit if the whites of her eyes if u know what I mean and when u take her food out or the nest box she just watches u from a corner of the hutch and she was shaking earlier when I went to feed her, she had 4 kits in her litter and that's a lot for a first time mum and my hutch is not that dirty I promise!

She's just being a good mum. Give her a small treat whenever your hand goes into the hutch so she'll associate you with good things instead. Have you checked on the kits? Get someone to grab her out and hold her if necessary for you to do this, if there are dead ones you don't want to leave them in there with the live babies too long.

The "eye" thing you're talking about, that's her being scared that you're going to hurt her or the kits. It's nothing you're doing wrong, just natural instinct and motherhood. Women get hormonal with one child... imagine how much of a hormone storm she's having with 5 babies!! Lol, seriously though, she'll return to a note normal state within a couple days or so. Also don't let it stop you from checking in the kits. The mom will let Marie take its course if something bad happens, so it's your job to make sure birthing happens to the kits that would let them die (getting separated from the litter, buried under the litter and not getting fed, etc. )

I have checked the litter and they are all alive and moving around a lot but are all huddled together, I rub my hands with some of her fur that she shed before I check the kits as I don't want her to abandon them if I get my scent on them

99% of rabbits mind not if you touch their kits.
Check them twice a day.
Generally hormones settle within a week.
some mom's are protective does.
SOMETIMES they are over protective and won't let the kits leave the box.... those moms you simply DO NOT breed again.
Four kits is an easy litter regardless the size of the doe for MOST rabbits.

OK thanks she is a bit defensive and never takes an eye off me when I'm checking the kits other wise for her first litter apparently the average is about 2 kits but she seems to be doing fairly well with her kits and we didn't even know she was giving birth in till I got back from a party and found her giving birth

So I read ur last post, and from that I know that the mother doesn't know U that much... With my first litter the mother had a cow when I went near the nestbox. Try giving her a head massage every time you go into the nestbox, it really helps. And don't be afraid they can sense ur fear ( sounds cheesy but it's true.

Its perfectly normal behaviour for a mother doe. Put one hand over her head and gently push her down if she tries attacking you this basically establishes your dominance and motherly control over her but regularly just give her a pat with on hand whilst you check for golf ball belly babies with the other.

You can usually tell if they have just been nursed (twice a day, early morning, late night) they tend to wee when you pick then up and the bellies are like rocks! But during the day that softens but they stay fat till next nursing. You'll never see her nurse, only time I ever saw one of my brood does nurse was when she was housed in my bedroom. Looks hilarious when babies get big.

Signs to look for in a dehydrated kit is wrinkly skin and obviously sunken in bellies not all of these kits will be turning blue though so if you find a kit like that I usually take mumma doe out and put the kit on her and let it nurse for about five minutes if she won't lie on her back I just pop her back on her belly and tuck the kit under like how they naturally nurse, now they will either sit or try and hop away just hold her steady and cover her eyes, it'll calm her down.

Four babies is a small litter but an average size for a first time mum. Although I've had first timers have ten, these were Dwarf Lops (AU) (Mini Lops in America) it actually can depend a lot more on genetics then much else, if their mother had big litters generally sibling and offspring will too but this isn't always the case.

Kati's Holland Lops said:

So I read ur last post, and from that I know that the mother doesn't know U that much... With my first litter the mother had a cow when I went near the nestbox. Try giving her a head massage every time you go into the nestbox, it really helps. And don't be afraid they can sense ur fear ( sounds cheesy but it's true.

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I have had the mother doe for almost a year of course she knows me well! Thanks for the tip any way but can I just ask how am I an irresponsible owner cuz that really hurt my feelings when I read that I am only 13 and I thought that the breeder would know best as they breed rabbits all the time and I kept bugging my mum for another hutch for shadow but she said she wasn't gonna get one yet as she don't need one yet as shadow isn't ready

Ebonytherabbit said:

I have had the mother doe for almost a year of course she knows me well! Thanks for the tip any way but can I just ask how am I an irresponsible owner cuz that really hurt my feelings when I read that I am only 13 and I thought that the breeder would know best as they breed rabbits all the time and I kept bugging my mum for another hutch for shadow but she said she wasn't gonna get one yet as she don't need one yet as shadow isn't ready

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I think I just read ur last post wrong or something, I didn't know that you did want another hutch, but anyways CONGRATZZ enjoy dem babies

Woah sorry it repeted what I was saying tons of times can u delete them all?

It's OK now my mum is saying she is not gonna get another hutch till next week so I'm really annoyed now but my hutch is a double so shadow is on the bottom and ebony is on top as she had her babies in the top bit

not sure when you separated the two, but if it was after the kits were born, in a month you may have more kits to deal with. Rabbits can and often do breed the same day they have kits.

We was not exactly sure if she was pregnant or not but as soon as ebony began to give birth I separated the two of them me and my mum hope they did not breed again as she wanted to let ebony to raise her first litter first

make sure you SELL the babies as opposed to giving them away. Selling makes them worth just a bit more and rabbits are so disposable that making people think a little before dumping if they tire of it makes good sense yes?

Handle the kits every day twice a day. At first to make sure they are eating and growing, and later to get them well used to people bugging 'em.

BEFORE you rebreed your rabbit consider what might happen if you can't get rid of all the babies. Are you prepared to keep them? Or what will you do if you can't find them homes? Something important to consider.

I'm not gonna handle them in till there older they are only 5 days old now so not gonna handle them yet, just hope they are not getting upset now as at the time I wrote this is the weirdest storm ever, tons of lightning no thunder lol no joke any way yeah have thought about all that we have decided to keep one of the babies and are selling the rest

You really should at least hold them once a day so they grow up being used to it. Otherwise, they could end up skittish and possibly aggressive...not good if you want them to be someone's pet.

I have been told by loads of people not to handle them yet so.....