Please help! Bunny labour gone wrong.

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Kate Jackson

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Wehla, Australia
Hello! Ive recently bought a doe as a pet from a local breeder i believe she is a mini lop x but looks maily mini lop! I went into her cage this morning and found a nest with 3 dead babies! I was unaware she was pregnant. The doe is now acting very unusual she lays/ stretches with her back legs still under her on her belly and bends her back up with bum sticking up in the air and tail flexed upwards she seems very uncomfortable and unlike her self she goes to bite when touched instead of running away like usual & doesnt hop away unless i go to pick her up and then she'll run away normally. Is she still in labour or has something went wrong and i need to go to vets?? Please help thanks!
 
None of us could say for sure if there might be a problem. It could just be more contractions and she isn't finished yet, or there could be something else going on. If she isn't back to normal by now I would at least suggest phoning your rabbit vet to ask them. It's possible she could be having complications.
 
That's what I was thinking too maybe she's not done yet. If she only had 3 babies she can deliver more and it can even be in a few days. If you got her recently and she went through stress of changes it is not impossible that she delivered them earlier hopefully the other ones will be fine but I agree that no one could tell you without observing her so best would be to get a vet and maybe you can contact your breeder as well maybe they will have some suggestions. It's normal that she is defensive and you are new people for her as well. I am sorry about the babies hopefully she'll be fine and will have some more healthy babies in a few hours or days. Keep us updated and please post some pics too. Good luck!
 
My question is similar- my bun was accidentally bred and delivered two still born kits yesterday sometime in the early morning (I checked her at 2 am as she had been nesting for a couple of days) but had another this morning, also stillborn. She has been eating very little, but is still urinating and pooping (although her poop looks very soft). She is a first time mom and has not used the nesting box- all of the kits have been found on the floor of her enclosure. She will let me feel her stomach and even lift her tail to check her. She appears to be leaking blood/fluid. Could there be more babies? Also, she has not cleaned her fur at all and it is getting stiff and dirty (no foul smell or bad odor), can I clean her with a warm damp rag?

Not sure if this is important- she is an Eastern Cottontail and the buck was a Holland Lop- maybe a dwarf. My friend pet sit for me while I was out of town and they were in neighboring enclosures and the buck broke into hers.
 
Not sure if this is important- she is an Eastern Cottontail and the buck was a Holland Lop- maybe a dwarf.

Hm, that would be the first time this two species produce offspring (different chromosome numbers), viable kits pretty much impossible. Are you sure about that cottontail, or is it just the fur colour that makes you think that (pictures?). The one in the avatar looks more like a agouti dwarf to me.

Hard to tell from a distance what went wrong, or why. Can be stress factors like heat etc., or it simply does happen, some breeds, lines, individuals just have poor mothering instincts, or are just confused the first time.

Sure wouldn't hurt to clean her up, but it would worry me that she doesn't do it herself.

Dificulties at giving birth can also be due a calcium deficit, offering a fruit flavoured Tums as said to help with that.
 
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The one in the picture is a rescue from our pool that I released back to the wild after it was dry, hopping and seemed fully recovered from its unplanned dip. I believe Pickles is the same breed. We got her from a man who raised them for meat. I didn’t think she could get pregnant which is why my friend and I weren’t too concerned at first after finding them together. The kits, which appear to be full-size, are not fully developed. There does not appear to be eyes under the lids, the ears are small and misshapen, and I can’t see nostrils/ mouths. I think the poor things passed due to genetic incompatibilities.
I am just concerned for my momma. I am going to clean her cage completely again (so I can see any new blood/fluids and offer her a tuna. Do you think I can help her to get clean?
Thank you so much for your response!
 
I',m sure that is a domestic european rabbit, agouti coloured. Can't tell the breed, I'm used to my meat mutts, but looks rather small...
Cottontails are wild animals, and I can't imagine breeding them for meat, really no point in that. Don't know your laws, but it might even be illegal to keep wild animals without special permission.

The sack might still be covering their heads if the doe didn't clean them.

Anyway, I think cleaning her can't do any harm, and it will make it easier to see what's going on.
 
You may be right. I did check the laws in my state before I got her. In South Carolina the laws in regards to wild animals seem more centered around hunting. You can legally own, but and sell venomous copperheads and rattlesnakes. I am not sure if there is a difference between wild caught and captive bred.
Based on her behavior I think she may not be finished. There are new fluids with blood mixed in on the paper in her cage.
I really appreciate you taking the time to respond. OP- sorry I hijacked your thread! I hope your bun is doing well!
 

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