4 dead 2 barely alive kits

[Sarah rabbitry]

Hi guys, I have some sad news. This morning I came out to my nest of 6 bunnies who were doing great just yesterday, this morning two were dead in the nest one was barely alive. Two were dead outside of the nest and one was barely alive. I have the two survivors in the house in a box with fuzzy clothes with me. But one of them has a foot injury and is bleeding. The other can’t hold it’s head up. One that was fully dead had a cut to the bone. I have absolutely NO IDEA what could have happened. There is no possible way any animals or predators could get to them. Any idea of why this happened? And also what can I do to help the little survivors?

 

[Preitler]

One possibility is that something freaked out the doe, and she scrambled out of the nestbox, dragging kits with her and accidentially injuring them with her claws.

The injuries you mention imo wouldn't fit a rat or mink, a cat (or whatever wildlife you have there) unsuccessfully trying to pull kits out through the wire would more likely cause cuts. Even if nothing can get in there some predator might have scared the doe.

How old are the kits? Something noteworthy about the doe? Are there other rabbits, and what does your setup look like, does the doe have another spot to hide except the nest box?

Not sure about what to do with the kits, apart from keeping them warm and making sure they get fed twice a day by taking the nestbox out and returning it around dusk and dawn for feeding, or holding the doe for feeding (tried that once ended up with a cut kit because the doe struggled).

Good luck.