dead babies

[Jocee]

Hi there,
I feel awful and sad and don't know what might have gone wrong, but Bella my Bun had a litter of kits this morning (day 29, usually she has them day 30). They were all dead, the strange thing is, they were all only about 2 cm long and only about 1 cm around. None of them had their cords off, Bella had not eaten the afterbirth at all and she had not cleaned up the blood at all. I think they must of been dead inside her for a few days, and she had stillbirth babies, because of how small they are, they don't look fully developed, and one of the babies, is so so tiny, only about 1 cm long and 1/2 cm around.

They don't look like they grew at all after about 3 weeks inside her, they just look like they died in her a week ago.
I don't know if the babies weren't getting enough nutrients, or Bella's body wasn't keeping up with them, or what could have happened.

They look like they died in her about a week ago or more, they don't stink heaps, just sort of like old blood

BEWARE PHOTOS MAY BE TOUCHY TO SOME, I do apologize if the photos are a bit much, but I just was wanting other's opinion, the photos actually make them look bigger than their size.
Photo 4 is the smallest kit it is so teeny its legs were only just starting to form, they weren't even legs, the 3rd photo the baby is still in its sack, the 1st two photos are the biggest babies, but they are so so little, I think they died in Bella a while ago, there was one more baby, but i didn't get a photo of it. I found the main after birth, and it has dark patches, almost black i didn't want to take a photo, because I didn't think it would be very respectful for those looking at the photos. I'm just hoping someone can give me some knowledge, as my Bun has done so well with the last litter she had, with no problems

 

[Jocee]

I read a few things can cause this, heat, lack of neutrients, stress/fright, sickness, we have had some hot weather but I made sure she had shade, water, and I checked her ears to see if she was over heated, but her ears never felt too warm or hot.
I don't think it was sickness as she is eating normally and hopping around happily.

I'm guessing it was most likely just her body not keeping up with them, but I gave her extra veggies and pellets, and other herbs and leaves, as I have before when she was pregnant, i'm just not sure what went wrong, either that or the babies themselves just weren't healthy forming or had a weakness

 

[Preitler]

Well, this can happen, for whatever reason. One of my does had a similiar litter, 15-16 discernable kits in seemingly different stages, all dead, one big mess. She was 5yo than, and I retired her not wanting to risk such a thing again, but she accidentially got pregnant at age 7, 4 kits then were fully developed but too big, first got stuck and an emergency spay was necessary. Red is 9yo now.

If your doe is young and she is not a pet I would count this as strike one. There might be a developing issue with her reproductive organs, no way to tell if next time it ends worse or better.

 

[Jocee]

I read a few things can cause this, heat, lack of neutrients, stress/fright, sickness, we have had some hot weather but I made sure she had shade, water, and I checked her ears to see if she was over heated, but her ears never felt too warm or hot.
I don't think it was sickness as she is eating normally and hopping around happily.

I'm guessing it was most likely just her body not keeping up with them, but I gave her extra veggies and pellets, and other herbs and leaves, as I have before when she was pregnant

Well, this can happen, for whatever reason. One of my does had a similiar litter, 15-16 discernable kits in seemingly different stages, all dead, one big mess. She was 5yo than, and I retired her not wanting to risk such a thing again, but she accidentially got pregnant at age 7, 4 kits then were fully developed but too big, first got stuck and an emergency spay was necessary. Red is 9yo now.

If your doe is young and she is not a pet I would count this as strike one. There might be a developing issue with her reproductive organs, no way to tell if next time it ends worse or better.

she is nearly 1 year old,

 

[Jocee]

thanks for the help preitler, she is a pet, and this is just her 2nd litter of babies, but I'm going to give her a rest and give her lots of tender love and care (she already gets lots), but I'm just going to make sure she is at her healthiest self

 

[JBun]

Also consider vit. A toxicity/deficiency if this isn't an isolated occurrence and you're having consistent issues with pregnancy with the does, and/or problems with high litter mortality.

(CONTAINS GRAPHIC MEDICAL RELATED PHOTOS)
http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Vitamins/VitA_low_en.pdf

 

[Jocee]

thanks so much, for the help, I was just so so shocked when I found them yesterday morning, it incredible, because Bella has always been so healthy and happy since she was born and growing up, and her last litter was really healthy, but I will deffinately keep an eye on her, at the moment she seems alright. But I will keep an eye on her as I'm still a bit worried about her. Thanks for the reading, I will deffinately make sure to give her more veggies with carotenoids, as this might do her some good,

She hasn't touched her pellets all day, but she is eating her grass which i'm happy with that, as long as her appetite stay's with her. I'm guessing she might need some carotenoids, so i'll give her more broccoli, and kale

 

[Jocee]

I'll deffinately get more veggies with Vit A and try and balance out these vitamins better. She hasn't touched her pellets much all day, but she is still eating her grass, so i'm happy with that, as long as she is still eating and her appetite stays.

I'll keep an eye on her

 

[Jocee]

I think Bella will be alright, I came to her today, and she started doing zoomies when she saw me and then I fed her and she gobbled as fast as she could. So I think she is doing fine

 

[majorv]

We had a few does who had stillborns, but generally not the whole litter. I, too, would count it as strike one. It might be her, but if you used a different buck this time, it might be him. Try again later and see.

 

[Jocee]

Yep I used a different Buck this time, just to get the different genes coming through. The 1st Buck I used was my Brothers breeding buck he uses for his does, and i know the 1st Buck is a good healthy breeding buck. The 2nd buck is my Brothers new buck he has just started using, so we have yet to see how he does. Thank you all for the help.

 

[Moonshadow]

You said she isn't quite a year old? Out of curiosity, how long has it been been her 1st litter and most recent one?

I've never bred bunnies so no idea if time would be a factor at all...

 

[Jocee]

so she had her first litter when she was nearly 8 months, she had this stillborn litter a week ago, and she is only about a couple weeks from being a year old

 

[majorv]

Yep I used a different Buck this time, just to get the different genes coming through. The 1st Buck I used was my Brothers breeding buck he uses for his does, and i know the 1st Buck is a good healthy breeding buck. The 2nd buck is my Brothers new buck he has just started using, so we have yet to see how he does. Thank you all for the help.

If your brother has problems with this new buck then it could well be the buck. If he doesn’t, and it’s just you, then it may be that those two lines do not work well together. If that’s the case, then you could try that breeding again to confirm, or go back to using the 1st buck. In any case, for future reference, make a note that that combination did not work well so can avoid using bucks from that line with that particular doe’s line.