Kit Carnage (Help?)

So my doe Blackpaw, after two and a half weeks of no problems, began eating her kits. Yesterday just one out of eight was missing, but this morning, there were only four still alive. Three of them I put with the other does (two to a litter of five, one to a litter of six), but one of them had suffered injury- the doe attempted to eat her, but somehow only got one front foot.

There's exposed muscle and bone, but she's active and doesn't seem incapacitated besides, you know, missing half a leg. Tomorrow, I have a vet appointment with a different rabbit to be neutered, and I plan on bringing her to see what the vet has to say. If nothing else, the vet can help her go quickly and quietly. If there's no other advice to be had I'd like to know how i can cull her- my mom (aka my partner in lapine crime) was pretty upset, to say the least If he kit has to be put under I'd rather do it myself instead of having her do it.

What should I do with her? I currently have her in a cage inside, with a sealed mason jar full of warm water (for warmth) and small dishes of water and pellets. When my mom and I found her this morning, we used a wet paper towel to dab off as much blood as possible (she wasn't bleeding then, and isn't now), and coated the exposed flesh in triple A antibiotic ointment. She's sleeping and grooming herself, and doesn't seem to be in too much shock.

I can upload pictures, if necessary.

About the doe, I'm not sure if that's a scientific answer, but my does start gnawing everywhere when they are craving for something. Calcium is the most common deficency, I take eggshels, put them in a coffee grinder and powder the pellets with it (after applying some vegetable oil).

Next thing would be salt, so I put in a stone salt block for them to lick at.

In your situation, I would offer meat - ham or whatever. Rabbits are opportunistic carnivores sometimes.

Since you took care of this litter anyway I would consider that with the next ones.

The kit...
Well, that's sad, but it's your decision how much energy you want to put in it. I don't know if you're breeding for pets or meat. It sure could be a pet when findeing the right home (there's a 3 legged cat stalking my rabbitry :lol: )

I'm sorry you had to find something like that.

Are you sure it's the doe? Generally, I think predators are the main suspect when something like this happens especially as the kits are pretty old already. It would take alot of effort for a doe to dispose of the skull of a 2.5 week old kit. Rats or other small predators would be my primary suspect.

It sounds to me like you are doing a great job with the injured kit. So long as it's not grinding it's teeth or showing other signs of pain it may heal fine.

If you decide you do need to euthanize. Sharp pruning shears to remove the head are a fast way to do it. Another way is to place the head on a hard flat object and use a hammer or heavy pipe to crush the skull. It sounds a bit gruesome but it is a really quick death for the kit. Whatever method you choose don't hesitate. Do it quick and hard and get it over. Hesitating at the last minute may not end well.

I agree with alforddm about the possibility of predators. Where are your rabbits housed and how large are the spaces in the wire? Do you use a J-feeder and does it have a lid?

Rabbits will occasionally kill and eat kits, but usually it is newborns or very young kits. By the time they are two and a half weeks it is very unusual.

Whenever I've had to euthanize a kit. I've used a hammer, as alforddm suggested.

Pictures of the cage


Blackpaw's cage. It's a standard wire cage, with 2 binder clips holding it closed- they weren't open this morning, so no predator could've gotten in that way. The pink resting tray is covering a hole in the wire
(someone cut a hole for a feeder and it couldn't fit), and is ziptied on several times. There's no sign its been tampered with/ broken, so nothing could get in there. The feeder is attached by the standard metal thingies (scientific lingo, I know) and a bungee cord.

Additionally, the blood is inside the cage- I don't think anything would eat a baby in the cage with an angry momma, haha.


A photo of Rosemary's cage. The set up is similar if not exactly the same. Note happy healthy babies, haha.

I can't think of any predators that could do this amount of damage without more obvious tampering. I live in Ohio, so the suspects are cats, raccoons, coyotes,dogs- that sort of fare. I don't think any of these would eat 4.25 kits, sans the coyote and dog, but either of those would have to had torn the cage open- and even then, they'd probably eat all of em.

City, suburbs or countryside? Are the cages in a shed or similar building or outdoors? Would predators be able to get to the cages?

The cage appears to have 1" x 1/2' flooring and 1" x 2" walls. Plenty of room to admit weasels, rats and possibly mink. Raccoons will reach into a cage, grab the occupants and eat them through the wire. I once lost a chick to a raccoon that reached through bars just 3/4" apart to grab it.

It could have been the doe. But so often we hear incidents like yours where the owner later had hard proof of a predator. It is far more common than rogue mama rabbits.

houston":3dfy90dl said:

I can't think of any predators that could do this amount of damage without more obvious tampering. I live in Ohio, so the suspects are cats, raccoons, coyotes,dogs- that sort of fare. I don't think any of these would eat 4.25 kits, sans the coyote and dog, but either of those would have to had torn the cage open- and even then, they'd probably eat all of em.

Click to expand...

Hey Houston, sorry about your losses. It is very probable a predator got to them. The issue isn't the predator physically getting inside the cage but that it is able to reach through the cage to get at the kits. My guess is if you look closely around the cage you'll notice some blood, maybe some bunny bits? A raccoon can easily reach through those holes and could grab the kits from the nestbox (if the nest box is normally as close to the edge of the cage as in the picture). Any kits hopping outside the nestbox are targets as well if they are close enough for the coon to reach. Stories like that unfortunately happen.

I live in a suburb, and the cages are right up against the house. There is an automatic light, but Blackpaw's cage is on the end and anything moving there probably wouldn't trip the light. The nestbox is normally against the back of the cage, against the pink rest board- we moved it this morning to check for more kits, and haven't moved it back yet.

I'm thinking of getting one of those deer type cameras that takes a picture when there's movement- a good investment to see if I need to trap some coons, haha. Anyone want some coontail hats? :lol:

possum would have ZERO trouble with those cages.

having been through a possum attack.... two babies dead... legs pulled through wire and nipped off...NOT a pleasant sight.

I'd be less inclined to blame the doe and be thinking predator.

Yeah, there are a lot of predators that will eat occupants still inside a cage. I had a hawk leave the exact carnage you described once (with chicks), came home from work just in time to see it still perched on the cage. Several bird poops all around the outside of the cage and about half the occupants torn to bits, many were still alive and just missing legs, wings, had their skin ripped off in places. Predators are ruthless when they're hungry.

I've also had rats do the same to much older fully feathered chicks. Gnawed them alive in the dead of night and the chick couldn't even do anything about it.

I agree that a predator is the most likely explanation. If it's gotten a meal from one pen, the other does litters might eventually be victimized too.

I've had a hawk grab and eat some quail right through chicken wire. There was a circle of gore and feathers where each bird was eaten, but the wire was never broken.