Doe ate a kit

[Pheasant283]

Have a first time rex doe, has always been a little aggressive and very cage protective.
Any way her kits are 2 weeks old today. Came home and there was a kit out of the nest box half eaten. Any ideas why she would do that?

 

[Jack]

happens

usually not so late, likely one of two things, either she is a psycho mother (happens) and takes anything in the cage as 'enemy' and attacks, or the kit died and she was 'disposing' of it. Just like she cleans up after birth to keep predators away from the nest.

 

[LASGSD]

Or a cat got to it? I had problems with strays getting into my rabbitry and chewing the babies through the wire.

 

[Jack]

Um, that's why mine are in an enclosure and in the house, our cat is deathly afraid of rabbits...

 

[curlysue]

I found partly eaten babies in cages i blamed it on the doe,i later found rats,they can and will kill bunnies.I went out late one night and there was a rat in the cage.

 

[Pongo]

@ 2 weeks I would honstly suspect something else ...

 

[MaggieJ]

Sounds like rats to me. I strongly suggest setting up some secure bait stations with a good one-feeding rat poison. Just because you have not seen them, doesn't mean they aren't there.

 

[Pheasant283]

The rabbits are in a secure building no cats or dogs can get in, unless they can open a door. I have decon placed throughout the rabbitry, but its been a while since I have checked it. I will check the decon and go from there.
I still think it may have been the doe that ate the kit. She is kinda phsyco right now, she freaks out and trys to attack my arm or hand when I reach in for the nest box. So if a kit ended up out of the box she may have got freaked out and not realized what it was and attacked it.