Yes, 14, is too large a litter for most does to raise by themselves, but there are things you can do to minimize your losses. My Satins frequently have 12-16 kits per litter during their first breeding season, and over the years I have found some ways to cope with that. Especially if you're raising meat rabbits, growing that many bunnies at once is pretty nice as long as it doesn't overtax the does.
First, rabbits tend to take fosters quite well, so I try to breed at least two or three does at the same time. If possible, I breed an older, more experienced doe at the same time that I breed a young, inexperienced doe. This accomplishes two things: older does tend to have smaller litters, so there is room to add some of the "overflow" from a young, super-productive doe's litter. My Satins can raise 8-10 quite well, but you'll get to know your does and how many they can handle and still stay healthy. Second, if the new doe doesn't have a clue how to care for the kits at first, not only can you foster at least some of the bunnies to the older doe while she gets tha hang of it, but if the new doe hasn't built a decent nest, the more experienced doe will usually have a well-made nest, from which you can pull some fur to add to the new one's. The drawback is that sometimes older does (especially if they've been let run to fat by being overfed or out of production for a while) won't conceive at all. That's why I breed three if at all possible. If you don't have that many breeding does, you might be able to coordinate your breeding dates with a fellow breeder. Another Satin breeder friend and I usually try to time our breeding schedules so we'll both have options if something goes wrong.
When, in spite of all those efforts, only one doe had a litter of 16, I had success in saving most of them by splitting the litter into two nest boxes, which I kept indoors most of the time. I took the first box out to the doe in the morning, and she happily hopped in and fed them. I brought that box back inside when she was done. In the evening, I took the second box out. At first it took a little "encouragement" for her to go in (actually, I pushed her in), but she fed the second batch that way. Over the next three weeks she got the drill and didn't have to be "encouraged" anymore. At three weeks, they're out of the box all the time, so I just put them all in the cage with her. The ones that didn't compete quite as well could eat hay and pellets. She managed to raise 15 of the 16 this way, and amazingly she did not lose condition any more than a doe normally would raising a litter. It was a fair bit of work on my part, as well, but it turned out to be well worth the effort.
Sad to hear the weather took them.
