How to Stop a Rabbit From Eating Her Babies
It may come as a surprise to new rabbit owners that rabbit mothers volition sometimes consume their offspring. Fifty-fifty though rabbits are not cannibal by nature, their position every bit casualty animals tin can encourage them to take strange deportment in the face up of stress or perceived danger – conditions both found shortly after giving nativity.
If your rabbit is meaning, or you have plans to breed them at any time before long, it'due south important to fix for the possibility of your rabbit eating her babies. Thankfully, by addressing the underlying causes of this behavior and closely monitoring for warning signs of danger to newborns, you lot tin can often preclude this undesirable consequence.
In this article, we'll be roofing the factors that can contribute to this beliefs, as well as preventative measures yous can take before the birthing process to brand information technology smoother and safer for every rabbit involved. Should those strategies fail, you'll also learn about how to safely take rabbits away from their mother if necessary.
Read on to learn everything you demand to know for how to cease a rabbit from eating her babies.
Why Do Rabbits Consume Their Own Babies?
The deed of birth is no doubtfulness i of the about stressful experiences that females of any species can go through. For the already fragile, prey brute rabbit though, this procedure tin can push them into a state of instinctual "fight or flight" manner reaction.
Furthermore, carrying children and birthing them can place a serious strain on the mother'south nutrient balance, frequently creating a protein deficiency. For otherwise non-aggressive mothers, this is the about natural conclusion as to why they would eat their young: The birthing procedure has left them so deficient in protein that they fear for their life and health. In this situation, the newborn is the nearest available source of protein.
If a mother is particularly young (less than 6 months old), this feel tin can put her body under fifty-fifty more stress. In the day later birthing her litter, the stress of the situation can encourage her worst territorial behaviors. This will sometimes encourage her to swallow her immature to protect her position in the hutch, or so as not to describe attending from potential predators (source).
iv Means to Keep Your Baby Rabbits Safe
After learning about why rabbits eat their own babies, it'southward probably starting to be clearer to you but how we tin preclude this from happening. Because each of the reasons for rabbit mothers eating their young has a root in behavior or dietary choices, this means we can provide support prior to nascency and avoid whatsoever unwanted outcomes.
1. Make sure your rabbit mother has plenty of protein in its diet.
As the highest-protein, most nutritionally dumbo hay, alfalfa is an excellent choice to supplement your female parenthoped-for's diet in the weeks prior to nascency.
2. If y'all accept the option, don't breed very young rabbits.
Whatsoever rabbit that isn't fully mature and mellowed with age volition be more likely to react poorly to the stress of birthing.
3. Remove anything that may be stressful to the Mother
Limit or remove loud noises, vivid lights, and quick movements in the mother's surface area leading upwards to and post-obit the birth. Creating an atmosphere of calm and placidity will help go along stress and danger signals to a minimum.
4. Monitor the mother and newborns
Sentry then very closely immediately later on birthing. The mother will consume the placenta to restore important nutrients and should be watched carefully to ensure that she does not accidentally eat one of her young.
If you've taken all these steps, just the mother is even so showing signs of aggression towards her newborns, your last option may be to accept remove the newborns from their mother's care. When this is necessary, exist sure to follow the steps in the side by side section.
Tin I Have My Infant Rabbits Abroad From Their Mother?
Unfortunately, the occasional rabbit mother is simply not suited for maternal duties. Whether this is considering of aggressive beliefs, a persistent nutrient deficiency, or overly fragile and skittish nature makes no divergence; one time a mother shows these signs, yous should stop breeding them immediately.
One time you lot see these behaviors though, the litter in question even so needs to be given appropriate care. In most cases, the first 24 hours after nascency are the most disquisitional; if your mother goes this long without showing any alarming behavior, it's unlikely that she will eat her immature after that.
In the example that you practise need to separate baby rabbits from their mother, please follow the extremely detailed and thorough directions provided by Doctor Dana Krempels of the University of Miama Biology Department for the "Intendance and Feeding of Orphaned Domestic Rabbits", found here. It is the most effective organization we have seen in caring for orphaned rabbits and could hardly exist improved upon by the writer of this commodity.
Decision
The time surrounding your mother rabbit's starting time litter can be stressful for brute and man, akin. We hope that this guide has been useful to you in shedding light on the underlying causes of rabbits eating their immature, and prepared yous with everything you need to know to preclude this from happening. By taking the advisable steps in preparation for birth, you lot can minimize the stress and danger to every animal involved.
You may too desire to read: How Long Are Rabbits Pregnant? (Gestation Periods)
Featured Image: auenleben from Pixabay
Contents
- Why Do Rabbits Swallow Their Own Babies?
- four Ways to Continue Your Babe Rabbits Prophylactic
- 1. Brand certain your rabbit female parent has plenty of protein in its nutrition.
- 2. If you take the pick, don't breed very young rabbits.
- three. Remove anything that may be stressful to the Mother
- 4. Monitor the female parent and newborns
- Can I Accept My Baby Rabbits Abroad From Their Female parent?
- Conclusion
How to Stop a Rabbit From Eating Her Babies
Source: https://petkeen.com/how-to-stop-a-rabbit-from-eating-her-babies/
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