why rabbits eat their babies?

Question

why rabbits eat their babies?

Answer 1

Well, it could have been because you're an idiot and kept both mum and dad together- once the doe is pregnant, you should put the buck in a separate cage until all the babies are weaned and given to different homes, then you can put the 'parents' back together again.



The mum probably felt threatened by the male and killed her babies to protect them, and the father probably attacked the babies- it's not like a human family group, they don't know about 'mum' and 'dad' and 'children'. They're just rabbits to them, and to a male rabbit, any other rabbit is a threat to his territory, his mate, and the food source, and must be eliminated- to the female rabbit who gave birth, the baby rabbits can be a burden, and if they're sick or she feels threatened, it's best to kill them.



And then they eat them so the smell of rotting bodies doesn't attract predators- it's how they clean the nest. What do you think they're going to do, have a little funeral?



If you're going to be irresponsible and backyard breed, learn more about it next time. NEVER keep the doe and buck together once she's pregnant, and NEVER put the buck in with her and the babies. End of.

Answer 2

Don't touch their babies. And cover their cages. If you touch them they smell human scent and they feel that their babies are not safe. So they might as well kill it rather then by humans.



I know this because hamsters do this too. Maybe your rabbits are too afraid of you.

Answer 3

maybe animal instincts ya kno. Animals eat their dead babies to prevent interaction with preditors

Answer 4

omg ppl kill me with their answers...geez



well the litter could have all been sick or also some rabbits just chose not to parent. i know the male will kill them without any problem but usually if the female mother does it then there is a reason...which could be many things. it all depends on your situation

Answer 5

any animal doss this its an instenct she has no idear wat to do with them and once there dead she desposes of them because she dosint wont to atract predtaors and also if somethign strange has enterd her home like a predato she will naturally eat them so that she dosint get get killed or have to leave her home



plus a female rabbits frist litter alot fo rabbits happen to do that coz they dont strip there bellys to exspose there feeding tubes coz the fur gets in the way but u should never leave th buck in the hutch when she fills out alot wich will be in the thrid week

Answer 6

Cannibalism in rabbits is caused by different agendas.Dams(mother rabbits) may eat their young if they are under stress.Stressful surroundings and loud noises contributes to this aspect.When a rabbit is currently kindling,make sure the surroundings is quiet and peaceful.Also,mother rabbits tend to eat "runts" in their litter.The weakest ones are eaten so the hormones that are lost from the mother will be replenished.



As for your other question about how to know if does will become dams,there is no sure way to know.Palpating may be done to the rabbit but only experts can be sure that a rabbit is pregnant through this way.To do this,you have to put the doe on her back,then try to "feel" lumps in her stomach.This method is very hard to do.Only through enough experience can you do this properly and perfectly.For more information on it:http://islandgems.net/palpating.html



Also,the mother rabbit who are about to give birth will usually make a nest made by hay or any substrate she can find and her own fur.



A vet may be able to tell too through certain check ups.This is the most sure fire way to know if a rabbit pregnant.



cheers!

Answer 7

If it was her first litter its because they are not normal.



If it was her second, she feels threatened and killed her babies before the threat got to them, and this threat could even be you,

if she doesn't trust you,

if you touched them,

if you always around them,

if the male is with her,

if you have a dog her cat.

Answer 8

What To Feed Young Rabbits

Answer 9

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the same reason islam kills its own children. stupidity.

Answer 10

Rabbits (and other small herbivorous animals) will commonly eat their babies for one of three reasons:



1) The mother feels threatened by "predators" because people or animals are too close to the nest. She eats the babies to take away the appeal for the predators, in the hopes she will live to breed a new litter.



2) The mother is stressed out and cannot lactate, so she eats the babies. Mother rabbits should always be left alone, and the babies must never be handled.



3) The father ate the babies to mate her again. The father should always be removed. Sometimes if you keep them together, the female will actually bite off his penis. I am not kidding. Do some research. The female may also just maul him to death.



Please don't breed animals that you don't know how to care for. Please do the right and responsible thing: Go out and purchase a good, recently-published book on rabbits as pets. Overbreeding her is stressful because the males get violent. It can stress the male too, as the females fight back! Same sex pairs should be kept, unless you are a breeder who knows what they are doing.

Answer 11

Sometimes if they feel threatened or if they have a lack of calcium prior to birth. Some people feed their rabbits hamburger when the delivery date nears. It might just be that. Dogs will often hunt and kill small animals to eat when their delivery is near. Cats also do this, and it is speculated that this may be a problem with rabbits causing them to eat their kits. Don't touch the kits for 8 weeks after birth, and as soon as you know the doe is pregnant remove the buck at once from the cage and put him somewhere where no other rabbits are. And never keep more than one buck at a time in the same cage.

Answer 12

My doe rabbit eat her 4 babies, and I believe it's because some are not meant to be parents due to mental and other disorders. Just look at humans - I think until '60s if a parent beat her/his child to death s/he would not be punished for there weren't laws regarding this issue.

I loved my rabbit so much, but I knew she was too weird to be a mother, but what can I do.

Answer 13

I'm not so sure why, but the dad will always eat it's babies(unless it's a human lol), there's nothing wrong with it. If you think she is going to deliver baby's but your not sure, wait 40 days, if she doesn't have them she is not pregnant. Or she will take a hay and stuff to a certain place for them. and she will pull out fur from herself, and her eating habbits will change. She may drink and eat more. Make sure if she is pregnant, she has a warm place to stay, and the male is not around her.

Answer 14

Rabbits will bite off their babies necks when it feels threatened in any sort of way. If your rabbit lays babies, its best to leave them alone in some dark place with some food and water. If you go near them, it will kill its babies.

Answer 15

I heard that it is because after a mother rabbit has gone through pregnancy, it usually is thirsty, and when it lick the baby rabbit, it feel wet so it eat the baby rabbit for water

Answer 16

Because rabbits will revert to their prehistoric nature & eat anything that moves including small children so keep the kids away unless u are watching them.

Answer 17

was the male and female in the same cage together?? cause the male well kill the babies.



or did u touch them>?? if u did thats likely to be the reason they dont like the smell off human on the babies

Answer 18

rabbits are herbovores so i doubt they can do that, bu ti used to have rabbots that killed their babies because their was something wrong with them.

Answer 19

I do not believe that to be correct

Answer 20

RABBITS EAT BABIES?

D:



i have questions for the easter bunny now.

Answer 21

if the mother is stressed she will if they are sick she will and if the male is around she will

Answer 22

very interesting question

Answer 23

YOUR RABBITS ATE THEIR BABIES?!

you have some sick rabbits!

Answer 24

As for killing them, if they're sick, she'll kill them to keep them from suffering.. liike how sometime dogs will kill the runt puppy.

Answer 25

No living things eat their babies !



there is something wrong with your rabbit

Answer 26

eww, it seems like hamsters rabbits and guinea pigs are cannibals.

Answer 27

Thanks for that because I didn't know that but maybe their a different type of rabbit.

Answer 28

cos they taste good and the rabbit is understandably hungry after the whole busy day of birthing,

Answer 29

My sister's hampster ate her own babbies. I don't know why the hell they would do something like that. It makes me nauseaous.

Answer 30

theyyre yummy and delicious looking.

yummy. cute, fluffy meats.

Answer 31

it's the miracle of life just accept it.

Answer 32

they hungry

Answer 33

BECAUSE THERE CANNIBALS!!!