How to Stop a Rabbit From Eating Her Babies

Updated:

How to Stop a Rabbit From Eating Her Babies

As an affiliate, we may earn a commission from qualifying purchases. We get commissions for purchases made through links on this website from Amazon and other third parties.

If you have a rabbit pet, you know that they can be adorable and cuddly. However, if your rabbit is pregnant, you need to be aware that they may start eating their babies. This can be pretty heartbreaking for the owner to see. Luckily, there are some things that you can do to help stop this from happening. This article will discuss how to stop a rabbit from eating her babies. Keep reading to learn more!

How to Stop a Rabbit From Eating Her Babies

Rabbits are adorable and cuddly pets. They make a great addition to any family. They can be loving and affectionate, as well as great with children. Many people love rabbits for their small size and gentle demeanor. However, they have some habits that may startle you if you are not used to them, such as chewing through furniture or even eating their young if they feel threatened.

Why Do Rabbits Eat Their Babies??

Rabbits are very affectionate mothers and will do everything they can to protect their young. Most rabbits will build a nest for their babies to be born in and will make sure they have food to eat. However, sometimes rabbits will eat their offspring after they are born.

Rabbits sometimes will kill and eat their own babies. The reasons for this behavior are not known, but there are several theories. One is that rabbits may be under stress due to poor health, an overcrowded environment, or inadequate caretaking by the mother. Another theory is that rabbits may act in this way because they feel threatened either socially or physically by their offspring.

It is usually seen among females who have just given birth and are nursing – it becomes more common as the number of young increases within the litter. For example, if a single young is born, she might eat it because she has no other outlet for her frustrations. If she has eight babies, however, suddenly the act becomes more intriguing because it could be seen as an act of survival; that way, at least some portion of them will live on.

Some people think that rabbits might eat their young because they are curious creatures who like to try new things. This usually manifests itself in rabbit behavior by “testing” the babies – nudging them with their noses and mouths until they get a specific response (typically a movement or sound).

Many animals, including some birds, will kill and eat their own young if they feel threatened by another animal. They may also try to hide the evidence by covering it up with things like hay or grass.

Use a Wide Variety of Vegetables Every Day

A Step by step Guide on How to Stop a Rabbit From Eating Her Babies

Step 1: Add Plenty of Protein in Mother Rabbits Diet

For the first week, this is especially important so that the mother can have enough nutrients to produce milk. Mother rabbits need a diet rich in protein to produce high-quality milk for their babies. In addition, protein provides them with energy as they care for their newborns. Feeding your rabbit with healthy treats such as leafy greens and fruits will not help her gain much weight now.

Placing rabbit pellets right where she will eat will encourage her to do so. As much as possible, provide a wide variety of vegetables every day, starting every other day after a good meal full of hay and mixed veggies which you’ll later introduce one by one separately—starting from those with the least amount of calcium.

Step 2: Monitor How Often Rabbit Eats

Count the number of times your mother eats and make an observation. Increase the amount of food if she’s eating less than what you usually see her doing. Also, look closely at how much milk she produces; for every baby who is well fed, there should be around 7 milliliters (ml) to 8 ml of milk in each nipple.

If the nipples don’t seem complete after a feeding session, increase the number and size of feedings or decrease the intervals between them (to every 2 hours). This is a crucial step in how to stop a rabbit from eating her babies.

Step 3: Make Rabbit Eat Vegetables

After doing this, you will notice that the mother rabbit might still refrain from eating her vegetables. This is when you should take out one of her babies and place it together with its mother. Then, as the baby moves around in search of food, she’ll be encouraged to eat as well to regain her strength and produce enough milk for all her litter. You can also try giving your pet fresh alfalfa sprouts after nursing, so she’ll want to eat them again later on because they are delicious!

Make Rabbit Eat Vegetables

The lack of appetite comes mostly from stress or changes in the environment, but these symptoms may also be signs that show that something is wrong with your pet’s health. If you notice that your rabbit is not eating, make sure to take her out of the cage and place her in a quiet room with dim lights. You can also try stroking her gently during feeding time, as these are some of the things which will reduce stress.

Step 4: Increase Calcium Intake

Rabbit’s diet must be high in fiber. A mother rabbit should eat as much as possible given her time, provided those foods are rich in protein and low in calcium. If she is not eating well, it may be because of stress, lack of maternal instincts, or other problems, such as disease and infection.

It can also be helpful to offer her vegetables that are high in calcium content every day. Romaine lettuce is one good source. Other choices are endive, escarole, cilantro, parsley, or kale. Just make sure they’ve been washed thoroughly before you give them to your rabbit. It’s recommended that you don’t feed her lettuce as it has little nutritional value and is difficult for her to digest. How Much Water Does a Pregnant Rabbit Need?

Step 5: Don’t Breed Very Young Rabbits

Timing is essential, especially with young rabbits. The best time to breed a female rabbit is when she is at least four months old and has reached 70% of her adult size—meaning that she should weigh 2.5 pounds or more.

If you start breeding rabbits too early, the mother rabbit’s body won’t have enough time to recover. This is because it takes about 30 days for the body to replenish its fat reserves after giving birth. Also, less than half of one percent of bunnies born from mothers between three and four months old survive beyond six weeks.

Step 6: Stress Bunnies Out as Little as Possible

 Compassionate ​creature

Bunnies are compassionate creatures, and they break down quickly. They have difficulty coping with stress, especially when you place them in a new environment or move their cage to another spot.

To avoid problems, keep things the same as possible until she’s done nursing her babies. But don’t let it become boring! Let her run around on the floor every day so that she can build up endurance for chasing those pesky flies or other critters around your home.

You can also take her outside of the cage for some exercise! Just be sure you always handle your bunny with care, never letting anything startle him during this delicate period of his life. These steps will help in how to stop a rabbit from eating her babies.

Tips and Warnings

Tips:

  • During the first few weeks, rabbits are easily stressed out by new surroundings or changes in their environment. Therefore, to avoid your rabbit from eating her babies because of stress, make sure to keep them in an area where they feel safe and comfortable.
  • Similarly, you should never disturb the mother during the first three days after giving birth as this may cause her great stress. You can check on her later if she doesn’t return.
  • You should also ensure that both parents are healthy since pregnant rabbits can pass on diseases to their children through their droppings just before giving birth which could lead your pet rabbit to eat its young inside out because of illness.

Warnings

  • Never try to pull out the babies from your rabbit if she is still nursing them; doing so may cause severe internal bleeding.
  • If you’re not sure whether your rabbit ate her young yet or not, don’t disturb it too much since pregnant rabbits can also cannibalize their young during labor.
  • If you suspect that your pet could have eaten its babies overnight, take it to a vet immediately. You may detect traces of blood by checking around the rabbit’s pen because rabbits tend to eat their droppings to get rid of any evidence.
Don't Breed Very  Young Rabbits

You can check it out to Get My Rabbit to Eat Hay

Conclusion

We hope you have learned how to stop a rabbit from eating her babies. The best way to stop a rabbit from eating her babies is by placing an inverted metal container over the nest. It should be at least 6 inches deep and have no holes in it for air or light, but enough room on the top side to take off once you get home. This will help prevent further damage while allowing your rabbits plenty of fresh air and natural sunlight through the screen lid.