Mom Ripped Fur from First Litter Bunnies

by Jennifer
(Ravenel, SC, USA)

Rabbit had surprise 2nd litter 32 days after first litter. We noticed she pulled fur from the 32-day-old baby bunnies to make a nest for the 2nd litter. Is that normal?


***** Karen Sez *****

Well, yours is certainly an enterprising doe! Levity aside, I have not seen this practice, although I am guessing it is not unheard of. Did your doe pull plenty of her own fur for the first litter?

In the wild, does completely abandon the first litter in order to dig a new burrow for the second litter. This would necessitate her pulling her own fur a second time, as her first litter would be virtually forgotten.

In the enclosed spaces that rabbit owners of necessity give their rabbits (whether in a cage, hutch, or home), it might be difficult for a doe to abandon her litter. All that available fur then might become tempting to use for nest-building, lol, especially if her belly and dewlap were picked bare just 32 days prior.

I'd love to hear from other rabbit breeders or owners: Have you noticed your does "borrowing" fur from their babies, or even from the buck, in order to build a new nest for a new litter?? Please respond by commenting on this page! TIA.

By the way, the issue of back to back litters is covered in the Rabbit Raising Problem Solver book, see pages 145-147.

Back to back litters are also covered in the Rabbit Reproduction e-book.

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