Didn't expect...2 babies

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Well, I have two bunnies. Whiskas (neutered male) and Lena (intact mommy girl).

They've HAD babies together. I neutered Whiskas so that neither would have to go through pregnancy or mating again.

They don't live together YET, but we're building a large cage soon.

Lena's son's Brownie and Flash live on top of her cage. Sharing the same door.

Well, one of my sister's fed her bunny Brownie and left the door slightly open.
This has happened before, and they left it alone.

( We double - check the doors now...)

Well getting to the point, Brownie fell into Lena's cage and mated her. Supposedly this is called "line-breeding". As it was parent to offspring.

Either way, Lena has two babies ... we noticed about 3 days ago when we were going to clean the cage.

I counted today. She has 2 babies ... but the thing that worries me is that one is terribly small and the other is about triple as big!!! The big one is even bigger than the "normal" ones that she had years before.

I don't want the little one to die. How could I possibly help the little one? My father suggested not bottle-feeding extra because the milk doesn't match the mother's, and bottle-feeding is usually not successful. He said it would be best to leave it and let it go natural.

What would you do?

I am planning to spay Lena when I have more money so please don't bother me about that. It costs over $100.

Any comments/support please??

I'm really nervous and still rather in shock right now...

[SkinnyPiggys]

Take a look at:

House Rabbit Society Rabbit Care Guide

Morfz.com
(rabbit refs)

[VoodooJoint]

I suggest you call your exotic vet to see what he/she has to say.

I also find it disconcerting that when you asked about Lena being pregnant a while ago you NEVER mentioned that you had other intact males in the house http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/...ncy-again.html

You were told at that time to take her to a vet. Obviously you didn't since you "noticed" the babies 3 days ago.

Honestly, how many more times are you going to allow this poor animal to pop out babies? She has now had 4 litters in as many years. I know you don't want to be "bothered" about this but it seems you NEED to be. You need to stop being irresponsible. Stop allowing your animals to breed (4 litters are NOT all accidents)and STOP adding to the overpopulation problem.

You need to get Lena spayed NOW, not later. $100 is not a lot of money. You should have been able to save that up easily by now. You first posted about wanting to spay her nearly a month ago. If you and your sisters are going to be so irresponsible with your animal husbandry that animals are getting pregnant and no one is noticing then ALL animals in the house should be spayed and neutered so that they can be protected from you.

[rabbitsncavyluv]

Ditto voodoo. I am pretty sure we suggested getting her spayed too. Esp. if you have other intact males in the house and 'forgetful' siblings.

[SkinnyPiggys]

Spaying not only helps prevent pregnancy, but it also has the benefit of preventing uterine cancer. Unspayed female rabbits over 2 years of age have an 85% chance of developing it!

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Hmm by the way, the intact siblings weren't even in the same house at the time of my last thread.
And also, I'd have to admit to VooDoo, only one of the 4 litters was an accident...this one.

Thank you Skinny pigs, I never knew about that, I'll search on the internet some more about it.

[rabbitsncavyluv]

Why are you breeding rabbits then?

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Originally Posted by rabbitsncavyluv

Why are you breeding rabbits then?

Why AM I breeding rabbits wouldn't be an accurate question.

Why DID I breed rabbits....well I suppose because my family convinced me to, and living on a farm supposedly supported that.

Even relatives want me to breed...so that they can see the little ones, they don't want to buy them though, and if they would, they wouldn't take good care...trust me on that.

Even the neighbours are very imitating. They all believe that breeding is part of having animals.

My neighbour's poor cat has had litters year-round for about 7 years now, sometimes having more than 1 litter a year. (This cat lives outdoors, so males can impregnant her at any time)


All of the above was very hard to go against. Now, this year I decided that I'd neuter my male. Though my family tried very hard to convince me not too, this site supported my thought, and I was exicited to see my female and male be just friends.

So....why DID I breed....imitated by friends, family and neighbours...

Why AM I breeding....I really really didn't mean to. I'm starting to understand the joy one can get from simply 1 or 2 rabbits instead of litters. Hopefully I can educate my family and friends about that.