# Babies Born Dead



## roxxy1584 (Mar 31, 2004)

HI my netherland dwarf just had a litter of 4 lastnight in to this moring. and they where all born dead, 3 where verylarge larger then a normal baby dwarf would be when born and the 4thone was a very small peanut so small the baby was a lil smaller then mypinkey finger, this is my second doe who had dead babies born anysuggestions why the does would be kindling dead babies. 

my other doe was a lionhead and this doe was a dwarf bred to 2 different bucks. 

hope to hear any ones suggestions or idea's on why the does had a litter of dead kits born.


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## wishbone332 (Apr 12, 2004)

*I can't help, but maybe Pamnock or Carloyncan. Poor kits.*


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## Carolyn (Apr 12, 2004)

Hi Roxxy1584,

I'm not a breeder, but afew questions for more detail willhelp. Sorry about this loss too. So sad.I'm sure your bummed. :X

1) Was this her first litter?

2) Were they in the nestbox? (If not and they're born on thewire or elsewhere, the mother won't move them and they'll die.)

3) What type of environment/temperature are they housed in?

4) Are you making sure that she's feeding them. They shouldhave fat, round, warm bellies. If this isn't happening,they'll need your help because the doe isn't feeding them.

5) Did you sterilize the cage completely before she was due with the second litter?

-Carolyn


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## bluebird (Apr 15, 2004)

Im a Netherland dwarf breeder.Its very common fora doe to lose the first litter sometimes they are born dead sometimesthey dont feed them.If they were bigger than normal they are usuallyborn dead.I give a doe three chances.you might try breeding her to adifferent buck.bluebird


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## carrots (Apr 15, 2004)

I have no advice as i am not a specialist, but iwould also like to say what a sham it is, i hope others can give yousome valuable advice. Keep us updated.


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## Cindy Esposito (Mar 2, 2019)

I had the same situation, we have a netherland dwarf doe and we have breed her twice now with the same netherland dwarf buck and both litters have come out dead. The first litter it was two larger kits a little bigger than my palm, this litter there were 3, two same like last time, but this time there was a 3rd, but looked like she ate it or its head was ripped off, all there was, was a head. We tried to revive each time. None have lived. It is so sad, we want to have baby bunnies for our family, we have huge pin for all of them to live. We live in the country and have plenty of space for them to live and thrive. So try not to hate on us for trying to have baby bunnies. Any advice on how to help this not to happen, or suggestions on if something is wrong.


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## Cindy Esposito (Mar 2, 2019)

bluebird said:


> Im a Netherland dwarf breeder.Its very common fora doe to lose the first litter sometimes they are born dead sometimesthey dont feed them.If they were bigger than normal they are usuallyborn dead.I give a doe three chances.you might try breeding her to adifferent buck.bluebird



We tried breeding her again and the same thing happened, they were all dead. She had a very good nest this time, and we added a heating lamp above her nest this time, but they were all dead again. What should we do? We don't have another buck, we have just one doe and one buck. We were hoping for baby bunnies. But second time, didn't work again.


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## JBun (Mar 2, 2019)

When a doe has repeated litters with a high mortality rate, it's often due to an underlying health condition, when she hasn't caused the death herself by stepping on them, etc. Some of the things that can cause a high mortality rate are vitamin A deficiency and vitamin A toxicity/vit. E deficiency from improper levels in their pellets due to a mistake at the mill, treponematosis(rabbit syphilis), uterine abnormalities/cancer, or other internal infections. First thing would be taking my rabbit to an experienced rabbit vet to help figure out what is going on and the appropriate treatment.

For vit. A toxicity I would completely remove pellets for several weeks and free feed a good quality grass hay(making sure my rabbits were eating the hay really well) to help bring down the vit. A levels. I would also provide a salt lick. Vitamin E supplementation is also necessary as the toxic levels of vit. A depletes vit. E. It can also sometimes take several months for the excess vit. A to work out of the rabbits system due to it being stored in the liver. Once the vit. A levels are down, then a different high quality pellet can be gradually reintroduced. The only way to know for sure if vit. A toxicity is the problem is having a blood test done to check vit. A and E levels.
http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Micronutrient/HypervitaminosisA_rabbits.htm

For a vit. A or E deficiency, changing to a higher quality pellet should correct the problem.
http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Micronutrient/HypovitaminosisA_rabbits.htm

For treponematosis I would check for any signs of it around the face or genitals, though there can sometimes be no external evidence of the disease. The treatment for syphilis is pen g procaine/benzathine injections.
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Bacterial/Syph_gen.html
http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Bacterial/Treponema_Inf_Rabbits.htm

If it's uterine abnormalities/cancer, your doe would need to be spayed.
http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Miscellaneous/UterineAdenocarcinomaRabbit.htm


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