When Rabbit Births Go Wrong: A Hard Lesson in Kindling and Intervention

One of the many things rabbit breeders love about rabbits is the supposed ease with which they breed — you know, like rabbits. But this reputation can be misleading. The truth is, rabbits can run into the same kindling complications as any other animal.

Good Breeding Starts with Good Breeders

Prevention is your best friend here. Start by breeding only does with solid breeding conformation —


namely, those who aren’t “pinched in the hind.” You can assess this by flipping your doe on her back and checking her foot base. Ideally, her heels should fall wide apart, and her feet should sit perpendicular to each other. We’re breeding to improve our lines, so both bucks and does should show these traits.

Age and Condition Matter

Your doe shouldn’t just be old enough — she needs to be ready.

  • Age: Large breeds like New Zealands or Californians can technically breed at 4 months, but they’re not truly sexually mature until 6–8 months. I’ve had much better long-term success starting does between 6 and 8 months. Call it instinct or anecdotal wisdom — science hasn’t weighed in yet, but my bunnies have.

  • Condition: Your doe should be rounded over the loin, and not soft or squishy through the shoulders. When you pick her up, she should feel like a little cannonball — not a marshmallow.

The Delivery That Went Sideways

This week, we had a hard kindling. The doe is a year old and this was technically her second litter, although we bred her twice over the winter with no success (blame the buck on one of those attempts). Her first litter at 7 months went off without a hitch — 13 healthy kits.

This time? Not so much.

Rabbit births are usually lightning-fast — done in 30 minutes or less. I checked her in the morning, ran in for a quick bite of breakfast, and came back maybe 40 minutes later to find... utter carnage. Kits were scattered all over the cage, half-chilled and smeared in afterbirth. There was a shocking amount of blood — which is very unlike a rabbit birth. Normally, they clean everything meticulously to avoid attracting predators.

Mama was distressed, trying to clean one kit while the rest dragged themselves around like little zombie rats.

Crisis Mode: No Time to Google

There was nothing online about what to do in this exact situation, so I went with gut instinct:

  • Step one: Scoop up the survivors (the “zombies”) and tuck them into the nest box with all the loose fur mama had thankfully pulled.

  • Step two: Place the whole box under a heat lamp. (Don’t worry — I flipped them like little chimichangas so they didn’t cook. Please don't leave this step unattended because you can cook them fast and all that fur and nest material is highly flammable.)

  • Step three: Once they started crawling away from the heat, I knew it was safe to turn it off. At that point they were wiggly and noisy — a great sign.

  • Step four: Cleaned out the box and removed blood and afterbirth under the cage to reduce stress for the doe.

This seemed to calm her down. I backed away.

A Happy Ending (This Time)

An hour later, I came back to find a relaxed doe, a clean nest, and 12 round-bellied, warm little kits. She’d even pulled more fur. She’s proving to be an excellent mother once again.

This situation could’ve gone very differently. Without that intervention, we would’ve lost all 12. Kits can’t survive outside the nest box, and mama won’t pick them up and relocate them like a cat or dog would.

And let’s not forget — this all happened within 48 hours of the bear attacks that wiped out our chicken flock. (Homesteading is not for the faint of heart.)

Follow up care for your doe by offering raspberry leaf, or raspberry leaf tea with molasses, offer a bit of hay so she can naturally balance her gut, and watch her closely for signs of discomfort.

Final Thoughts

Rabbits generally do best when you keep your hands off — but there are moments, like this one, where a little human help goes a long way. If you ever find yourself facing a bloody, chaotic birth scene, trust your instinct, stay calm, and act quickly — but gently.

Because even the best does sometimes need a hand.


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