Do I (the rabbit breeder? really know that much about bunnys

[Cecelia]

Daisy:I don't know if my opinion or others opinions matter that much to yuo but please listen because I am not trying to offend you. You sound like you are pretty young so I don't expect you to know EVERYTHING about rabbits yet but you should know their basic care. Rabbits have a 2 month gestation period so yes there will be lots of babies around so please please please seperate Daisy and Thumper as soon as possible. Spaying and neutering is a good thing but I know in my area that there are very few vets who will even do the procedure on rabbits because of the risks involved. It is very stressful for any mother to lose her offspring especially if it is because of something that could be prevented. If she is pregnant right now which she most likely is already then you should find a warmer area to keep her and her babies in. If she rejects the babies then you should go to your local animal shelter or somewhere else where an individual that has had experience hand rearing rabbits. Also if there are any of your friends rabbits that have had kits recently then maybe that mother rabbit will accept Daisy's kits. I'm definitely not an expert on rabbits but I strongly suggest that you seperate Daisy from Thumper immediately. If you don't have an extra cage then I suggest that you buy or borrow one as soon as possible. It is hard enough to keep two rabbits happy and healthy let alone keep a mother rabbit plus all of her kits happy and healthy in the dead of winter.

Cecelia~thellamallady~

[Kholran]

Plenty of info about hand rearing out there:

http://www.cottontails-rescue.org.uk/handrear.asp
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/orphan.html
http://groups.msn.com/AngiesArk/handrearing.msnw

Etc etc etc. There's plenty of info out there. Yes, it can be done, and yes, many babies do not survive, but it is IRRESPONSIBLE to let the mother get pregnant time after time after time and watch baby after baby after baby die and not do ANYTHING about it. No one is expecting you to know everything. But there's a lot of very basic care info that, based on your responses, you were completely unaware of. Learning is part of any experience, including pet ownership.

I draw the line at letting an animal breed over and over and over and not doing anything to keep it from happening. If these were dogs, it would be considered a puppy mill. Not a good lifestyle for anyone involved. Not to mention that rabbits are abandoned and killed in HUGE numbers, and breeding more is really unnecessary (every rabbit I've worked with has been altered, and no I haven't ever seen one breed, however I HAVE known people who have successfully hand raised). But no one is jumping on you for that. It's not too much to ask that the animals you DO choose to bring into this world have the best possible chance to survive. If that means not letting your rabbit breed during the winter, then separate them. If the vast majority of your babies die even if the conditions are right, and the mother really doesn't do her job, then there comes a point when you need to make the decision as an owner that she's not a good enough mother to breed and get her spayed.