Female bunny pulling out another mother’s bunny fur

[Yubin]

Hello, one of my female bunny (small bunbun) recently had babies (yesterday) so I put her with another mother of 3 of her own children.

The mother I put her in with does not feed her child, but after small bunbun had babies and pulled her fur out and covered the babies the other mother started pulling out small bunbun’s fur and her child’s fur (which is like 2.5 weeks old) and not her own. 

She was literally plucking fur from small bunbun (at first she lets her…) and when small bunbun runs away she chases her (not aggressively) and then humps her with fur in her mouth. 

She also tries plucking fur from her children and their feet is lift up from the ground. There is no aggression at all. 

I have separated them, she also does not feed her babies (she basically hides on the second floor)…so the babies who are 2.5 weeks or a bit less are eating oxbow pellets and eating hay. They tried getting milk from both mothers but not it was a huge failure. 

What should I do? Why did the mother have that behaviour? (In my mind..kind of seems like she was helping, but she doesn’t pluck her own fur, very strange)

When I first put small bunbun in the cage, they were grooming each other but it changed when small bunbun gave birth. 

[Sirius&Luna]

Why are you breeding these poor rabbits constantly?

It’s dangerous to put babies with any rabbit other than the mother, as they could easily kill the babies.

All this behaviour sounds aggressive. Chasing and fur pulling is aggressive. Humping is about dominance.

[Yubin]

Posted By Sirius&Luna on 9/12/2018 4:33 AM

Why are you breeding these poor rabbits constantly?

It’s dangerous to put babies with any rabbit other than the mother, as they could easily kill the babies.

All this behaviour sounds aggressive. Chasing and fur pulling is aggressive. Humping is about dominance.

I don’t think you should be jumping into conclusions. You’re basically accusing me of breeding them.

I was on vacation and already set up how the bunnies are by separating the females and the males to avoid breeding. But unfortunately, they did not listen and they this mishap happened. Once I found out, I had to call and change people. 

So when I came back ( 2 weeks ago, 2 of them were pregnant). 

Obviously I was wondering what mysterious behaviour is. It wasn’t aggression from what I see, it seems like bipolar or something strange, but it could be aggression – I just don’t see it often from these two – they’re basically like sisters, but I guess they can be “un bonded.” 

The mother is hurting her own children before the other mother arrived, she also DOES NOT feed her children. 

I have been planning to buy kitten’s milk to make sure they get milk. 

From what it seems, it seems like the other mother is having some false pregnancy issue. 

She’s NOT just pulling her fur, she;s hanging onto it (like how mother bunnies are when theyre building a nest). 

I already moved her to another pen for now, i’m not sure where I should put her babies,

All this behaviour of hers is very weird and strange. She never feeds her children, she basically hides on the second floor to avoid feeding and being with the children. 

I either have to find a foster rabbit mother or give them milk myself. 

They groom each other and next thing you know, the mother is pulling small bunbuns fur and hanging onto it and then pulling her own babies fur.

Things have obviously been hectic for me, its such a dilemma, all I can do is to take care of them properly.  

What do you suggest? Leave her own babies with her so she doesnt feed them with milk when theyre hungry? My other bunny aka small bunbun is actually caring for them. She sleeps and snuggle with the other mother’s babies while the other mother just hides in the corner and never snuggles with her children.

I think you’re misunderstanding that I was breeding my babies. 

All of this mess happened when I went on my vacation to visit my family, does it mean I can’t visit them anymore? 

No, it just means I need to try to find a better person to take care of them. I wasn’t gone for long. 

All my instructions for my babies were basically “went out the other ear” to the people I left them to.

Obviously I am quite upset about this situation myself.

The babies are with their foster mother right now and is probably getting milk – she grooms them, sleeps with them and doesn’t hide like their own mother does.

The point to all of this question was why was she doing that? Was it really aggression? Or was she having some sort of false pregnancy, because the symptoms of her pulling fur and just have it in her mouth seems strange.

She’s been in her pen so she shouldn;t have been pregnant. I was thinking some hormonal changes.

Also if I knew that another mother would kill anothers babies I wouldnt have put small bunbun, she;s legit the most caring bunny ever. She treats other baby bunnies like her own. And putting her with the other mother with babies and watching them for a while, nothing happened. 

You basically jumped into conclusions by your statement. 

Yes, I am quite angered by it. But it seems like you did not read anything I wrote at all, I never said she was just aggressively pulling out fur, I had seen that before – she;s holding onto it like she;s being pregnant – but she’s not pulling her fur.

You’re basically suggesting I should leave the mother’s babies with her, so she doesn;t feed them and she hides from them, right? 

You literally did not read what I wrote in the post. What else can I do with her babies? Try getting them a foster mother would be better than me purchasing milk for them at this point. 

The point of this post was, why was the mother like that? To her kids and her sister? 

Humping I understood that was dominance, but otherwise the fur pulling (leaving it in her mouth) was a symptom of pregnancy. I never said she just plucked her fur. I had seen that a year ago with my other bunny. But they never just have it in their mouths (carrying fur like that). 

Please read my post next time before assuming anything, thank you.

[Bam]

Hi Yubin! The Binky Bunny forums is not the best resource when it comes to bunny motherhood and -babies-questions. This is because we have a rule prohibiting discussions about intentional breeding, thus we don’t attract members that have a lot of experience of bunny breeding. I recommend you go to the forum Rabbits Online instead, they have a section called the Rabbitry and Showroom where I think you are much more likely to get the answers you need to successfully care for your rabbits. Here is a link to the relevant section of that forum: http://www.rabbitsonline.net/forums/the-rabbitry-and-show-room.20/

(Yubin has another thread where the pregnancies are explained as accidental: https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/168871/Default.aspx)

[Yubin]

Thank you Bam! I know you have a rule, but I didn’t think this would go under since she got pregnant by accident. Sigh, it’s all a blur right now and i’m not really sure what to do. So sorry about that. You can delete the the thread so it doesn’t attract intentional breeders.

But yes, thank you for the link! I will ask them.

[jerseygirl]

Hi Yubin
I hope you can get some insight from some experienced breeders. They are more likely to see all the issues that can crop up with breeding Does.

I read your other thread and am trying to get the timeline straight in my head. So when you came back, this rabbit (with the 2.5week old babies) had just had her babies? Was the male still in contact with her at the time she birthed them. If so, there is a strong possibility she is pregnant again. Rabbits are very receptive right after giving birth and Males will often mate with them too. Sorry to put that possibility out there. Just be prepared. Is this Mum getting lots of protein?

ETA:

When I first put small bunbun in the cage, they were grooming each other but it changed when small bunbun gave birth.

A rabbit about to kindle will have a change in hormones that helps release the fur and soften bones for birthing. It’s possible your other rabbit sensed this change in BunBun. She may have even smelled different. 

[Sirius&Luna]

But how have some already given birth, and some are just giving birth now? It doesn’t make sense if they all supposedly got pregnant at the same time. There’s no need to be rude. Whether you visit your family or not is none of my business, it’s up to you to find responsible people to look after them rather than berating people on a forum trying to help.

I did read the post, and I gave advice based on what you had written. You asked what the behaviour was, I said it sounded aggressive. Saying ‘it doesn’t look like aggression to me’ then describing something that is normally a sign of aggression is going to result in people assuming that it is aggression, especially since none of them are fixed.

[Yubin]

Thank you Jerseygirl. Yes that seem to be the case, but before that she was with other female bunnies. I have told the person who took care of them to put all the females together. And males separate, I even video call them. I’m not sure what happened, but I don’t think she was in contact with any males. The mother who had babies with were 2.5 weeks, did not have any contact with males at all, she’s been with all females and even now she’s with her babies and herself. 

Sigh, I really hope that;s not the case. I came back late August to find this hectic situation that I am still trying to solve/fix. I have posted on the rabbitry forum, hopefully someone replies. 

Yes, I had been feeding both mums alfalfa pellets and timothy hay. Even after birth and always give them nice cool fresh water. 

Yeah that make sense! Thank you! I have them separate for now and see what happens with her behaviour. 

@Sirius&Luna: That is exactly what i’m thinking. She gave birth and she;s been by herself with her babies, i’m not sure how she even got pregnant to begin with. It doesn’t make sense. I honestly do not know what is going on or what happened when I was not here.

To be honest, you also do not need to sound rude and accuse me for hurting my bunnies. I thought they were responsible since they were my boyfriend’s parents – but they didnt listen, nothing I can do – until later on they contacted me saying someone had given birth. I quickly told them what to do and they did not do a thing but complained. You don’t need to accuse me or trying to breed my bunnies. I would never do that especially when they are not fixed – I HAD always had them separated when I was here and even before I left.  

Like I said, I have set up everything before I left. You don’t even know who’s responsible for not when you give your bunnies to other people to take care of (I make sure they had pets before.). I don’t think plucking fur and holding in her mouth is a sign of aggression like I wrote on my post. I also said it was strange, it’s possibly false pregnancy – i’m not sure. Aren’t you berating me for trying to “breed my poor bunnies?” You could have gave an advice without accusing me. All I was asking is what I should do and why is her behaviour like that. I get the aggression part. And I agree, the humping and chasing is part of it. I should had added a bit more saying small bunbun wouldn’t hurt a fly, I had her monitored when I put her in and she did nothing but groomed the other mother’s babies. I should have added that, but honestly I would think the other mother’s babies should had a foster mother so they can actually get milk. 

[jerseygirl]

At this age, they will be beginning to eat more solid food, as you have seen. She must have fed them for them to reach this age and be healthy. Most mother rabbits don’t actually tend to their young much. They’ll go feed them once or twice a day and only a short amount of time. There are some Mothers that will be more attentive but that isn’t the norm.

What age are all your rabbits (not including the babies) ?

These 2 article are worth a read:
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/surpriselitter.html
http://rabbit.org/domestic-baby-bunnies-and-their-mom/

[Bam]

Posted By Yubin on 9/12/2018 6:34 AM

Thank you Bam! I know you have a rule, but I didn’t think this would go under since she got pregnant by accident. Sigh, it’s all a blur right now and i’m not really sure what to do. So sorry about that. You can delete the the thread so it doesn’t attract intentional breeders.

But yes, thank you for the link! I will ask them.

I actually meant the opposite, because the pregnancies are accidental, you are not an intentional breeder. I just wanted to clarify to everybody reading the thread that you have explained the situation in another thread. We certainly like to try and help bun owners that suddenly find themselves with baby buns, but seeing that we might be a little lacking in relevant expertise, I recommended Rabbits Online to you

[BB Administrator]

There is a misunderstanding that caused hostile reactions which are skimming along the forum rules. The OP has explained to the best of their ability about what has happened. It was accidental caused by family caregivers while they were on vacation. Let’s continue to focus on helping.

With that being said — Yubin — It is true we do
n’t have a whole lot of experience here with pregnant does and newborns and the site that Bam recommended may be of help because of their experience.
Here are some links that also may be helpful.

Pregnancy/Babies – Uh Oh, Surprise Litter?

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/surpriselitter.html
http://www.rabbit.org/care/babies.html
http://www.rabbit.org/care/newborn.html
http://www.mybunny.org/info/newborn.htm

Helloworld!!

[Yubin]

Oh, sorry! I must’ve misunderstood – thought I was attracting them with my post! 

Thank you for your recommendation, I am currently waiting for responses. 

@jerseygirl: I’m not sure, they seem quite small! I thought they didn’t have milk since they kept going to small bunbun and the other mother for milk. But they have been eating pellets and hay for a while (like 5 days ago). But when they were younger, I had seen her fed them! I have 1 one year old, one is approaching 1 year old in a couple of days, 4 of them are 7 months old. Others are babies.  They are just adorable! They really like their tent! I was just really worried that they weren’t getting much from their mom. Thank you! I will take a read on that.

Here’s a picture of the babies and their little tent!

But i’m also concern about the mother. I actually put her in a pen by herself and she was fine. But when I put her babies with her, she starts chasing them and plucking their fur. (This was the one that was plucking fur from small bunbun who recently had a litter). I’m not sure why she’s acting like that to her children. At some point she started plucking my tshirt. I’m sure she’s going through some hormonal changes and stress – and I will reduce it for her by putting her in a pen alone for now. It’s probably because she is not spayed as well. That’s what i’m assuming for now. So far she’s doing well and not doing anything like plucking her own fur. I’ve decided to keep them all separate for now, I wanted small bunbun to do her best in nursing her own litter – since the other babies might steal her milk. 

@BB Administrator: Sorry, I didn’t mean to be hostile as well – I shouldn’t had fire back at her.I was just so angered that someone would think I tried breeding my bunnies. Sorry, I also broke the rules as well. 

And Thank you! I will take a look at those links! 

Thank you all for your help. I will continue to help and nurse those babies!

[Author]

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