Well, I have an evil-demon-rabbit.

Her name is Waffles and we have only had her for a couple of months.

She joined our current 2 rabbits.

We have had 1 doe (Iggy) and 1 buck (Hulk) on our farm for the past year or so.  We have been wanting a second doe.   We got Waffles from a friend.  She is a super cute rabbit.  She is 1/2 New Zealand Red and 1/2 New Zealand White.  She is adorable and has a parrot on her forehead.

Now that she has procreated, I’m wondering if we made a mistake.

I’ve been told that some does are not good mothers.  We have had several does over the years here at our homestead.  Some have been excellent mothers, others have been mediocre, but never before have we had a rabbit EAT her young.

Yup.

She ate them.

She gave birth to 6.  The first day she ate 4 of them.

It was one of the worst things I’ve ever seen in my life.  I caught her in the act, munching on a half-eaten, headless, baby, rabbit carcass.

There were even baby rabbit feet, on the ground, under her hutch, that had fallen through the grates while she ate them.  Shudder.

The second day she had 2 kits alive and well.  I thought maybe she had freaked out after giving birth (it was her first time) & was settling into the thought of being a mom.  I was hopeful that these 2 would survive in spite of their demon-mother.

That afternoon she ate another one.

As I write this she has one kit still alive, but I’m not hopeful.

She is Satan.

Why did she eat her young?

Well, everyone has an opinion – here’s what I’ve been told over the past 3 days:

1. There was something wrong with them
2. There was something wrong with her
3. There was something missing in her diet
4. It happens
5. Rabbits are terrible mothers
6. She didn’t feel safe
7. She didn’t think the kits were safe
8. She is a new mother and freaking out
9. She is a terrible mother
10. She shouldn’t be a mother

I have no idea what the problem was.  She has minerals, fresh water and plenty of food (pellets and hay) to eat.  She has a proper hutch with a nesting area.  The hutch is even in a fenced in pasture so it was safe and well protected.

She pulled out her fur and built a beautiful nest for kindling.  She gave birth to 6 healthy babies.

They were perfect, spunky and eager to live.

Then she ate them.

Experts say she should be given a second (and third) chance to be a mother before culling her.

I don’t know if I can stomach this again.

What would you do?

🙁

CJ