Help Needed with Kits

[MiniLopMad]

My rabbit had a litter of 5 yesterday. One kit was still in the sack when I discovered them and was dead. The 4 survivors looked healthy and squirmy even though they were much smaller than my does last kits.

Today while I was gone from the house it stormed. I went home and after the storm passed I went to check the kits.

One little kit was stiff, cold and slightly wet. It was dead It looked like it had been crushed and squished which made me wonder if mother bun had accidentally killed it.
I also discovered another kit that wasn't moving. This kit was also slightly wet but unlike the other kit, this one was slightly warm. Thinking that it was possibly alive I tried warming it up. No use The kit was dead. It wasn't fully squished like the other one, but it looked like it had been crushed around its hind end.

The 2 remaining kits seem alright, just a bit wet. One looks like its been fed, the other one doesn't. I've brought them inside just to warm them up.

Another reason that I thought that the kits may have died would be rain getting into the nest somehow.

I would like to know if anyone could know why these kits died. I do not believe that these kits were peanuts.

Also, would 2 kits be able to keep each other warm enough in the nest or should I keep them inside and only bring mum in twice a day to feed them?

Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks

 

[Azerane]

Sometimes mothers squash their kits accidentally, sometimes the nest box is too small, or it could be another reason. I suppose water getting in may have made them a bit cold, but I wouldn't expect it to kill them so quickly.

I can't really give advice on what to do with the kits, will wait for someone with more knowledge

 

[MiniLopMad]

This is her second litter and she used to squash her first litter all the time. Her other kits were much bigger than these ones though. I'm guessing that she did accidentally kill them just because of how squished they were. The nest box is very large but the kits were in the middle.. Maybe she landed on them while jumping in.

 

[majorv]

If your doe is a bit high strung or stresses, then the storm may have caused her to jump in and out of the box. If I have a doe that kindles her kits in the middle or front of the box then I rearrange it so that the kits are nestled in a hole in the back of the box. If I find them in the front after nursing, I move them to the back. They are more protected in the back. It does sound like she probably stepped on them.

We've had kits die same day or next day for no apparent reason, and I feel now like it was probably because there was something wrong with them when they were born. It happens. Two kits can stay warm - in the back - as long as there is enough hay and hair to insulate them from the cold.

 

[MiniLopMad]

I have put them in the nest right at the back now
I checked on them half an hour ago and they had fat little bellies and were squirming everywhere. They had been separated but I put them together again.
I'm so glad that they survived the night.
The mother does get nervous during storms, so I think you may be right about her jumping in and out of the nest box.