How many babies can one rabbit mom handle?

[cojo]

Per previous threads I've started, I'm not a breeder - I'm a foster parent to 3 females, and 2 of them were pregnant when I got them. One had six kits 3 weeks ago, 5 of which survived and they're doing just great.

The other had 8 kits yesterday. Today I found one kit outside of the litterbox. He's small and cold. I put him with his brothers (don't know the sex, so I refer to them all as "him").

It occurred to me - is there a maximum number of kits one mother can care for? I mean, 8 is a lot of babies.

 

[TinysMom]

Mamas can take care of 8 - and I've had one mama take care of 10 without help....but that was unusual.

 

[BlueGiants]

Most rabbits have around 8 nipples, soit is OK for them to raise 8, assuming the mom is in good condition and healthy. I've had litters of up to 11 raised by one mother... (one very GOOD mother).

 

[Jaded]

Depends..what breed are the rabbits?

 

[Inle_Rabbitry]

8 kitsis the max that a nursing mother can handle. And in my experience, even 8 can be too much because sometimes, but certainly not always, not all of the nipples will produce milk. I also believe this can be a bit too much in the case there is a runt in the litter. If there is a bigger milk supply available, than the runt has a better chance of survival since it doesn't have to fight over a smaller amount of food.