Rabbit running away from her litter

[rabbit123456789]

Hi
My rabbit gave birth to 7 healthy babies 2 weeks ago. Now that they are two weeks old they have started coming out their nestbox and going to their mother to be fed. I've read that's normal but she keeps running away from them. I tried putting in a upside down box which she can sit on to get away from the bunnies for a while, but she just jumps from the box to the nest box and all over the place. I was worried the bunnies may get injured because of this so I've now replaced the nest box with another one with higher sides. But obviously this will be an issue as she wont be able to get in properly to feed them.

Also, I should add that her urine in the litter tray was red, there was smears of blood on the hutch floor and the fur all over her chest was red too.

Anyone experienced this before? or know what I should do?

Thanks

 

[JBun]

Urine can vary in color depending on what a rabbit eats, but if you are seeing actual smears of blood, that isn't a normal thing. You may want to check her over for some sort of injury which may require a visit to the vet. Check her nipples as well. A momma bun panicking is pretty normal when those hungry little babies are released from the nest box. My doe was absolutely frantic running around her cage to find somewhere to escape from them chasing her. She finally found if she hopped into her litter box, the babies couldn't get to her. She's not going to want to feed them until she's ready, which is only once or twice a day, usually in the early morning or late evening. And once the babies realize they are only allowed to nurse at certain times, they'll settle down too and stop chasing mom. Just provide mom with either the nest box turned on it's side, or some other place to get away from the babies, and she should settle down. If she seems too frantic and is really risking harming the babies, you may need to take the babies out of there for a little while, then try putting them back in after she's had some time to figure out her new box is a good place to hop up on and hide.