Surprise litter, only one baby still alive

[TCB579]

So on Monday evening I went out to check on my buns and found a litter of 5 in my female's cage. I separated my buns after I discovered that they were male/female and they've been separate for months so they must have found a way to breed through the cage bars.
Anyways, last night when I went to check on them I found 2 dead and 2 dying. One of them died in my hand within the minute and the other at the vet's office 20 minutes later. We are not sure why they died. The remaining baby has seemed pretty healthy and I've been keeping a very close eye on it. The mom has been reluctant to let the baby feed so I've been holding to let it eat. I am confident that it is getting enough to eat but my concern is that it may not be able to keep warm alone. Has anyone else had this problem? How did you keep it warm? I have a nest box with plenty of hay and bedding but I'm still worried.

 

[TCB579]

This is the original litter

 

[TCB579]

The little blue/grey baby at the front is the only one who is still alive

 

[majorv]

Newborns will only last about 48 hrs without milk, so if they died last night then I'd guess the doe wasn't feeding them, or didn't do a very good job. We've had singles in a litter do fine. Make sure the box has plenty of hay and mom's fur in there. The key is to make sure they're covered. If there is no fur then see if you can pull some from Mom's belly, or get nesting material from a pet store. In a pinch you can also use dryer lint. We find putting them in the back helps.

 

[TCB579]

The thing that bothers me is that I was checking on them, and they had nice full bellies. The remaining baby is doing well, mom became slightly reluctant to stand still for feedings after we lost the babies so I had to coax her back to feeding by petting her and placing the baby where is could squirm under but she's been feeding it on her own today so I think it will be ok

 

[majorv]

Well, unless they were stepped on I can't think of why else they would all suddenly die at 2 days old.

 

[iLuvMyLilBuns]

the environment they were in doesn't look very clean. I'm not sure why they died.

 

[minmelethuireb]

For babies to die that young while looking well fed, I have to agree that the mom probably stepped on them. Rabbits often don't make very good first-time moms. The best thing to keep the baby warm is a nest box with hay and mom's fur. Did the mom pull any fur for her nest? Aspen chips or carefresh would be good to mix with the hay if she didn't pull enough fur.