06/25/2026
The losses. The babies you were excited about. The ones you already had plans for. The ones you checked on yesterday and thought were doing just fine.
This morning I walked out to do chores and found these three little ones gone. It sucked, I felt a pit drop into my stomach when I saw their brother up moving around but no one else, I went closer to investigate and saw them all gone 😭
Their brother will be receiving preventative care since I have no idea what went wrong. 💔
I've been breeding rabbits for almost 8 years. I've raised countless litters. I've seen things go right and I've seen things go wrong. People sometimes assume that after enough years, you get used to loss. I haven't.
I don't cry over every loss anymore, but I still feel them.
I still wonder if there was something I missed. I still replay everything in my head. I still pick up tiny bodies and wish the outcome had been different.
The reality is that animals are fragile. Sometimes despite good genetics, good mothers, clean cages, proper feed, and doing everything "right," things still happen. That's the part people don't always see. They see the adorable baby photos. They see the successful litters. They see the keepers. They see the wins.
They don't always see the mornings that make your stomach drop. Today was one of those mornings. I'll still do chores tonight. I'll still check nestboxes tomorrow. I'll still get excited for future litters. But today I'm just a little sad, and that's okay. You are allowed to feel the emotions, this is the hard part. 🫂
