Do rabbits eat their young?

Q:-
I have a Netherland Dwarf Rabbit she is only 5 months and I found out that she is expecting babies. I am wondering if their is a chance that she might eat them. Do rabbits eat their young's? If so, how can I prevent that?

A:-
Hi....I've been raising and showing rabbits for 10 years. They do sometimes kill and eat their babies. But it does not happen very often, in my 10 years of experience I have only had it happen twice and it was the same doe (female rabbit) both times. This is probably the least of your concerns though. Your rabbit is a little bit young to have babies, but I would say she will be fine (does this mean she is with other rabbits now? If so she needs to be separated). The worst thing is that first time mothers almost always are unsure of what to do and do not take care of their babies or have them outside the nestbox. But if you check on her every few hours then you should be able to save them if they are born outside the nest box. Make sure you give her a nestbox a couple days before her due date though. Rabbit's gestation period (length of time they are pregnant) is 28-32 days. The nestbox I have found to be the best can be bought at Tracor Supply and is metal with a removable wood floor, for cleaning. Put about a 2 inch layer of sawdust (pine, not cedar) across the bottom of the box along with a handful of straw (not hay, hay is what they eat and straw is bedding) in the box and a couple more handfuls outside the box so that she can carry more in to build her nest if she chooses. She will then line the nest with her fur and should have them with 24-48 hours and most likely at night. Just be sure to keep her area pretty quiet. Hope this helps and please feel free to contact me with any other questions you may have. Especially if there are any complications with them after they are born, I would be glad to help you in any way possible.
P.S. Touching them will not make her eat them, just remove her from the cage before messing with the babies as that can stress her out some. It is not true that your scent on them will affect her taking care of them at all though. Check on each one to make sure it is ok after they are born and contintue to do so each day after.