# Silly rabbit... update!  babies didnt make it.



## embkm (Dec 1, 2009)

Today was day 28 since I found the dead babies and seperated the rabbits. Since there was about a 8 hour window, I have been going by the assumption that Brownie might be pregnant again.  I put a nest box in yesterday afternoon.  She pushed a lot of the hay out overnight.  So today, I added a lot more hay.  Silly Brownie ran around her cage, grabbing up hay in her mouth. Then started jumping in and out of the nest box, rearranging the hay and trying to pick up as much in her mouth as she could.  She looked so silly, I couldn't help but laugh.  She hasn't pulled any fur yet, but I am starting to think she really will might be pregnant and we might have some babies soon!


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## miss_thenorth (Dec 1, 2009)

I love it whe they hop around with hay in their mouths.  i have one who won;t touch the nest box until she is ready to kindle, then she pulls her fur frantically.  I have two others, who like their nest boxes to be up about a week in advance, and they are fussing with the hay all week.


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## Kooshie (Dec 1, 2009)

Funny rabbits.


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## embkm (Dec 2, 2009)

OK, so last night at midnight, I went out to check on Brownie. She still had hay stuffed in her mouth and no fur pulled. 

This morning when I went out... 90% of the hay has been taken out the the box, but there is a giant furball in the box.  We have babies! I dont know how many yet because I want to wait until the rain stops and the temps go up a bit this afternoon before I start pulling the fur off of them, but I did see the fur moving!  I am so excited but now worried about the rain and the temps. 

Should I add more hay? Or bring the babies in the house and take them to her a few time per day?


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## Kooshie (Dec 2, 2009)

Yay!


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## embkm (Dec 2, 2009)

I decided to leave them out with Brownie.  When I checked on the babies, they were toasty warm, even with the nasty weather.  THere were 5 live, squirmy, naked babies, and one dead baby that had been pushed off to the side.  I don't know if it wiggled too far away from the others and got cold, but there looked to be bruises on its head and ears so it might have been stepped on by Brownie or maybe had problems during birth.  But I am so happy about the 5 live ones!  

My kids are funny though.  My youngest was expecting little fuzzy babies and was horrified to see the tiny naked things.


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## Bunnylady (Dec 3, 2009)

embkm said:
			
		

> My kids are funny though.  My youngest was expecting little fuzzy babies and was horrified to see the tiny naked things.


It's funny the ideas kids get into their heads. My son was 4 years old when his sister was born, and when he first saw her, he said, "that's a baby people!" Apparently, he was expecting a rabbit!

I've often seen that bruised look on dead baby bunnies. Sometimes it's the head, sometimes the back feet. I think it's from the blood getting pushed to one end of the bunny by the pressure from the mother's contractions. If the bunny had been alive after it was born, the blood would have gone back into normal circulation fairly quickly, so I take that as a sign that the bunny didn't survive the birthing process. Anyway, that's my theory!

Whether I leave a nestbox with the mother or not depends on how determined I am not to lose the babies. In 20 years of breeding rabbits, I have had one doe that savaged her litter, and one that abandoned hers from too much interference. All the others have managed to deal with it without harm to the babies. There have been a few that I had to be careful around, because they were trying to savage _me_ for messing with the little ones, but even they got better with time. Because babies will get pulled out of the box, or just get separated inside the box, I usually take new babies inside if the temperature is below 60 degrees. They get taken back to the doe once or twice a day (early morning and/or evening) if the weather continues to be cool. During warmer weather, I usually leave the box with the doe during the day, just taking it in at night. 

Baby bunnies are extremely twitchy, and can flip themselves out of your hand in an instant. Falling can be fatal, so I don't let my kids play with the bunnies until they have their eyes open. By then, their movements are much less jerky, and they are also less likely to pee on you when you hold them. 

Mentioning peeing, that can be a way to sex a very young bunny. If the urine just sort of dribbles down the bunny's tail, that one is probably a doe. If it sprays out in a stream like a tiny fire hose, it's likely a buck. No guarantees on the accuracy of this method, but it's the reason I refer to baby bunnies as "squirts!"

Sounds like Brownie is off to a good start!


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## embkm (Dec 3, 2009)

I'm still thinking about bringing the babies inside. It's supposed to get down to 40* tonight.  But then, it was 34* the night they were born.  We might have snow flurries on Saturday, so most likely I will be bringing them in tomorrow.  But Brownie is being such a good mom.  The babies have been toasty warm every time I check on them, even through the wind and rain yesterday (although Brownie's cage is pretty good, it was a bad storm). I think I am most afraid of bringing the babies in and screwing up a good situation and all the babies dying.


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## JoieDeViveRabbitry (Dec 5, 2009)

I do. I bring my kits inside and take them to Mom twice a day for the first week, and then once per day every day thereafter until eyes open and then they go back with Mom fulltime. 
 Watch Mom though when you are messing with the kits. Some Moms are really placcid about their kits being touched in front of them and couldn't care less about it, some Moms, well watch out, they may look calm but then   and they are on you all of a sudden biting you.

 So here's what I do. I either take Mom put of her cage for a moment and hand her to someone else or put her somewhere while I take the box out, OR if you have a cage like mine that have two openings, I put my hand in the front one and hold her down by her scruff/ears and then my other hand goes in the top opening to grab the nestbox. Keeps everyone safe. I have a very docile lovebug of a doe who grabbed me a couple of days when I went in and took her kits in front of her. She came out of nowhere. I have never been so happy to be bitten though!
 Better to be bitten by a loving/protective mother than ignored by one who isn't such a good Mom!
 They usually stomp their feet or grunt before they pounce on you though  
 How are the kits?


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## embkm (Dec 5, 2009)

The kits are doing great!  They are already getting peach-fuzzy fur!  It's amazing. I _think_ we have 3 brown and 2 white with brown spots.  When I checked on them tonight, Brownie must have just fed them because their bellies were full. 

I try not to mess with them too much right now.  They are so squirmy, I don't want them to get hurt.  Luckily, so far Brownie has been very good with me checking on them.  She watches me, and them as soon as I am done, she jumps in the box to check on the babies.  Then when she is satisfied, she hops back out and comes over to me for her ear rubs. So far, I am being a bit overprotective of them.  No one, not even DH, is allowed to open the cage without me being there. The kids DEFINITELY are not allowed to stick their hands in the cage.

I really need to figure out how to get pics on here!


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## embkm (Dec 6, 2009)

I am so upset with myself today.  They didnt make it through the cold last night.  When the forecast change to no snow, I thought all the winterization that we did to the cages would keep them warm enough.  But it didnt  

I'm going to give Brownie a nice long rest before I decide to breed her again... if I breed her again.  And I will be set up to bring the babies inside.   Poor babies and Brownie.  Do I need to worry about Brownie and her milk production?  Can she get sick because she isnt nursing right now?


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## RabbitMage (Dec 6, 2009)

Sorry about the babies. :-(

If you increased her feed after she had the babies, decrease it to her pre-pregnancy amount and she should be okay. You might be tempted to 'milk' her, but this will cause her to continue producing milk rather than dry her up. Keep an eye out for general signs of illness and check her teats once or twice a day. They will feel fairly warm, especially if she pulls a lot of hair and there's bare skin, but if they feel hotter than normal, or appear darker than usual, these could be signs of mastitis.


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## embkm (Dec 6, 2009)

Thanks RabbitMage.  I will keep a close eye on her.


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## Kooshie (Dec 11, 2009)




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