Help just found baby bunnies!!!!

[KrystalMarie]

Omg we just found baby bunnies in our cage we had 3 rabbits all living in the same hutch. Thank god the bunnies all survived. We took them out and brought them in the house. They have their own cage and I made them a nesting box. The momma does not seem to interested in them. When the kids went out side to check on them one of the girls said "why are you feeding rats to your rabbits" we all freaked out a little. We grabbed a box and took out the babies and momma. I am worried because we touched the babies!! Will the momma eat them? The mom is 5 months old. She is cozy in the house because she has been held a lot by the kids, and when it was cold out she lived in the house. My daughter who holds them mostly is the only one who has touched them. What should we do we have not seen the momma feed them yet and I am worried she may not. We are looking for some good advice, we love animals and want to make sure these little babies have a good chance to survive. We are shocked we have babies!!!!

 

[dbunni]

do not worry about the handling. Mama is use to you and your smell. Put bunny and babies where they will not be bothered ... away from the people and traffic. Explain to the kiddos that she is not to be bothered ... at all. She will feed only once or twice a night ... late at night. She will not be near them through the daytime, so do not panic. Baby bunnies are born with enough reserves for 24 hours ... so, enough to survive from birth to first feeding. Check the babies tomorrow a.m. and see if they have little round bellies. That will tell you if she is doing her job.

Good luck, and let mother nature take its course ... AGAIN!!!

 

[Beekissed]

If, for some reason, she doesn't feed these kits, you can hold her down and let them nurse. My sis had to do this once and it was much better than trying to bottle feed kits. She may not like it but she has all the equipment and food....she needs to share!

 

[glenolam]

I agree with Beekissed and dbunni - most likely she'll do just fine with the kits. My doe never was interested in her babies, but they all grew up just fine, which meant she was caring for them, just not when I was watching.

Do they have hair already and are their eyes open? If so, then they're about a week - 2 weeks old (going from memory - it's been a few years for me).

Your next step is to make sure the two other bunnies in your cage are not opposite sexes or you'll end up with even more kits! Now go get another cage or send the male(s) to the vet to get fixed!

Good luck and Have fun!

 

[norcal]

one of the girls said "why are you feeding rats to your rabbits"

hahahahahahaha!!!!!!!


Sorry, just had to add that.

 

[KrystalMarie]

No they were born yesterday....so they have very little hair and their eyes are closed!!! Momma bunny keeps kicking the runt out of the pile so I got baby bottles and kitty formuls and am feeding him. They all (6) made it through the night. We are so excited, and ya I think we have one more pregnant bunny!! I thought I got rid of our male guess not. He's looking for a new home!!! Wish me luck!!!

 

[Bunnylady]

Rabbits usually nurse their kits at dawn, and maybe at dusk, so you don't usually get to see the doe with them. Check the babies first thing in the morning. If this is your doe's first litter, she won't have a whole lot of milk at first, but you should be able to see reasonably full tummies on them. If the babies are really wiggly and look a bit hollow in their middles, she may not know she need to feed them (I've had a few first time moms like that).

When a doe feeds her litter, she stands in the box, and the babies crawl up under her and find her nipples on their own. Normally, she only stands there for a few minutes, so anybunny that doesn't find her fairly quickly is just out of luck until next time (which may be as much as 24 hrs. later).

I usually keep my litters in their nestboxes in my hall closet, and take the babies out to their moms once or twice a day. Most of my does are OK with this program, even if it is a bit weird for them. [I'm not suggesting that anyone else do this, it's just the way things have worked for me.] If I have a doe that I am sure is not feeding her litter, I put her nestbox in a carrier that is no bigger than the box, put her in the box, and make sure the babies will find her. I then close the box, and leave them alone. Without me holding her, I find the doe is less likely to fuss, and more likely to relax and let the babies nurse. Most does have caught on after only one or two times in the carrier, and nurse the kits with no further intervention from me.

Momma bunny keeps kicking the runt out of the pile

Is she kicking him out, or is he getting out on his own? Newborn bunnies are surprisingly mobile, and I have had some that seemed to have a death wish! They should instinctively seek the warmth of their littermates, but these independant little mites were constantly headed the other way. I would dig them out of the furthest corners of the nestbox, or pick them up off the cage floor, and put them back with the others. The next time I looked, they'd be where they shouldn't be again. Those guys are tough to raise. Good luck!

 

[KrystalMarie]

Tonight Momma bunny seems to know what she's doing!! She is even feeding the runt with some help, but it turns out she's a great mom and loves ALL of her babies. Yay we are thrilled!!