Need help with some orphaned babies please.

[kyrose]

Hello,a neighbor of mine brought me over 4 babies that they had.They found the mom dead and the rest of the babies dead.Unfortunately these people raise them to butcher(not judging),but didnt house them properly,and i think she may have died from the heat.Luckily they have decided to discontinue keeping rabbits.I have 2 rabbits but have no experience with 2 week(they think)olds that still need to be fed.The only thing i had to feed them was milk(i hope thats ok)it was to late to go to a pet store.Also 1 of the babies is not acting right.I did get it to drink 4 cc's of milk,but his breathing seems a bit labored and he's acting like he doesnt have total control of his limbs.I was thinking maybe heat stroke or maybe some brain damage from the heat.It got up into the 90's today and they dont have sufficient shade,etc.Im more experienced with chickens,and the first thing i would do for a sick chick would be to give them 2 drops of polyvisol,no iron,so thats what i did for the baby.Again i hope that was ok.As of right now he is resting comfortably with his siblings on a heating pad on low.They seemed like their body temps were pretty low when they got here.I guess close to death.So any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.Thanks again

 

[BHOBCFarms]

Baby rabbits are very hard to bottle feed even for experienced rabbit keepers.... You might want to try to find a wildlife rehabber in the area who would be willing to instruct you in bottle feeding kits, but you need to get help quick... Maybe contact a vet to advise you on who to contact.

 

[kyrose]

Baby rabbits are very hard to bottle feed even for experienced rabbit keepers.... You might want to try to find a wildlife rehabber in the area who would be willing to instruct you in bottle feeding kits, but you need to get help quick... Maybe contact a vet to advise you on who to contact.

These are domestic babies.The sick one died lastnight,as i expected it to.The other 3 are nice and chubby and very active today.I will be going to the pet store this morning for some goats milk and i'll get a kitten bottle and see how it goes.I also read to add that wierd poo that older rabbits do in the morning to the milk.

 

[Moonshine]

The only advise I can give is, don't go into this expecting any of them to live. It is so very hard for humans to keep orphaned babies alive. If you had other rabbits with babies the same age you could stick the orphaned babies in with that group and hope for the best. You might put the poo in the box with them, they will eat what they need. When we had this happen to us we read to use kitten milk but none of our babies lived past a week. We couldn't get them to suck a bottle so we ended up just using a syringe. Good Luck! I hope they do well.

 

[Bunnylady]

At 2 weeks, they should have their eyes open and be moving around a bit - so you are almost home free. Some people wean their meat rabbit kits at 3 weeks; I have had a couple of litters lose their mothers at about 3 weeks and they did fine on hay, pellets, and dry rolled oats (you can add some Calf Manna if you can find it). They learned how to drink from a water bottle pretty quickly, too.

When feeding with a bottle/syringe/eyedropper, the most critical thing is not getting any of the formula into the nose or lungs. That can set up an infection that will kill quickly. When the kit accepts the feeding, he will curl the sides of his tongue around the nipple or tip and actively suck and swallow. Until he does that, you mustn't allow more than the tiniest amount of the formula to come out, or it will get places it wasn't meant to go.

Good luck!

 

[kyrose]

At 2 weeks, they should have their eyes open and be moving around a bit - so you are almost home free. Some people wean their meat rabbit kits at 3 weeks; I have had a couple of litters lose their mothers at about 3 weeks and they did fine on hay, pellets, and dry rolled oats (you can add some Calf Manna if you can find it). They learned how to drink from a water bottle pretty quickly, too.

When feeding with a bottle/syringe/eyedropper, the most critical thing is not getting any of the formula into the nose or lungs. That can set up an infection that will kill quickly. When the kit accepts the feeding, he will curl the sides of his tongue around the nipple or tip and actively suck and swallow. Until he does that, you mustn't allow more than the tiniest amount of the formula to come out, or it will get places it wasn't meant to go.

Good luck!

Yes they are up and moving around,and their eyes are open.When should i start to introduce pellets and water? Also when should i add hay? I have 2 adult rabbits but i got them at 8 weeks so not sure what im doing hear.They wouldnt go near the nipple,seemed afraid of it.So i used a syringe.At 2 weeks how many cc's should i be trying to get into them a day? Thanks so much,i could use all the advce i can get.. Also,sorry for all the questions.We are seeng some little poos in the cage,do we still need to stimulate them?

 

[Moonshine]

I would go ahead and give them pellets, hay, and water. Their mother might have already taught them to eat and drink somewhat. You might go ahead and stimulate them with a warm wash rag. They might not need it but I've seen our does flip their babies over and do so at 4 weeks. After reading bunnyladys advise I realize they prolly do have a good chance at survival due to their age. Hopefully they will make it and I know you are doing everything you can to help them along. I don't have a clue as to how much they should be getting in milk though sorry.

 

[kyrose]

I would go ahead and give them pellets, hay, and water. Their mother might have already taught them to eat and drink somewhat. You might go ahead and stimulate them with a warm wash rag. They might not need it but I've seen our does flip their babies over and do so at 4 weeks. After reading bunnyladys advise I realize they prolly do have a good chance at survival due to their age. Hopefully they will make it and I know you are doing everything you can to help them along. I don't have a clue as to how much they should be getting in milk though sorry.

Thanks for the advice.I think i will put food water and hay in with them.I guess the worse that can happen is they wont touch it...

 

[Moonshine]

Keep us updated. You might put the babies under the waterer and squeeze the bottle and let it drip on the top of their head or nose and that will usually get them to drink. Make sure they stay warm. If it gets too cold in the house for them you can put them in a closet for the night so they won't get too cold. I believe they still like to sleep in shavings at 2 weeks.

 

[kyrose]

Keep us updated. You might put the babies under the waterer and squeeze the bottle and let it drip on the top of their head or nose and that will usually get them to drink. Make sure they stay warm. If it gets too cold in the house for them you can put them in a closet for the night so they won't get too cold. I believe they still like to sleep in shavings at 2 weeks.

Thanks,i have them in hand towels and they seem perfectly content.The only one i havent seen eat or drink is the runt,but i dont get up until around 8 or so,so she could be eating early in the morning.So far so good.I'll keep everyone updated.I appreciate all the advice,keep it coming..