Unexpected babies-who is the mother??

[KDailey]

We have tried to breed our does several times over the last 6 months and the previous owner had the one doe for another 6 months before I had them and no babies so we had pretty much given up on them I left both does in a hutch with each of them having their own buck buddy and maybe increase our chances.

The bucks are relatively young and we have never seen them be successful in their attempts to breed. We still kept an eye on everybody though just in case and watched for any sign that they were expecting.

I get home and start to feed the animals and when I get to the rabbit pens there is a tiny, hairless, newborn baby bunny in the section of the hutch where I keep my 2 month old bunny doe. Surely it's not hers so I start looking around. There are 4 more on the ground (1 is dead) under the hutch and one in the section of the hutch next to the young doe. I don't have a clue who the babies belong to!
I get Ryan and we try to work it out by process of elimination and we see yet another baby hidden by the feeder in the same pen as the last baby and so decide they belong to her, my black/white Dutch doe. So we snuggle them into a nest box filled with hay and are hoping for the best. There were 7 total and 6 are doing good so far.

But my concern is this. What if we're wrong and they aren't hers? She hasn't tried to kill or eat them but I still worry. Also, she doesn't seem at all interested in the babies. At all. What should I look for as far as signs that they aren't getting fed enough or aren't getting the right attention?

If she doesn't take care of them then what should I do? What do I feed them? How soon can I tell how many boys and girls?

Any advice for a new bunny grandma?

 

[KDailey]

I need to add that neither doe is pulling hair which is one of the main things we were looking for

 

[PinkFox]

well i can tell you bunnies arnt "attentive" mommas usually...thats not to say their bad mommas, but they are a high prey animal so generlaly momma wants to avoid attracting predators to the nest. because of this shell generally feed them in the early morning hours just before dawn (and often again just after dusk) so you may never actually see her in with the babies
if being fed though the babies should have a comfortably full looking tummy sometimes with a little white visible if theyve reacently fed.

if you have to pull them theres lots of websites out there that explains how to bottle raise bunnies but im told the sucess rate is fairly low.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

rabbit moms arent like other animals where they are lawys watchin and attentive. they feed once or twice a day and maybe look in a few times over the day. thats it.

thats odd that none pulled any fur... from what i have read and from my very little bit of experience so far is that they will at least pull some about 24 hours before or after they kindle...

you might want to try holding each doe and hold the kits up to the nipples. see which one they can nurse off of...

hope ya figure it out

 

[KDailey]

thats odd that none pulled any fur... from what i have read and from my very little bit of experience so far is that they will at least pull some about 24 hours before or after they kindle...

That's exactly what I thought. We were keeping the nest box out of the pens becuase since we didn't know when they were bred or due since they're kept with the bucks we were watching for hair pulling. None of them pulled hair. There wasn't any hair in the pen or on the ground underneath, no where. And none of them have pulled hair this morning either (thought they might just be late)

 

[PinkFox]

i know young mommas sometimes dont pull...

 

[DianeS]

First time moms don't always do what they're supposed to do, to prepare for babies. Many don't pull hair, or build a nest, or have the kits in a nest that's already there, or nurse. Those first time kits usually die. They tend to do MUCH better with their second and later litters, it's like it takes that first one for their instincts to kick in.

Be aware that does are often the most receptive to breeding immediately after giving birth. So now is the time to take your does to visit the buck, if you want more kits.

 

[hemet dennis]

thats odd that none pulled any fur... from what i have read and from my very little bit of experience so far is that they will at least pull some about 24 hours before or after they kindle...

That's exactly what I thought. We were keeping the nest box out of the pens becuase since we didn't know when they were bred or due since they're kept with the bucks we were watching for hair pulling. None of them pulled hair. There wasn't any hair in the pen or on the ground underneath, no where. And none of them have pulled hair this morning either (thought they might just be late)

If there is a CHANCE they could have babies put a nest box in! ! ! ! ! !

 

[KDailey]

We were keeping nest boxes in the cages 24/7 but all they do is pee and poop in them and eat the hay out of it. These boxes are wooden so the pee soaks into them. We had to rebuild new nest boxes because they ruined those. That is why we were watching for signs of pregnancy.

I do not appreciate the rudeness helmet dennis. I am learning and was doing the best I can. They did not look pregnant, act pregnant and on top of that they've gone at least a year with no babies so we were pretty sure they weren't going to have any but we were giving it one last go. I found the babies quickly and they are doing fine now. It's a rookie mistake, that's all. If you have helpful advice I am glad to hear it but the capital letters, excessive exclamation marks, head-banging smiley and slap in the face smiley weren't necessary.

For those of you that are interested, here's a picture of the little cuties. I can already see their colors coming through

Mama rabbit: She doesn't have the correct color pattern but was told we might get some correct babies breeding her to the buck.

Daddy rabbit: harlequin dutch and a real sweetie

And the little munchkins. There are two black and white dutch. One looks exactly like mama and the other looks like it will have the correct markings. One is very obviously a harlequin like daddy and one looks like it will be orange dutch but the little guy in the bottom of the picture is a mystery to me. It's not black and white but it's definately darker than the other babies. The other one I couldn't see this morning as it was underneath so I'm not sure what color it is other that it's definately not black/white.

 

[terri9630]

If you pick up the does you should be able to feel swollen nipples on the momma. Add baby saver wire to keep the kits in the cage next time.