Whoops! Just got accidentally pulled into rabbit raising...

[homelesszombieapocalypse@]

Thanks!!!
I'm not sure what is meant by white bellies...those which are pink skinned have pink bellies, the black skinned one a black belly....??

There is one of them that I'm more concerned about, as it is smaller than the others. Maybe this is normal, I don't know.

In the enclosed photo, this is the white colored one that is just above or next to the black skinned one. It might be hard to see, but it's smaller than the others and the skin has a "corrugated" texture where it's folded and seems more loose than the others. Out of concern that this one wasn't getting enough milk I did hand feed her yesterday and today...using Wombaroo Rabbit Milk Replacement and a syringe. She didn't seem too eager to drink...she did drink some but it was slow going, basically just one drop at a time offered up to her to see if she would lap it up or not...yesterday she drank more but today seemed less interested. I hope this means she's been well fed and doesn't need much more.

Another concern was that the Mama, who first pulled out her fur to build her nest, has now been eating some of her own fur that she built her nest with! She seems a bit confused that this is a nest not a food box. She will nibble some of the hay from the nest and eat some of her fur that's in it. So I made some little nest items with thin strips of paper towel in case more insulation is needed and put some of those in....


What an adventure! The babies are so precious....

 

[Tiny Tails Rabbitry]

Thanks!!!
I'm not sure what is meant by white bellies...those which are pink skinned have pink bellies, the black skinned one a black belly....??

There is one of them that I'm more concerned about, as it is smaller than the others. Maybe this is normal, I don't know.

In the enclosed photo, this is the white colored one that is just above or next to the black skinned one. It might be hard to see, but it's smaller than the others and the skin has a "corrugated" texture where it's folded and seems more loose than the others. Out of concern that this one wasn't getting enough milk I did hand feed her yesterday and today...using Wombaroo Rabbit Milk Replacement and a syringe. She didn't seem too eager to drink...she did drink some but it was slow going, basically just one drop at a time offered up to her to see if she would lap it up or not...yesterday she drank more but today seemed less interested. I hope this means she's been well fed and doesn't need much more.

Another concern was that the Mama, who first pulled out her fur to build her nest, has now been eating some of her own fur that she built her nest with! She seems a bit confused that this is a nest not a food box. She will nibble some of the hay from the nest and eat some of her fur that's in it. So I made some little nest items with thin strips of paper towel in case more insulation is needed and put some of those in....


What an adventure! The babies are so precious....

My bunny nibbled her fur too! It ended up fine though. Good job adding extra stuff! In the pic I can see some nice fat bellies meaning they are well fed. I do see the skinny one. I had one also. He/she looks a little scarier though. I would continue to feed it. make sure the milk is warm not cold or room temp. You do not want to microwave it though. If you need to warm it then make a 'Double boiler' of warm water and the milk, just don't cook it. With the colors of the bellies that is with day old-about 3 days. it no longer works with the fur. Just want to make sure you do not have the dad with the babies and mom still. You do not want mama to get rebred. Rabbits can become pregnant a day after giving birth. So far you are doing a great job! Keep it up!

 

[homelesszombieapocalypse@]

Thank you! Okay I will keep feeding the small one. I prepare the milk with hot water added to the rabbit milk powder, then wait until it is warm not hot.
Yes, I removed the Papa bunny already as I did not know how long it could be until she could be fertile again, Oh my goodness, just one day! He will stay separate from her until I have him neutered and then he will probably have to stay separate about 30 days after his operation, that's what I had to do last time I ended up with an accidental male bunny.

 

[homelesszombieapocalypse@]

Yayy! I just fed the small one again, a few more drops of milk, then just after I put her back in the nest, for the first time I saw Mama go into the nest and stand over her kits, and feed her babes! Lovely!

 

[Tiny Tails Rabbitry]

Yayy! I just fed the small one again, a few more drops of milk, then just after I put her back in the nest, for the first time I saw Mama go into the nest and stand over her kits, and feed her babes! Lovely!

So Lucky!!! People NEVER see their rabbits feed their babies!

 

[LilTxFarmer]

Hmmm, I've never pulled fur from any of my moma's. I've had some not pull hair until about 2 days after they've had their kits but I always have hay in their nest boxes. Also, I don't know about putting paper in for extra insulation. My rabbits would eat it up. You seem to be getting some good guidance from this forum, so hope things work out well for you!

 

[homelesszombieapocalypse@]

Things have gone well in raising the baby rabbits! I made a video showing their growth from newborn to 4 weeks old.

The 5 babies appear to all have a fluffy face associated with their father's lionhead features.
4 of them are white, the mother's color, one is pure black. None have the ginger color of the father!
In the video I made, I show 4 instances of the mother feeding her babies. I felt so grateful, I got to see her feed them about 7 times.
I am contemplating keeping all the baby rabbits. I rebuilt my backyard hutch so it's larger, and in two separate sections, and can accommodate more rabbits.
I decided that rather than have the poppa neutered so he can live with the momma again, I am going to have the boys live in one hutch and girls in the other.

 

[farmerjan]

Thank you for the video. For someone who only had a couple of pet rabbits as a young kid, it was really good. The babies really get into a pushing match to get a good spot to nurse. I cannot believe how fast they grow either...
Love the "mascara eyes" on the doe.

 

[homelesszombieapocalypse@]

Yes, those mascara eyes on the Hotot Dwarf rabbits are very special. That's the characteristic that had me enamored with this breed and why I got her. Two of her offspring in this litter also have that characteristic...while apparently all 5 of these have something of the Lionhead Poppa's "mane", they have "fluffy" heads.

 

[Grizzlyhackle]

I decided that rather than have the poppa neutered so he can live with the momma again, I am going to have the boys live in one hutch and girls in the other.

You're going to need to watch this setup closely.
You'll read it on here written quite a bit " they get along until they don't".
Kept a doe with mom, lack of space, full time job etc. Had to build a hutch quick. Mom kept abusing her, chase her off the food, chase her around the hutch. Really stressed her out and summer heat to boot.
Two bucks same litter were chasing each other. I didn't think it was a problem until one of them neutered the other. It was a really botched job and I had no choice but to put him down.
A Sunday afternoon and he needed way more than a bandaid. Emergency vet doesn't do rabbits, it was really bad.

May not happen to you but I would look at having one or two xtra cages just in case.