Baby bunnies ...now what do I do?

[Bluesmaven]

Josephine, who I was told was a young bun (about 3 months old) just gave birth to 9 (I think) babies. All look healthy but they are only hours old right now. I have always neutered or spayed my rabbits so I have never dealt with babies before. I made a nest box filled with shredded paper and her fur that she'd pulled and I moved the babies into it, she had them in her litterbox. Anyway, what else should I do? Does Josephine need any addition to her diet? Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Pipp]

:thud:

I'd keep checking the nest to make sure they're all getting fed -- they should have fat tummies like they swallowed a ping-pong ball. From my experience Flemmies are robust breeders, but watch for 'faders' and any losses.

Mom is probably already on a high protein alfalfa pellet if she's almost a baby herself, give her as much as she wants for now.

What's her diet now? I'd push for variety, it not only give her a spread of nutrients, it will better prepare the kits down the road.

She should be fine with the nest box, it shouldn't be too low (the kits will squirm out) or too high (mom will jump in too hard).

That's all I can think of. I can move this to the Rabbitry if you like.


sas :clover:

 

[maxysmummy]

aww congrats!

just out of curiosity, do you know how she got pregnant? (from what i've read it seems as though it was an unintentional breeding?)


we had a similar situation - unexpected birth!

heres what we did

- moved the kits into a shoebox with an old shirt in the bottom and some soft hay to use as bedding (plus we moved all her pulled out fur around the babies to keep them from being poked by the hay)
- checked on the kits a few times a day (to remove any that don't survive [touch wood]) and see that they are being fed (big ping pong bellies indicate they've been fed)
- we had one runt that wasnt being fed, so we set up mama on our bed, gave her pats and attatched the runty to one of her nipples so he got fed. i guess you should do this with however many (if there are any?) that dont look fed!
- we were advised not to clean out the hay etc untill the babies were 3 or 4 days old.

good luck <3

 

[maxysmummy]

also - re: food - nursing mamas need alfalfa! so do the babies

pics please? love flemmies <3

 

[Peppers mom]

the mom bunny feeds her babys twice a day normally so you should only check them twice a day if you mess with them to much you can make the mom upset then she may hurt the babys.. and you should make sure that if the babys do get out of the next box that they cant get out of the cage.. i had that problem last year with my Californian babys..

 

[Bluesmaven]

Thanks y'all! I have a few pics of them on my facebook page here

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=100000100569077&aid=60760

but I don't know how to post them in a message. I wonder she really is a flemmie, I don't care one way or the other but it would be nice to know her age and how big she'll get.

 

[Bluesmaven]

I took some more photos of each one of the babies and I can't see a runt in the litter so far they look pretty good I think.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

ray: Great pics.

 

[Bluesmaven]

Thanks! I put some Christmas lights on the top of the cage arranged them so she couldn't get to them but they will give a little extra heat in case the thermostat acts up and doesn't turn the heat on when it should. I'm worried about them getting cold but every time I touch them they are warm.

 

[jcl_24]

How are you, bunny mom and the babies doing?

9 babies for a first(?) litter....:faint:

The ears in those photos look Flemmie to me, but our RObreeders can tell you with more knowledge

Jo xx

 

[Bluesmaven]

They have their eyes open now. I misscounted she had 8 and 1 died on day 5, so there are 7 now. I have added more photos to my facebook album so scroll up to the post where I added that link and you can see the new photos.

 

[jcl_24]

It must be easy to miscount with so many babies wriggling around!

Sorry to hear you lost one of the eight, I hope the others thrive.

:big kiss:



Jo xx

 

[Bluesmaven]

They are so cute now! Now that their eyes are open their ears pop up when they are checking something out. So cute!

 

[Bluesmaven]

I had to clean out their box so I took them out of it and let them roam loose in the rabbit room. I tried out the video feature on my regular camera and uploaded it to youtube. What do you think?
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_D8ye0glN9A[/ame]

 

[jcl_24]

Aw, busy bunny babies :inlove:

Quite a colour selection too eh?

Jo x

 

[slavetoabunny]

They are so adorable! There's nothing cuter than a baby bunny.

 

[Bluesmaven]

You got that right! It's a good thing I don't see baby bunnies all the time, just these, I'd be in big trouble lol

 

[Bluesmaven]

yeah they must be from different daddies I suppose does that work with bunnies?

 

[Violet23]

Awwwww!!! Cuteness overload! There really is nothing cuter :inlove:

 

[Halucinate]

AWH i just looked at the youtube video, they are the cutest things ever i swear