Baby rabbits rejected by mother - advice please

[Munchkin]

Hello all,

Yesterday's conversation with pet store manageress on looking at white rabbit:
Her "Oh this rabbit is definitely not pregnant"

This morning - another member of staff discovers extremely stressed white rabbit trying to murder her newborn. *sigh*

Anyway - the babies had been removed from the mother by the time I arrived in work - one had its ears bitten off, another had a leg pulled off. I think some others were in tact.

The co-worker who discovered them had talked them into letting her take them home to her mum to hand rear. I am more than aware their chances are minimal especially considering the state of them, age of them, and the lack of experience of this girl and her mother in dealing with baby rabbits.

The co-worker was saying to her mum to leave them overnight before taking them to the vet, to "avoid stressing them out".
I disagreed completely and told her to take them to the vets immediately, which she was doing.

My coworker bought lactol to feed with.

Can you guys give me advice please on any help or advice I can offer this girl to increase the babies chances if they make it through the night?

How often should they be fed. How much?
Etc.

Thank you so so much. I'm very sad about things like this happening in pet stores, but feel powerless to get them to listen to me about resexing rabbits frequently to ensure males / females are not housed together accidentily. The assistant manageress thinks she knows it all (and clearly doesn't) and refuses to listen to me - I suspect more out of stubborness than anything else. *sigh*

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Get the babies back and someone needs to hold mama down to let the babies feed about 2 x per day. Then put them in a little nest in a cage the rest of the time. Just make sure they are warm

If Mama is too hard to handle - find a surrogate

 

[Munchkin]

Thank you for your response. This was what I suggested on my arrival - that we could force the mother to feed the babies, as I'd read that in the past, but as usual they had all decided what to do and refused to listen to me. I'm so tired of trying to get them to listen to me - it feels like I'm knocking my head against a brick wall...

If the babies make it through the night or the girl contacts me as I asked her to later - I'll ask her, or speak to my manager and tell him the babies need to come back, but I am really worried that her scent is now all over them.

I would have let nature take its course - left the babies with mother but maybe tried to find her somewhere she felt more secure to house them. If they died - it would be nature taking its course.

Why do people make it a competition over who knows better in pet stores, rather than whats best for the animals?

I'll let you know what happens but if anyone else has further advice please share it.

 

[aurora369]

I would get mom out of the store, it's probably a very stressful environment. Give her a nice secluded area to be in. A decent size cage with a good hiding spot to help her feel secure. If she feels threatened, her instincts will tell her to save herself and abandon the babies.

You can take the babies and rub the on mom to get the babies to smell like her.

Take mom twice a day and put her ontop of the babies for them to feed. Feed her yummy treats to try to get her to relax so her milk will come down.

I'm betting she wasn't really attacking them, she was probably so freaked out she was trying to move them or something. And as rabbits don't normaly move the babies, they end up hurting them.

The babies NEED the mom. Their chances of survival with out her are slim. Even if your only force feeding the babies off of mom once or twice a day, they will be much better off then being formula babies.

 

[Munchkin]

Thanks for that Aurora!
I'm going to pass this on to the girl who took the babies home tomorrow, if they made it through the night without mum, and being hand fed by inexperienced people.

My mum is going through treatment for cancer right now and one of the requests was for me to promise not to bring anymore animals home (I rent her house from her), so I can't - no matter how much I'd love to help them out.

 

[polly]

poor you yet again they won't listen don't tell me it was the same person.

Aurora is right get them and mum to a nice quiet enviroment but maybe best to keep the babies separate except for feeding time till she feels safe.

I hope it all goes ok

 

[Munchkin]

Sorry to say it is the same girl. I am at my wits end, and feel like leaving as I'm tired of watching things happen that are preventable, but I figure while I'm there, I at least can try and make a difference by advising customers of good care. I routinely give them my home number to call me if they need advice, as I feel so responsible for these bunnies.

Another example of what she does - she threw a guinea pig in with a rabbit and left them even though the rabbit (a german lop) was bullying the guinea pig. Luckily I got the lop adopted today, so the guinea pig is safe again, but I've told them so many times about not housing the two species together. *pulls hair out in frustration*

 

[tundrakatiebean]

If she keeps being 'clever' about raising these rabbits by hand I typed up some information from a medical text book I have, I cut out information that didn't have to do with feeding...hope this helps

Textbook of Rabbit Medicine by Frances Harcourt-Brown



Rearing Orphans



Abandoned or orphaned wild or domestic rabbits can be hand-reared, although the mortality rate is high. Baby rabbits can be fed on powdered cat milk replacers. They will drink 2-30 ml of milk per feed, depending on how old they are. Baby rabbits should be fed when they are restless. Milk replacers are a nutritional compromise and do not match the composition of rabbit milk. Therefore orphan rabbits may need feeding two to three times daily, but care should be taken not to overfeed or force-feed them. Holding newborn rabbits on their backs stimulates the natural nursing position. Hypothermic or moribund rabbits can be given fluids or milk replacers by stomach tube to correct hypoglycemia. The babies should be kept warm and dry in a quiet place with suitable bedding material to burrow into. Shredded tissue paper or kitchen roll is satisfactory for making a nest that can be put in a hay-lined cardboard box and placed in a warm environment such as an airing cupboard.

…

Mortality can occur from aspiration pneumonia due to inhalation of milk replacer. A syringe with a small amount of tubing cut from a giving set is a satisfactory method of feeding orphans. Healthy babies suck the milk out of the syringe. Squirting milk into the mouth caries a risk of choking the rabbit. Enteritis is a potentially lethal complication of hand-rearing.

…

Baby rabbits can be offered hay and fresh food from about 18 fays of age.

 

[polly]

Have you not heard anything back from the manager? She can't be allowed to keep doing whatever she wants without any regard to the animals. What you want to do is get one of your friends to go in and bawl her out when she has a rabbit and a piggie in together and tell her they are going to phone the RWA (they would come down on her!!)

I know from the breeders forums i go on that they hate said pet stores! If only all the staff are like you. The other thing you could do is to get one of your friends to write a letter in saying how well informed and helpful you are (it would certainly shut her up for a bit!!)

 

[Munchkin]

Nothing back from the manager - no.
Another example for you: Baytril is not something you give a rabbit to "perk it up", I advised a member of staff as in there if a rabbit so much as coughs or has the runs they self medicate baytril - which in my mind is wrong, and should only be prescribed by a vet, as it kills all the good bacteria in their gut - not good in an already stressful environment.

I said this to a co-worker who listened (whether she took any notice I don't know), and on my way out I told another assistant manageress (who is lovely). Her first words were "Have you said that to *name of other ass manageress?*"
"No" I replied
"Good" she says "She doesn't like being told what to do"
Arghhhh - it's not about her I thought.

I am going to see how it goes for another while. I keep hoping that things will improve. If after christmas it hasn't - I'm going to speak to the manager, resigning as a direct result of how the animals are being treated. I really need a job so need something else set up first, and I hate the idea of leaving because the hours are great, I like most of my co workers and I get on really well with my manager...but morally I can't continue there if they refuse to listen to reason.

I will definitely ask someone to write in about the rabbits / guinea pigs being together, but not singing me praises as I rather hope someone will do that because I was helpful ;-)

Thanks for your reply!

x

 

[Bo B Bunny]

I think I would have to find another job and turn this store in for abuse.

 

[Munchkin]

If and when I leave - I can assure you I will be setting out my reasons very clearly and honestly in writing, and sending it to head office. I'm sure they would be appalled as I am, especially with the recent inspections and advice we were given. Some things have improved as a result, but the fact seems to be everyone is scared to stand up to this one girl and the manager either hasn't approached her, or hasn't been firm enough.
I was just hoping that, like me, she would genuinely care more about the animals than having an easy life.
I always wondered why things didn't get done in the two hours before opening - feeding / cleaning animals out etc. Today I found out it's because the girl that starts at 7 does her make-up when she gets to work. I mean jesus. The fact the managers on duty allow this is ridiculous. You don't get paid to make up your **** face. Priorities.

I promise, hand on heart - I will take this further soon but I cannot afford to be out of work without something to fall back on - I have two kids to support and a house full of my own animals to feed

 

[Bo B Bunny]

I understand completely - it's difficult to know what is right and wrong but in a hard place to do anything about it.