Baby rabbits

[paul2641]

Starlight Rabbitry wrote:

So far so good... Just keep an eye on them. Is the little one still squeeking?

Stopped squeaking. Is that good?

 

[Starlight Rabbitry]

Yes... probably just thought that you were mom.

 

[paul2641]

irishbunny wrote:

It can take a while for her to feed them, and since they are hardly even an hour old, I wouldn't be worried about her feeding them yet. She is a first time mother and could be a little nervous, so that is why I recommend you get your scent on your hands, plus you said you don't have a very good bond with her,

Sorry for all the same posts, It was just that the site is very slow for me. I rubbed her so her scent would be on me. And she seemed very friendly to me so far she was sniffing me. I think roger could be hurt because I took him out and then put him back in and suki attacked him. But roger was never in there when she was having kits. Or with the kits.

 

[irishbunny]

Ya it's fine, just leave them alone now and keep the place quiet and check on them in the morning, I really need to go to bed!

 

[paul2641]

Starlight Rabbitry wrote:

Yes... probably just thought that you were mom.

The one rabbit is squeaking again. Hope it will be ok.

 

[paul2641]

irishbunny wrote:

Ya it's fine, just leave them alone now and keep the place quiet and check on them in the morning, I really need to go to bed!

I Haven't gone near them since suki has taken good control of things. Thanks irishbunny so much for the help. Your a star.

 

[irishbunny]

Ok, just make sure you don't put Roger with them because it could seriously stress the mother out.

 

[irishbunny]

paul2641 wrote:

irishbunny wrote:

Ya it's fine, just leave them alone now and keep the place quiet and check on them in the morning, I really need to go to bed!

I Haven't gone near them since suki has taken good control of things. Thanks irishbunny so much for the help. Your a star.

Don't worry about it, I'll talk to you tomorrow, I'm going to click out of this now because I can't stop posting!

 

[paul2641]

irishbunny wrote:

Ok, just make sure you don't put Roger with them because it could seriously stress the mother out.

Roger won't see suki for the next 5 months!! Should I let suki out to have a run?

 

[paul2641]

Suki hasn't feed them yet but her tits(sp) are really big. How do I force feed off her safely?

 

[paul2641]

she is taking NO interest in the kits and is eatting the hay used to make the nest what do I do?

 

[aurora369]

I would give her at least 12 hours to feed the babies on her own. She will probably do it when you've gone to bed and no one is around.

When she feeds she will get in the nest and stand over them. The babies will feed from underneath her.

If you do need to teach her how to feed the babies, then you will need to place her on top of the babies in the nest. Move aside the hay/fur that's covering the babies and put mom right on top. Give her some treats/pets while the babies feed. Let the babies feed for at least 5 minutes.

You should get mom to feed twice a day until she starts feeding on her own.

Most mothers will start feeding their babies within 12-24 hours of birth.

The babies will squeak and jump around when you put your hand in the nest. They think you are mom and they are jumping up to try to find a nipple. That is a good sign when they are lively and noisy. If they become lethargic and don't move when you touch the nest, then they are not getting enough to eat.

If you can, take some pictures of the babies and post them. We can tell you if the babies look well fed or not. As long as they have nice round tummies and they don't look shrunken and super wrinkled, then they are fine.

What I would do if she was my bunny, would be to leave her alone over night, and check all the babies in the morning.

I would advise you to get a nest box of some sort. In a pinch, a shoe box will work. Pack the box with hay and make a fist sized hole in the middle. Transfer the nest material to the box and place the box where the nest was in her cage. She'll find her babies when she wants to feed.

The box will help keep the babies together so they stay warm. When they stary wiggling around, it will prevent them from escaping the nest.

--Dawn

 

[paul2641]

aurora369 wrote:

I would give her at least 12 hours to feed the babies on her own. She will probably do it when you've gone to bed and no one is around.

When she feeds she will get in the nest and stand over them. The babies will feed from underneath her.

If you do need to teach her how to feed the babies, then you will need to place her on top of the babies in the nest. Move aside the hay/fur that's covering the babies and put mom right on top. Give her some treats/pets while the babies feed. Let the babies feed for at least 5 minutes.

You should get mom to feed twice a day until she starts feeding on her own.

Most mothers will start feeding their babies within 12-24 hours of birth.

The babies will squeak and jump around when you put your hand in the nest. They think you are mom and they are jumping up to try to find a nipple. That is a good sign when they are lively and noisy. If they become lethargic and don't move when you touch the nest, then they are not getting enough to eat.

If you can, take some pictures of the babies and post them. We can tell you if the babies look well fed or not. As long as they have nice round tummies and they don't look shrunken and super wrinkled, then they are fine.

What I would do if she was my bunny, would be to leave her alone over night, and check all the babies in the morning.

I would advise you to get a nest box of some sort. In a pinch, a shoe box will work. Pack the box with hay and make a fist sized hole in the middle. Transfer the nest material to the box and place the box where the nest was in her cage. She'll find her babies when she wants to feed.

The box will help keep the babies together so they stay warm. When they stary wiggling around, it will prevent them from escaping the nest.

--Dawn

We have them in A room that is very noisey, Should I move them to a quiter room? I tryed to move her over her kits but any time I went near her she attacked me, what do I do now? The nest she has built is really warm.

 

[aurora369]

One more thing to keep in mind, is that rabbits are a prey animal. They ignore their babies to protect them. The babies have little to no smell so the predators can't find them very well. If mom where to hang around, then the predators would be able to find the nest very easily.

Mom will completely ignore the nest and babies except when she goes to feed them. When the babies open their eyes and start exploring the cage, mom will pay more attention to them. But until then, it is very normal for her to act uninterested in the babies.

--Dawn

 

[paul2641]

aurora369 wrote:

One more thing to keep in mind, is that rabbits are a prey animal. They ignore their babies to protect them. The babies have little to no smell so the predators can't find them very well. If mom where to hang around, then the predators would be able to find the nest very easily.

Mom will completely ignore the nest and babies except when she goes to feed them. When the babies open their eyes and start exploring the cage, mom will pay more attention to them. But until then, it is very normal for her to act uninterested in the babies.

--Dawn

There only about 6 hours old. What age should I begin to worry if she hasn't fed them? There is one that seems to be pretty strong but hasn't been fed.

 

[aurora369]

I would leave her be for about 12 hours, then check the babies again to see if they have been fed. If you have a quiter room that you can move the cage to, that might be good.

As long as the babies are nice and warm in their nest, you can just leave them be. She should feed them when she's ready and feels safe. She will probably only feed the babies when no one is around.

The babies should be fine up to about 24 hours after birth. Best thing you can do is leave mom in peace and check on her after she's had a to herself to feed the babies.

Tomorrow, take some pictures of them and post them if you can. I can look at them and tell you if she's feeding them.

--Dawn

 

[paul2641]

aurora369 wrote:

I would leave her be for about 12 hours, then check the babies again to see if they have been fed. If you have a quiter room that you can move the cage to, that might be good.

As long as the babies are nice and warm in their nest, you can just leave them be. She should feed them when she's ready and feels safe. She will probably only feed the babies when no one is around.

The babies should be fine up to about 24 hours after birth. Best thing you can do is leave mom in peace and check on her after she's had a to herself to feed the babies.

Tomorrow, take some pictures of them and post them if you can. I can look at them and tell you if she's feeding them.

--Dawn

Ok I'll move the cage from the kitchen to my room. I hope my sister will let me use her camera( She's going to hate the babies). What will I do if she doesn't feed. I always think the worst so I'm prepared?

 

[paul2641]

The cage is quite messy should I clean around them, or just clean the whole thing?

 

[aurora369]

Worst case, if she doesn't feed them after being in a nice quite space for a while, is you will have to have to force her to feed the babies.

You will need to get her on top of the babies, and get her to stay there for 5 minutes for the babies to feed.

If she will not let you place on the babies, you can try holding her and putting the babies to her nipples one by one. You will need someone to help you. One person hold the mom with her tummy exposed, normally on her back (tranced if possible), and one person to put the babies on her nipples. This method is more dangerous, because if mom struggles or kicks, the baby could go flying and it could get hurt or killed.

You mentioned that her teats are filling with milk, so she will want to empty them soon. I bet she will feed them on her own to releive the pressure in her teats.

Chances are that mom will start feeding the babies soon. You just probably won't see it happen.

Clean up any blood or placenta pieces. Other than that, I would leave her be until she starts feeding. As long as the babies are clean, and mom hasn't peed on them or anything. You should also make sure there are no dead babies or pieces of placenta in with the live babies. But if you've already made a clean nest, then the babies should be nice and clean already.

--Dawn

 

[paul2641]

aurora369 wrote:

Worst case, if she doesn't feed them after being in a nice quite space for a while, is you will have to have to force her to feed the babies.

You will need to get her on top of the babies, and get her to stay there for 5 minutes for the babies to feed.

If she will not let you place on the babies, you can try holding her and putting the babies to her nipples one by one. You will need someone to help you. One person hold the mom with her tummy exposed, normally on her back (tranced if possible), and one person to put the babies on her nipples. This method is more dangerous, because if mom struggles or kicks, the baby could go flying and it could get hurt or killed.

You mentioned that her teats are filling with milk, so she will want to empty them soon. I bet she will feed them on her own to releive the pressure in her teats.

Chances are that mom will start feeding the babies soon. You just probably won't see it happen.

Clean up any blood or placenta pieces. Other than that, I would leave her be until she starts feeding. As long as the babies are clean, and mom hasn't peed on them or anything. You should also make sure there are no dead babies or pieces of placenta in with the live babies. But if you've already made a clean nest, then the babies should be nice and clean already.

--Dawn

That's good to know, should I leave her to feed them herself till 9am tomarrow and if she doesn't feed them by then force her to feed them? they would be a day and a quauter old.