Help, surprise litter!

[Shanan]

I had absolutely NO IDEA of my Bunny's pregnancy and yesterday she gave birth to two kits. I hadn't seen it giving birth so the male rabbit was there with her for sometime and I even saw him humping her one or two times. I separated them immediately. The mother was never interested to feed her kits from the beginning (I had kept an eye). Instead she was stamping on them and ignoring them completely. She is barely a year old. Forced, I had to flip feed the babies. I also made them excrete. They look healthy and active and warm, though I feel they are smaller than they should be. I feel they are not getting fed enough. Can I feed them lactose free infant human food like Lactogen or Nan-Pro along with mother's milk? Also they appear to be a bit wrinkly though there are no other signs of dehydration (they are urinating and defaecating). :runningrabbit:

 

[majorv]

From what I see they look okay. You can use goats milk but not infant milk. Moms only feed 1 or 2x/day...you're sure she wasn't feeding them?

 

[majorv]

If they were just born yesterday the mom will do her first feeding in abt 24 hours from kindling so maybe that's why you thought she wasn't feeding them. If you have a nestbox you can try making a nest for them in the back of the box and then watch her.

 

[Preitler]

It's up to 48h that the doe feeds, normally twice a day then, and some of mine NEVER do it when they feel someone is around, at least the first days.

That feeling about sice and what they should look like, is that based on some experience with baby bunnies? They are quite different to dogs or cats.
In my eyes they look just fine.

I wouldn't interfere too much, be shure the doe knows where the nest is (best in the spot where she built it), keep an eye on their bellies, when they get fed and have a good, warm nest (two isn't many bodies to warm a nest outside in winter) everything should be fine.

You can overfeed kits, and almost every doe has more than plenty of milk for only 2, it may take 2 days to drop, but when it's flowing she'll need to get rid of it. So, I would not feed the kits other stuff, there are risks to cause more problems than to help if it isn't a real emergancy.

 

[Shanan]

If they were just born yesterday the mom will do her first feeding in abt 24 hours from kindling so maybe that's why you thought she wasn't feeding them. If you have a nestbox you can try making a nest for them in the back of the box and then watch her.

I made a nest. She did pull off some fur before giving birth. I used that fur and also did some extra clipping to make a nest. She is never near them. I kept a watch the whole day yesterday. And whenever I try putting her in the nest to make her accustomed, she stamps on the babies. One of the babies got nicks all over because of her. I NEVER saw rabbit babies and this is making me very protective, I guess. So today (Day 2), I did some flip feeding. And now I got scratches all over me, but it's SO relieving to see the babies sleep peacefully with their tummies full.

 

[Shanan]

It's up to 48h that the doe feeds, normally twice a day then, and some of mine NEVER do it when they feel someone is around, at least the first days.

That feeling about sice and what they should look like, is that based on some experience with baby bunnies? They are quite different to dogs or cats.
In my eyes they look just fine.

I wouldn't interfere too much, be shure the doe knows where the nest is (best in the spot where she built it), keep an eye on their bellies, when they get fed and have a good, warm nest (two isn't many bodies to warm a nest outside in winter) everything should be fine.

You can overfeed kits, and almost every doe has more than plenty of milk for only 2, it may take 2 days to drop, but when it's flowing she'll need to get rid of it. So, I would not feed the kits other stuff, there are risks to cause more problems than to help if it isn't a real emergancy.

When I first flip feeded (Day 0, 12 hrs), they were so weak, wrinkly and dehydrated. Could not see them like that. But after feeding them for the first time, I left them with their Mom for an entire day alone. Never once did she go near the nest which is right beside her cage. Today (Day 2, after 48 hours) I flip feeded the babies after realising that the mother bunny is COMPLETELY ignoring them. It's very difficult to flip fee; the mother bunny is very agressive. She adores us but somehow she hates being feeded from. I overfeed the mother bunny in case she is feeling weak, but she is just the same. I got like a hundred scratches trying to flip feed. So I thought maybe I could feed them their mother's milk once and the formula milk once. But even I think mother's milk is absolute necessity and formulas can bring in complications especially when I have no goat's milk available at the place I stay. And about their apperance, I think I got misguided by the camera photos of other people. Anything in a photo looks bigger than normal. They have totally round tummies now.

Also one kit got some nicks and bruises on it's head, but it's behaving normally. Is there anything to do? I applied a tiny bit of antiseptic baby oinment.

 

[JBun]

Instead of flip feeding you can try holding momma bun sitting upright on your lap, then if you have someone who can help, have that person bring one baby at a time up under the mommas belly to nurse. This is a more natural way for her to nurse them and she may not be as resistant to it. But you do have to be careful she can't stamp on them or kick them while doing this. Bringing them from up under your legs might help prevent her feet from getting too close to them that they might get injured. They usually only need to nurse once or twice a day if mom is making enough milk for them to have a full belly at feeding time.

If that doesn't work and you need to keep flipping her over so they can nurse, partially wrapping her in a towel may help keep her more calm and help protect you and the babies from getting scratched.

Hand feeding baby bunnies with formula is really a very last resort because there is an extremely high risk of the babies aspirating the milk and dying of aspiration pneumonia. It really should only be attempted if there is no other choice. Plus feeding formula deprives the babies of antibodies and things they can only get from mom's milk for a strong immune system. As long as you can safely keep them nursing from their mom, I would stick with that.

I would just keep an eye on the injured kits cuts to make sure they heal properly and don't get infected.

This link also has some good tips on caring for accidental litters.
http://flashsplace.webs.com/accidentallitters.htm

 

[Shanan]

Instead of flip feeding you can try holding momma bun sitting upright on your lap, then if you have someone who can help, have that person bring one baby at a time up under the mommas belly to nurse. This is a more natural way for her to nurse them and she may not be as resistant to it. But you do have to be careful she can't stamp on them or kick them while doing this. Bringing them from up under your legs might help prevent her feet from getting too close to them that they might get injured. They usually only need to nurse once or twice a day if mom is making enough milk for them to have a full belly at feeding time.

If that doesn't work and you need to keep flipping her over so they can nurse, partially wrapping her in a towel may help keep her more calm and help protect you and the babies from getting scratched.

Hand feeding baby bunnies with formula is really a very last resort because there is an extremely high risk of the babies aspirating the milk and dying of aspiration pneumonia. It really should only be attempted if there is no other choice. Plus feeding formula deprives the babies of antibodies and things they can only get from mom's milk for a strong immune system. As long as you can safely keep them nursing from their mom, I would stick with that.

I would just keep an eye on the injured kits cuts to make sure they heal properly and don't get infected.

This link also has some good tips on caring for accidental litters.
http://flashsplace.webs.com/accidentallitters.htm

OMG. Thanks for that advice about keeping the babies under legs and the towel wrapping. That is something I want to try immediately. I have kept them in a healthy environment. Actually I have kept the whole family in my study room which is very clean so I hope there is no risk of an infection of any sorts. That link stated about the umbilical cord thing about which I had no idea. I have taken care for infections to not happen, but if it happens do I have to take them to a vet or will antiseptic oinments do the needful?

 

[majorv]

We've had many litters (since we show rabbits) and I really don't catch mom's feeding their kits all that often when their first born. The doe will pretty much ignore the kits except for the once or twice per day feeding, which doesn't take more than 10-15 minutes at most. It's best not to force her to be in the nestbox...that's just not how rabbits are normally.

 

[Shanan]

We've had many litters (since we show rabbits) and I really don't catch mom's feeding their kits all that often when their first born. The doe will pretty much ignore the kits except for the once or twice per day feeding, which doesn't take more than 10-15 minutes at most. It's best not to force her to be in the nestbox...that's just not how rabbits are normally.

Uh huh. Never forced her. Allowed her to be free completely. Not only she is not feeding them, she is stamping vigorously on them. One of the babies got bruises from that. She doesn't allow us to trim her nails. I had to separate the mother and the kits so that the babies stop getting hurt. She would accidentally kill them if kept together. She is behaving as if nothing happened at all. Also I suspect a double pregnancy because the male was there with the mother for about 15 mins after birth. And he kind of humped her and that is when I seperated them. This litter was so accidental and I had not even a tiny bit of idea because the people who sold the rabbits to me said that they were neutered. So I was misguided completely.

 

[stevesmum]

I'm reading your thread with great interest and I really hope your babies survive. Please keep posting progress updates with photos! I don't have advice or anything I'm just interested

 

[Shanan]

The kits have been doing great so far. They are growing fast yay. �� Also they have learnt to litter on their own. And mama bunny is finally grooming them. But we still have to hold mama bunny and get the baby bunnies feeding. I suspect that the mama bunny is pregnant again. I hope she will not be harmed while the double pregnancy. ��

Will update with pics later in the day ��

 

[BladeRunner]

Can't wait for pics !
Glad to hear the babies are ok !

 

[Shanan]

Day 5 this is. Furs out <3

 

[stevesmum]

Aww how precious. I love the ugly/cute stage they're in!

 

[Shanan]

They are the sweetest thing in my life now &#10084;

 

[JBun]

Just wait until they get all fuzzy, open their eyes, and start hopping around, it's one of the funnest experiences ever

Looks like you're doing a good job at helping their mom keep them fed. They look good and perfectly healthy, and like they should at this stage of development

 

[Shanan]

There is some sort of blessings happening. The mother bunny has started feeding the kits on her own now. I just have to put her in the nest and she does all of it. Watching the mother bunny and the kits together is a treat to my eyes omg :hug2:

 

[majorv]

Glad she figured it out! Makes your life easier. If she does have another litter you'll have to wean the older two. Hopefully she isn't.

 

[Shanan]

Today I noticed one of the kits were twitching a bit and jumping suddenly. I wonder why? :what