In need of help..not sure what to do

[wawacrates]

My female, Esset, had 3 rabbits on July 20th and this past friday, August 19th, she had 5 more. Ive taken the necessary actions by getting Ellipsis neutered and continuing to keep the separated..but I'm quite concerned.

I can't quite discern any specific information on the health of the older rabbits. They are 4 weeks old. some sites say they will not survive without her milk, others say nature permits rabbits to become pregnant the day after pregnancy so they must at least have a chance. I have separated the older babies from the mother and her new litter so the new litter can have a chance to feed..

I bought some KMR the other day, Ive heard many good things about it, but the older rabbits want no part in it. I added a pinch of sugar to see if i could entice their sweet tooth but to no avail. I've tried serving it (room temperature) to them in a tiny bottle, in a saucer, i even placed some in an extra hanging cage water bottle, but they will not drink it, but whenever i let them out of their cage, they try to nurse from the mother.

furthermore, i've noticed the newest babies arent quite as bright and pink as their older brothers/sisters, also they dont appear as round. I attempted to feed them some of the milk just to see if they would take it but they didnt seem interested either.

So, my questions are: How can I get my 4 week old rabbits to drink the formula since the mothers milk needs to be saved for the newest babies?

and

If I simply cannot get them to drink the formula, what are their chances of being OK? Is it possible that 4 weeks is long enough and is there anything else I can do?

 

[Happi Bun]

Although I like to see babies stay with mother for 8 weeks so they are strong and healthy, this situation doesn't really allow it. Poor momma, I would never recommend breeding back to back, for the mothers health she should get a few months (my opinion) to recover. Good for you on getting the male neutered and keeping them separated! Her milk drying up is a possibility from what I've read, since her breeding was back to back. Perhaps that is why the younger kits are not doing as well? At 4 weeks old they should be able to survive without milk or KMR and honestly some breeders only advise using Goats Milk. I would have a bowl of alfalfa based pellets available at all times and some hay. They should be eating solids by now. Please note that I am not a breeder, this is all from my own research.

 

[hillrise]

This might seem kind of silly, but did you remove the older kits away from their mother? She won't likely take care of two litters at once.

The older kits should be fine without the KMR. If they seem to be nibbling at pellets and hay and drinking water, they should do ok. Yes, it's ideal for them to nurse 6-8 weeks, but they can be weaned as young as three weeks. Just like any mammal, though, weaning earlier puts them at greater risk of disease, and usually stunts their growth a little bit, but usually they're fine.

Keep an eye on the younger litter since they seem to be doing worse than the first litter. If they start looking skinny rather than round, you may have to feed THEM the KMR. Feed with an eyedropper, lukewarm (skin temperature), holding the baby with its head up, tail down. You only need to do it once or twice a day until the baby is round (but not bursting).

 

[Nancy McClelland]

:yeahthat: