is it shedding time?

[Flashy]

Maybe she just got excited then. Some rabbits do just like to nest. I have a couple of guys who do and they DEFINITELY can't be pregnant

Yes, the more hay the better

Rabbits can't exist on hay alone, so they do need some sort of dry food to help them get the right nutrients and vitamins and minerals.

Can you buy pellet food over there (where all the pellets look roughly the same, no coloured bits, etc)? Or is muesli mix all you can buy?

 

[sha10ly88]

Flashy wrote:

Maybe she just got excited then. Some rabbits do just like to nest. I have a couple of guys who do and they DEFINITELY can't be pregnant

Yes, the more hay the better

Rabbits can't exist on hay alone, so they do need some sort of dry food to help them get the right nutrients and vitamins and minerals.

Can you buy pellet food over there (where all the pellets look roughly the same, no coloured bits, etc)? Or is muesli mix all you can buy?

If that was really how she shows her excitement then ... wow. How fascinating.

So ...have hays available for them 24 hr. I think I have seen pellet food and they look totally the same. Not just roughly the same. Is that the ideal type of food that i shld feed my buns?

 

[Flashy]

Yup, hay's 24/7. A hay rack can be good because you can stuff it full and they can eat it as and when they want. Kudos to you for going out and finding decent hay for your bunnies Lucky bunnies

Yes that could be the right pellet. it may be worth reading the Feeding FAQs sticky at the top of the nutrition forum.

I can't remember the right amounts nutrient wise (I.e. how much protein, how much fibre, how much fat, etc) that should be in a decent pellet. You might need to take a multilingual friend with you to work that out though if they are not in English

 

[sha10ly88]

Flashy wrote:

Yup, hay's 24/7. A hay rack can be good because you can stuff it full and they can eat it as and when they want. Kudos to you for going out and finding decent hay for your bunnies Lucky bunnies

Yes that could be the right pellet. it may be worth reading the Feeding FAQs sticky at the top of the nutrition forum.

I can't remember the right amounts nutrient wise (I.e. how much protein, how much fibre, how much fat, etc) that should be in a decent pellet. You might need to take a multilingual friend with you to work that out though if they are not in English

I'm glad I listened to you.

Hay rack will come soon. I wanted to get them but theres none at the pet shop nearby. Then gentlement there told me to put it in the bowl and mixed it with the rabbit food. So its part of their meal which he gave the rabbit twice a day. He said he dont make the hay available 24/7. No worries ... I am not listening to him. But is it wise to mix hay with pellets?

 

[Flashy]

Mixing hay with pellets is fine, it's just another way to give it to them and can be especially useful if the rabbit is not a hay eater. However, it should also be made available the rest of the time just as plain hay. I'm not sure that makes sense, lol, but I know what I'm trying to say.

 

[tonyshuman]

A good pellet will contain less than 2% fat, less than 14% protein, and more than 20% fiber. For the younger guy, he might need one with 16% protein and up to 3% fat.

My guys and the shelter bunnies are shedding--they just started. It may be the time to shed!

 

[aurora369]

I believe for an ideal pellet you want 14% protein or less, 20% fiber or more, and less than 2% fat. However, you will just have to look around and find one that comes closest. The feed I feed is 14% protien and about 18% fiber, not perfect but close and it is made locally so it's nice and fresh.

I have five rabbits, and they all react to hay differently. I have one that loves hay more than pellets and he eats huge amounts of hay a day. Others eat it, but aren't in love with it and only eat it when their pellets are gone. My one single girl will alternate between pellets and hay, she is very good at rationing her pellets so they last the whole day.

--Dawn

 

[Flashy]

Thanks for answering that query guys

 

[Bethi7]

Mine is shedding alot too. But it is just his baby coat.

 

[sha10ly88]

Guess what guys??!!! She gave birth to six. Oh no! Not again!! I'm sure my sister has got something to do with this. I'm happy though to see them but worried how to keep them. I'm already thinking of potential adopters. mmmm ....

 

[Flashy]

:O thank goodness you gave her lots of hay in the meantime. That's amazing timing, she must have been so happy to have that hay!

How are the kits? How is mum doing?

 

[kirbyultra]

Wow! What a turn of events!

 

[sha10ly88]

Honestly ... this is really shocking. I can't remember a second seeing her with any male rabbit. Kits looks tiny. All of them looks tiny. Could they be peanuts? Yea ... glad I got lots of hay! I just check on them and mom had peed inside the kits box. Such a mess.

I havent break this news to my dad. I'm so afraid i'll freak him out. But at the same time, I'm excited to have them!

 

[tonyshuman]

Oh my! What a surprise! I hope they do ok, and that you can figure out who got her pregnant to prevent it in the future!

 

[Flashy]

It sounds like you need to get a nestbox and move the kits into it.

It needs to be open at the top and big enough for mum to turn around in but have high enough sides so the kits can't get out. Maybe a shoe box or something?

You need to line the bottom with something like shavings then stuff a load of hay in and then poke a hole in the middle and transfer her nest into the hole in the middle of the hay.

you can count how many they are and have a good look and see what they look like.

The percentages say its unlikely they will all be peanuts (25% chance of getting two dwarfing genes), however, they may be slightly prem, or there may be a lot of them which would make them smaller than if there were less.

Beofre you move them make sure your hands smell neutral or of the mum.

 

[tonyshuman]

Are they all eating? Check for ping pong bellies. I know you've taken care of babies before, so you know what they should look like. Flashy's right that at most 25% would be peanuts due to the genetics of it, plus peanuts are all out of proportion--big head, tiny legs and body. They may just be premature. Make sure they get fed soon...

 

[sha10ly88]

Ya. I've taken care of kits before. The only difference this time is that there are extra 2 more kits than before and they are all tiny.

It looks like mom isnt doing a good job this time. Shes creating a huge mess in her cage. She turned over her litter pan and poop and pee everywhere in her cage n even outside. N the poops are the soft mushy type. Is there something wrong with her.

As for the kits, mommy does feed them. She licks them though at times she does pee on them. Shes fine with me touching her kits. I have placed them in a container with hays. It does look warm. I'm trying to get a bigger place for the nesting still. mmmm ...

 

[sha10ly88]

tonyshuman wrote:

Oh my! What a surprise! I hope they do ok, and that you can figure out who got her pregnant to prevent it in the future!

I was reading back my RO Blog and saw that Kiki's stay here was on the 18th June. That was a month ago. But mom has never been let out with kiki at all. Whereas Coco is 7 month old. Could it be him?

 

[tonyshuman]

Coco could be the father. At 6 months (one month ago), he would probably be sexually mature. Rabbits here are usually neutered at 4 or 5 months of age.

I think maybe the mom is leaving mushy poops (cecals?) because she's confused about where to potty, especially since she's peeing on the kits sometimes. It might be good to pull some fur from her to put in the nest box so that she knows it's a nest box, not a litter box. Maybe she dumped the litter box because she thought she had a new one, which is actually the nest box? Any way you can make it clear that the nest box is not for a bathroom would help keep it clean and keep her from making a mess.

All they need is to be clean, warm, and fed. It sounds like she's cleaning them some, so they're probably peeing ok. It sounds like she's feeding them, so that's not a concern. To keep them warm, more fur in the nest will help, and you could put a heating pad under just half of the box (so they have the option to squirm away from the heat if they want).

 

[sha10ly88]

Everything seems to get back to normal without me doing anything. Shes back to pooping and peeing in her toilet. Babies are warm and fine too. I didnt have the heating pad. Just cut some normal padding to fit the base of the box in case mom pee on them. But she didnt so far.

Kits looked bigger now. I'll try post some pics.