Mama stopped nursing at 2 1/2 weeks

[whaleyk98]

My EL mom wont let her 2 1/2 week old babies nurse unless I hold her down...and even then its a struggle....what the heck doI do? I know they cant be weaned yet =(

I think she might be stressed over having to nurse 2 litters (shes also feeding my second litter as their mom was rotten)...She has a constant food supply as well as oats...but now when I bring her her orginal babies to nurse she flips out.

 

[Inle_Rabbitry]

Is she still producing milk? If she is still producing milk, than her hormones are still very active and she should still have some form of "need" for her young.

Do the young look malnourished and thin? If they do, than it's probably best to hand feed them at this point, because the mother isn't able to take care of them properlly.

How many young is she suckling right now? If there are more than 8 young, she may be in pain and stressed out because she physically can't handle more than that number.

If your problem is just her throwing a fit everytime you return them to her, try rubbing a small amount of butter or vanilla extract on the kit's noses. This will distract the mother from any unwanted scents on the kits, and the mother will actually start to groom them because of this new smell, thus rekindling her connection with them.

 

[whaleyk98]

Oh no, she still has milk cause shes nursing a litter of new borns as well (fosters)...its just her original older babies that she wants nothing to do with now. I take her to them (the older kits) at night and the others(newborns) are usually fed in the morning. I will try the vanilla thing to see if that helps. Thanks =)