mom died and left 3 babies please help me

[TinysMom]

I would try to have mama feed the tiny baby forsure every 2-4 hours (just place her over the baby and pet her and givethe baby time to try and nurse if her milk doesn't come in). Now thatthe other two have their eyes open and are in a box with mama, they'llseek her out for nursing whenever they get the urge.

If the smallest baby or the other two don't look like they've nursed bymaybe 8 or 9 pm tonight (or whatever bedtime you keep), then I'd givethem a bit of formula so they make it through the night ok.

But try to get mama to nurse too.

Also - for the does who aren't mamas (yet)...put a bit of hay or strawin their box with them. When you see them carrying the hay around intheir mouth...put in a shoebox with more hay or shredded newpaper (nonglossy type) or something like that so they can make a nest for theirbabies.

If you were normally a breeder I'd suggest buying nestboxes but sinceyou'll hopefully only have a few litters, shoeboxes would probably do.

Peg

 

[aurora369]

I think some of the confusions is how mommy bunnies feed there babies.

The mama will just stand overtop of the babies, she won't lie down onher side like cats or dogs do. She'll jump in the box, standover the babies for a few minutes, and give the babies a little cleanup, then jump out of the box.

If you see the babies up side down under momma, then they arefeeding. They can also arch their backs at an alarming angleto get to mom's teats. I once thought a baby had hurt hisback because he kept arching, but it's completly normal.

Babies will almost always be willing to eat! They will eat asmuch as they can, when they can. So just because they arewilling to eat formula, doesn't mean that they are not getting any ofmom's milk. If mom is feeding them, they will have roundedbellies, and if they are not being fed their bellies will be shrunkendand wrinkled.

And yes, mom's will mate immediatly after giving birth, and the femalerabbits most likely became fertile at different times. And ifyou are really lucky, some of them may still not be sexually mature.

But I would still keep them all seperate and monitor for at least 30 days to ensure no more babies.

As for telling if bunnies are pregnant, it's quite hard if you don'tknow what you are doing. In the last week or so, ifyou watch very carefull when mom is lying down, you should see thebabies moving around. Earlier in the pregnancy, you canattempt to palpatate.

Here are a couple web sites to help you:
http://islandgems.net/palpating.html
http://www.double-d-ranch.org/articles/pregnant-doe.php
http://www.rabbitnutrition.com/rabbit/Palpation_files/frame.htm

I tried to answer all your questions, if I missed any please ask again!

--Dawn

 

[KimboUNCW1]

well i did see the babies upside down and i sawher licking the black one when he was upside down like in the picture.i just worry that the won't take care of the tiny one like theothers...they have lots of hay and some pellets in the corner. i put ina few peices of carrot and spinich because that's what i always have inthe pin with the other bunnies and it wouldn't be a change in thediet...i saw the black one eating some of the spiniach! i'll keepmonitoring them. i keep putting the baby next to the mama and it seemslike he can't find his way to nurse. i'll keep at it though and iappreciate yall's help so much...i just wish the other babies werealive for me to care for them :cry1:



also, i just read the palpatting link. when i checked the vent area thegirls' private places were really pink and looked like there was a bitof blood. does this mean they are about to have the babies?? i'll tryto feel their belly, but i read where towards the end of the pregnancyit will be pink....

 

[aurora369]

Was is just one of the girls that had blood onher privates? Or all of the other girls. If it'sjust one, she may be the mother to the tiny one. If it's allof them, they may be ready to give birth. I'm not 100% sureabout that part, so hopefully Peg has more experience with this.

What you can try doing with the tiny one, is hold him to mom's tummywhere there's a nipple, and he should start rooting frantically untillhe finds a nipple.

He will suckle for a minute or so, then start frantically startsearching for a new nipple. This will be repeated untill thebaby feels full.

You can try doing that twice a day, once in the morning then once before bed.

As long as his little belly is full looking, he should be fine.

--Dawn

 

[TinysMom]

If there is a bit of blood, I'd say there is agood chance you'll be having more babies soon. The best test (mostobvious) is to put some hay or straw in the box. They'll start carryingit around in their mouth and looking for a place to nest. I also givemy does some fabric like felt (which doesn't have strings hanging offit) and they love to play with that and put it in their nest. But ithas to be a fabric which doesn't have any strings that can get wrappedaround a baby's head or leg or something. You don't need it - but sinceI breed, I'm always picking it up at Walmart when they have scraps ofit for sale. Its mainly because my does love to play with it as theyprepare to nest.

Personally, even though the parents are used to greens, I'd be carefulabout letting the babies have much since they're just getting solidfoods. Watch that black one for diaherrea in the next 24 hours and ifit has some - give it hay or oats.

Peg

 

[KimboUNCW1]

ok no more greens! it was definately two of thegirls that had a bloody looking 'vent area'. i can't remember now ifthe oreo one did or not..hmm...i put the baby next to the oreo one andwatched him sideways and it looked like he was nursing... im guessingthey dont 'act' like they're nursing if theres not a nipple!? but thenagain i dont know! the two females have hay in the big box with themand they've eaten a hole in the corner of the box...lol i noticed whereone of them is sitting there's no hay but there's hay on the floor ofthe rest of the box, except where the hole is now



do you guys want me to take a picture of their vent areas to show youwhat it looks like or do you want to just go with 'a bit ofblood'.....wow.. if there's more babies to come i'll be able to carefor them yay. is a bloody vent a sign of babies about to be born? orjust that the mama is pregnant and has a ways to go?



oh yeah i almost forgot! the black baby has one eye open and the otherlooks kinda shut like maybe it got hurt...is this normal? maybe they'restill opening their eyes all the way?

 

[aurora369]

If there is a bit of blood, it's that the momhas already given birth or there are babies to come. So inyour case it's most likely that there are babies on the way.

Is there any way you could set up some NIC cages in the house to hold them untill all the babies are older?

You can get some ideas from our cages thread here:
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=15348&forum_id=21

And this website has supply finder, so you could see where other people have found supplies:
http://www.guineapigcages.com/

It would probably take you an afternoon to build them once you have thesupplies. This would be the cheapest and most effective wayto house them all seperatly. You could even build some cagesthat are stacked ontop of each other to save space.

I would also suggest looking into getting the boy neuteredASAP. And the girls spayed after they have had all theirbabies. I would also suggest you start looking for good homesnow, sometimes it can take a long time to find good homes.

And on the greens subject, it's a constant debate. I havenever had problems with giving greens to young bunnies, but I also onlygive it once or twice a week and watch them very carefully for anyproblems (like runny poos).

--Dawn

 

[KimboUNCW1]

how much does it cost to spay etc a bunny? andhow do you guys look for homes....put ads in the newspaper? i dont knowanyone that would be interested in any bunnies lol we have tons ofspace for them to live but i dont like the idea of them being outsideanymore....maybe we could build a little building for them like we didour chickens? where they'll be toasty in the cold. what are yallsthoughts....find someone who'll keep them inside? i get so attatched toany animal we have it's hard to part with them unless i KNOW for surethey'll be treated like we treat them..u know?



the oreo bunny has left the box and is in the corner of the bathroom right now...i guess she'll go back in the box eventually??

 

[TinysMom]

She will go back in the box whenever she wantsto nurse. My biggest concern is about the youngest baby - the two olderones should do fine. As far as greens - I've had young ones eat greens- Puck ate them when he was 6 weeks old. But he'd already been onsolids by that time. I prefer to start my babies on hay and oats andthen pellets way before giving greens. Also, when you introduce greensyou only give about the size of a quarter to make sure they don't getsick.

As far as finding homes for the babies, you will have plenty of time todo that. It is important that you get the buck neutered for sure -spaying the does too would be good. But neutering the buck would be myfirst course of action. Don't forget that the babies will grow up andif there are any bucks....they will be mature in 3-4 months and able tobreed their mamas...

Right now the big thing to watch for is more litters. Don't worry aboutfinding homes for the rabbits - after they are 6-8 weeks old (I prefer8 weeks), you can place an ad in the paper or at vet's offices,possibly see if you can put an ad at a local feed store that sellsrabbit food, or even on a bulletin board in the pet section of Walmartor something.

But right now - just let's watch the mamas and the babies and see howthey do. If all the mamas are pregnant (which is possible) - you couldbe looking at another 12-20 babies in the next 30 days. I don't want toscare you - I'm just thinking of an average of 4 babies permama...could be more...could be less.

Once you see the mamas start carrying around hay in their mouth and youput the nestbox in with them, I would give them each an antacid thathas calcium in it. I buy the Walmart generic brand that comes in berryflavors or something. Calcium deficiency can cause a doe to haveproblems giving birth and can even cause the death of a doe or thedeath of a whole litter. I give one antacid (broken into pieces) perday for about 3 days before a doe gives birth. My does love the berryflavored ones and usually gobble them right up. One of my does ate themand then the last day she refused her tablet and proceed to pick up thepieces and put it in her nest. I knew then that if she was refusing afavorite treat (or medicine in this case) that she was close todelivery.

Peg

 

[KimboUNCW1]

so i rolled the oreo bunny over and put thebabies on her to nurse...the black baby kept trying and then went toanother then another...im not entirely sure she's got any milk! ichecked her vent area again and it wasn't bloody it was just pink.could this mean she's pregnant again and her milk has dried up?



also i saw the oreo one and the floppy ear brown one with hay in theirmouth but maybe they were just eating it. if they have hay in theirmouths to make the nest do they just place it from one spot to theother? or does it look and sound like their eating it? i feel so badthat i'm asking yall so many 'dumb' questions when yall are busy imsure with other stuff...:?either way, i really appreciate allthe help!

 

[TinysMom]

First of all, the only "dumb" question is the one that isn't asked. Ok?

Secondly, we're here to help. There may be times when a moderator isn'ton or a breeder isn't on...but when we're on...we're here to help.

With that said, I have found that my mamas will first chew on the hayand eat some of it. But as they get closer to delivery, they startpicking it up and holding it in their mouth and carrying it around. Ithink we have photos somewhere here on the forum of mamas about tokindle - I'll try to find it and link to it here..

Peg

 

[TinysMom]

Here's the link to the photos of the rabbits building nests:

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=10709&forum_id=21

sometimes mama will carry the hay around - sometimes she'll just sitand hold it. When she does this though - her mind is on nesting...

As far as the mama you tried to get to nurse - it could be that shedoesn't have any milk or it could be that her milk isn't in yettoday...I've got one mama that is nursing on demand - normally mamaswill nurse a couple of times per day until the babies get older andcome looking for mama 'cause their eyes are open.

By the way - mama needs LOTS and LOTS of water to drink in order tokeep her milk supply up. I'd find a way to attach a water bottle to herbox OR if she jumps in and out of the box - put out a bowl of water forher. I'm guessing she's going to need at least 4 ounces of water if notmore. If she doesn't have water - she can't nurse.

Peg

 

[KimboUNCW1]

ill definatey keep up with her water. i put abox in with the other two. i saw the box in the link was on its side...does it matter how the nestbox lays?

 

[aurora369]

Hey,

The box in that picture is not a nest box for babies, just a toy box.

The nest box should be upright, with the open side on the top. That way the babies don't wander out and get cold.

--Dawn

 

[KimboUNCW1]

good thing b/c i had the little box upright! soapparently the oreo mama jumped into the box with the boy...that littletrickster...so i shut the top with him in it but there are lots ofholes on each side and a few spaces in the top so he can breathe...ididn't know she could jump up so high. that's just what i need...somemore babies! ha... i've got to get some of those cool cages to put himin so he'll be seperate completely with no access to any other girls!that little baby looks to have a plump little belly so i'll hold offwith the hand feeding tonight, what do you think?

 

[aurora369]

If he's got a round little belly then I would say it's safe to hold off till morning.

Here's a picture of a very, very well fed baby:

He was one of my past fosters, Tony. His mom Penny was very good at feeding her babies.

It looks like mom is doing a good job.

The NIC condo's are very, very easy to build, and you could do someinteresting designs to hold everyone seperate. And they would be theleast expensive. You should really look into seeing if thatwould work for you. The card board boxes really aren't goingto hold the bunnies for too long, they'll chew there way through orjump out like your girl did.

--Dawn

 

[KimboUNCW1]

oh good the baby looks just like that!! yeahthose bunnies love to chew those boxes lol :shock:ill callwal mart up today and see if they have 'nic' crates; i figured i'dbetter call b4 i go down there b/c it's a 30 min drive lol

 

[KimboUNCW1]

ok right now one of the other girl rabbits issounding like she's weezing??? do you think she ate some cardboard???:shock:do they makes noises before they give birth? i'mfreaking out, i put some water in front of her hoping she'd drink itand it'd help but she wasn't interested in water...does this soundfamiliar??

 

[aurora369]

She might be about to giver birth, the noises may be from contractions.

I don't think it would be from eating cardboard, my bunnies chew on cardboard all the time and don't make funny noises after.

How is she doing now?

And if your little baby looks like the one in the pictures, theythere's no need to hand feed it. It'll do just fine with mom.

Call Walmart, but they may not know what you are talkingabout. You have to describe them. They may be aRubbermaid brand or some other brand, They don't make the"Neat Idea Cubes" any more as far as I know.

Check on this website, they have a "Find Materials" section that people have listed the different stores they've found supplies:
http://www.guineapigcages.com/

It looks like Walmart, and Target are your best bets. Somehardware stores carry them too. Just so you have more to tellthe store clerk when you are calling, they are metal grids that cliptogether to make cubby hole style shelving. And they measure14-15" along the sides, depending on the brand and the wholes are 1.5"

I hope you can find some, it would really make life easier for you.

--Dawn

 

[KimboUNCW1]

well she's not making the noises anymore butjust sittin in the corner....the other rabbit is sitting in the box...idont know if its b/c there's not enough room to comfortably sitsomewhere else or what....theres a little bit of hay in the box withher .... i've been giving the baby a little bit at a time so i wasthinking thats why the little baby was looking like that...i keepputting her beside the mama so if i notice her thinning out i'll feedher some more.... i was thinking a little while ago that maybe she wasmaking the noises because she wanted to get out of the box....the boyhad chewed his way out and was outside of the box with the 2 girls...iput him in a big dog carrier for now lol i figured i should put him inthere b/c he's the only boy....how long from the contractions do thebunnys have the babies? if she hasn't had them after the time yall saythen i guess it was just an annoyed growling lol i'll keep you updated





ok the baby is cold and flaling around....any thoughts????? omg i hope he's ok...i have him under my shirt to warm him up