gelliebean
Well-Known Member
The rabbit I'm fostering was a feral who has a healing laceration on her leg. It is also infected but getting better by the week. I've had her for 2 weeks and on the weekend she surprised me with babies. She had three underdeveloped stillborn babies and one TINY alive baby. The baby unfortunately got one ear and one leg bitten off. And just so you all know, I am going to call the vet when they open but I want other opinions from people who have experience with babies.
She is currently on antibiotics (Enrofloxacin) and I am cleaning the wound daily and applying an antibacterial ointment. She is incredibly tiny and malnourished, I suspect this is why she isn't lactating. I have been giving her unlimited adult pellets since she has given birth, alfalfa hay in addition to grass hay, more vegetables, BOSS, and lots of fresh grass since she was used to eating it from being feral. She is not the biggest fan of hay, will eat a little bit of it but mostly only wants fresh grass. The vet told me she looked about 4-5 years old, this is obviously not her first litter.
The baby is usually sleeping but is wiggly and reactive to touch or heat. Skin isn't very wrinkly unless he is curled up in a ball sleeping. This morning while I was warming him up he was crying a little and had his mouth wide open for about 20 seconds and suckled his paw for a couple seconds after. I think he's hungry.. His belly is not round at all.
A few questions:
The baby was 17g both 24hours and 48hours after birth. He is not being fed. We tried a manual feeding where we held the mama and tried to place the baby on the nipple. He would only latch for maybe 2 seconds and we realized her nipples are very small and she is not lactating.
- Will she eventually lactate? I heard it is common for vets to give oxytocin but it is not effective after 48 hours. The vet did not worry (I brought mom and the baby to the vet office the morning after the birth) but it has been 48 hours after the birth and he still isn't fed. I'm feeding her a lot, she is mostly eating pellets and fresh food. If she get's a bit healthier will she begin to produce milk?
- I am checking on baby every 4-5 hours because he's alone and gets cold without the warm of his siblings. I place warm DIY rice heat bags near him and every day I'll dip his body in warm water to avoid dehydrating him (this was instructed by the vet and the article she gave me). Is it fine that I'm interfering this much? Mama doesn't seem to mind so far. Her and I have bonded quite a bit since she has been in my care. Also, how long can a baby be cold for before it harms them?
- If I do have to hand feed what are your best formula recipes and tools to deliver the milk? My vet gave me several recipes. I heard from another forum but is it true that adding some of mom's poops will help the baby's gut? I've heard that adding both fecal pellets and cecotropes will help but which one should I actually add (if it is good)? I'm not even sure how I will be able to acquire cecos.
- She currently has a cone on to prevent her from chewing on her leg. She is 100% used to the cone now and will let me put it on with ease, I give her a break from wearing it everyday for a few minutes. Do you think the cone will interfere with her baby care?
Please if you have any other information that would be useful, it is much appreciated. I have been utilizing many websites and youtube videos to learn about babies but I am worried because she is not lactating and he is single.
She is currently on antibiotics (Enrofloxacin) and I am cleaning the wound daily and applying an antibacterial ointment. She is incredibly tiny and malnourished, I suspect this is why she isn't lactating. I have been giving her unlimited adult pellets since she has given birth, alfalfa hay in addition to grass hay, more vegetables, BOSS, and lots of fresh grass since she was used to eating it from being feral. She is not the biggest fan of hay, will eat a little bit of it but mostly only wants fresh grass. The vet told me she looked about 4-5 years old, this is obviously not her first litter.
The baby is usually sleeping but is wiggly and reactive to touch or heat. Skin isn't very wrinkly unless he is curled up in a ball sleeping. This morning while I was warming him up he was crying a little and had his mouth wide open for about 20 seconds and suckled his paw for a couple seconds after. I think he's hungry.. His belly is not round at all.
A few questions:
The baby was 17g both 24hours and 48hours after birth. He is not being fed. We tried a manual feeding where we held the mama and tried to place the baby on the nipple. He would only latch for maybe 2 seconds and we realized her nipples are very small and she is not lactating.
- Will she eventually lactate? I heard it is common for vets to give oxytocin but it is not effective after 48 hours. The vet did not worry (I brought mom and the baby to the vet office the morning after the birth) but it has been 48 hours after the birth and he still isn't fed. I'm feeding her a lot, she is mostly eating pellets and fresh food. If she get's a bit healthier will she begin to produce milk?
- I am checking on baby every 4-5 hours because he's alone and gets cold without the warm of his siblings. I place warm DIY rice heat bags near him and every day I'll dip his body in warm water to avoid dehydrating him (this was instructed by the vet and the article she gave me). Is it fine that I'm interfering this much? Mama doesn't seem to mind so far. Her and I have bonded quite a bit since she has been in my care. Also, how long can a baby be cold for before it harms them?
- If I do have to hand feed what are your best formula recipes and tools to deliver the milk? My vet gave me several recipes. I heard from another forum but is it true that adding some of mom's poops will help the baby's gut? I've heard that adding both fecal pellets and cecotropes will help but which one should I actually add (if it is good)? I'm not even sure how I will be able to acquire cecos.
- She currently has a cone on to prevent her from chewing on her leg. She is 100% used to the cone now and will let me put it on with ease, I give her a break from wearing it everyday for a few minutes. Do you think the cone will interfere with her baby care?
Please if you have any other information that would be useful, it is much appreciated. I have been utilizing many websites and youtube videos to learn about babies but I am worried because she is not lactating and he is single.
