my bunny is giving birth right now!! Help!

[meepy]

My lionhead has just given birth to some kits... i dont know how many because i didnt want to stress her. All the same, she's eaten one already and on seeing her doing that i left the room in hope to make her feel safer and prevent her eating more.

I have a horrible feeling she will continue to eat them all, she's a first time mum and a bit young. I dont know whether to leave her to it or if i should remove the babies and attempt hand rearing. I dont hold out much hope for the babies whichever option i go for. I've not checked on her since leaving 20minutes ago, she may already have eaten them all I need advice asap!

What should i do???

 

[meepy]

I've glanced in at her from the doorway and she's just sat in her nest corner... not sure if there are any babies there...

 

[meepy]

oh well i've checked and as far as i can tell there are bunnies still alive... covered under a bit of fluff but not really in the nest. Mummy bun is on the other side of the cage. Dont think she realises what they are or what to do. Do i intervene???????????

 

[Mrs. PBJ]

I am going to move this to the rabbitry and showroom for you more help over there.


Kat

I hope everything works out for you.

 

[Pipp]

Oh my, sorry I missed this.

First off, relax, take a deep breath.

She was just eating the placenta, not the babies. And they will appear to ignore their babies so they don't draw predators to them.

She will probably feed them (by standing over them for not all that long) sometime in the next 12 hours.

The Rabbitry people I'm sure will guide you from here.

Congrat on being a Bunma!



sas :bunnydance:

 

[nicolevins]

Congrats on the new kits! I hope someone can help you out some more about feeding them and looking after them. I think in the Bunny 101 section there may be a thread about new kits

 

[meepy]

oh thank you so much, that really has put me at ease! I thought it was perhaps a stillborn baby she was eating, whatever it was it did seem a bit redder and smaller than the other ones squirming about - i guess it probably was the placenta - phew!

I've had a few more sneaky peeks, and her behaviour does seem in line with what you were saying about her pretending to ignore them. Though she mostly sits in the opposite side of the cage she has hopped over to them for brief moments, so i think i should give her the benefit of the doubt and let her look after them. Despite all the frantic research i've been doing i never found anything to tell me it's normal for them to seemingly ignore their babies! Thank you for telling me that!!

So far i've managed to spot two squirming bodies... and there's another that doesnt seem to be moving at all. I'll leave her to it, hopefully the stronger ones will survive under her care. In the mean time i'll browse through the Bunny 101 section for further advice, thanks!!!!!

 

[TinysMom]

You really need to check the nest and pull out any dead babies if there are any. Also - you want to make sure that all of the babies are as close together as possible so they don't get chilled.

Mama should be ok if you check the babies - she won't kill them if you touch them (that is an old wives tale). However, if you are nervous about it - after you check them - put a tiny drop of vanilla on her nose (with a cotton ball or q-tip). The vanilla will throw off her nose enough so she won't smell you touched the babies.

 

[mistyjr]

Yes, You need to check on the babies. You need to pull out the dead ones. And if the babies arent in the fur you need to put them in there.

I had a lionhead litter about over a week ago. I was to late. I checked on them and sure enough they were dead. Frozen

 

[BlueGiants]

You've gotten good advice. Make sure there are no dead babies or left over placenta in the nest... and youreally should put the babies in some sort of Nestbox to keep them together. (Lift the fur and babies and put them in a box... even a cardboard box would work, and put the box in the same spot that she birthed them.) The mom will not "reject" them if you touch them or move them. (That's an old wives tale!) And it will get them used to being handled.

Pipp is right, she will nurse them twice a day. Probably only for 2-3 minutes. And usually when you're not looking. The only way to tell if the kits are fed is to see that their little bellies are full, almost like they swallowed a big marble.

They will open their eyes around 10 days of age. (IF they don't open by 12 days, they may need help.) They will start eating the same food as momma at 3 weeks of age. But they should stay with her until they are at least 6 weeks old. They need to be seperated by 8 weeks, boys in one place, girls in another... and they can safely go to new homes at 8 weeks.

 

[meepy]

I checked the nest last night, to find three dead babies scattered outside of the nest. I removed them. It was a relief to find 2 snuggled together safely in the centre of the nest, a real shame i didnt get to the other 3 in time. They made it through the night and have recently checked them again and they look pink and plump hopefully they'll be ok now.

I really appreciate the advice, thank you all so much!

 

[BlueGiants]

Awww... I'm sorry you lost the 3... (did you put the last two in a nestbox? That will keep them from crawling off and chilling.) I hope these two make it!

 

[meepy]

yup they are safe and secure!

 

[BlueGiants]

:biggrin2:

 

[mistyjr]

Poor babies.. But you lucky and glad that there was 2 other babies!! Congrats and hope to see pics soon

 

[bengal77]

I'm glad that things seem to be going fine now. Make sure to take a lot of photos!

 

[Fancy77]

Sorry for the loss of the 3 but glad u still have 2 left.

 

[countrybuns]

how are they doing today?

 

[meepy]

Thats another one gone I think it got accidently squashed to death by the mum... I had put them in an old shoe box to keep them together but i think that meant the mum couldnt help but stand on them when she hopped in to see them. I've removed the box to prevent it happening again to the remaining bunny I've ensured the nest area is kept warm by placing a hot water bottle below the bottom of the cage... Oh, i hope the last one survives

 

[meepy]

In hindsight i shoulda used a bigger box, i know