NEED HELP!! Newborn unexpected kittens!!!!

[MaighEoGoDeo]

Hi Guys,

I'm new to this forum-and would really appreciate your help! My rabbit(Buttons) who I got in the pet shop about 3 weeks ago, and was told she was only 6 weeks old, has given birth to 4 kittens(1 stillborn) She has made herself a beautiful nest and the kittens are very active. We were puzzled as to why she has scraped a lot of her fur off herself a few days ago-and now we know why!! We found the kittens yesterday, but they have a good amount of fur on them already, even though I thought new born kittens are supposed to be hairless-which leads me to believe they are older than a day.

This morning I went out to check up on them, and looking into the nest, they are all active. However, I noticed that Buttons was sitting over the other side of the hutch-and I don't know whether she's feeding them or not. When I went out of the shed, I left a little bit of the door open, and unknown to Buttons I peered inside, and she hopped over to them, and it seemed like she was eating some of the fur around the nest! I don't know if this is normal, and I'm not sure whether I should formula feed the babies. All of them are in a cosy warm insulated shed and have plenty of food and water, as well as hay, straw and sawdust.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[irishbunny]

Well first welcome to RO!

It sounds like she is doing an excellent job looking after the babies The fact that they have some fur on them already does sounds they are a few days old already. Rabbits, unlike cats and dogs, don't stay with their babies all day. They only go near their babies to feed them for a few minutes once or twice a day and that's it. Sometimes they might hop over and sniff them as well. I have seen Mothers chew on the fur a little too, not sure why they do it but nothing bad ever came of it.

If they have fur then she is most likely feeding them, if you want to make sure, take out the babies and check that their bellies are round, sometimes it can look like they swallowed a ping pong ball. As long as their bellies aren't totally sunken in and wrinkly then they should be fine.

Good Luck!

 

[tashiahouse]

I've had does carry babies to a point that they come out with some fur already on them..at first I always thought it was odd and that I'd somehow missed them for a day or so..but after it happened a few times I realized it wasn't me..lol

 

[tonyshuman]

I hope you don't mind, I've moved this to the Rabbitry so some of our members with more experience breeding rabbits can help. You've gotten great advice already.

 

[Blaze_Amita]

I've had several kits that came out with some fur already on them.
Like the others said, just make sure mommy has extra hay, pellets and plenty of water so she can keep her milk production up to feed her little tigers.

 

[Kadish Tolesa]

Hi, there, MaighEoGoDeo ... interesting username ! Just wondering if you could post some pic.s sometime ? I am going to post some myself after we get our camera fixed. Good Luck !

 

[MaighEoGoDeo]

Thank you so much everyone for your very helpful replies! Buttons and the kits are all doing well-each of the kits have 'ping-pong ball tummies!':biggrin: They are really so cute, and I'm so excited about having new kits. We have had cats, kittens, dogs, puppies, fish, hens, even looked after horses-but never kits!

I will certainly post up pics as soon as I find my camera!! Buttons has plenty of hay, straw, lots of water, pellets and everything she needs. I really want to look after these kits, unfortunately she had a very weak kit, and she died. I'm not sure how to tell the sex of the kits-does anybody know?

Many, many thanks for all your help-I was worried at first because I hadn't a lot of experience with kits before, but ye have all helped my along-so a BIG thank you!

Esther

 

[Blaze_Amita]

Well I would wait until they are older to sex the kits out, you can damage them at this age, trying to define sex.
I usually do mine at 3 weeks of age, gently to get a prelim-with chance for a mistake until 5 weeks.
Pictures would be wonderful! *wink*
When they do get old enough, I know someone knows where that thread posting is for the tacos vs donuts . . .

 

[Icarus]

tashiahouse wrote:

I've had does carry babies to a point that they come out with some fur already on them..at first I always thought it was odd and that I'd somehow missed them for a day or so..but after it happened a few times I realized it wasn't me..lol

My Angora does does that the first litter I got from her was haired like it was 4-5 days old (big like 4-5 days old too). My newest and final litter came out with 2 day old hair. Figures!

 

[MaighEoGoDeo]

Hi Guys, Me again! The kits are doing very well-one of them has opened his/her eyes and is venturing beyond the nest now! I noticed that the kits are a bit nervous when I pick them up. They start to jump. I was just wondering whether they will start to calm down a bit? And if I spend a lot of time with them, petting them and playing with them, will they become more friendly to me?

Many thanks!

 

[aurora369]

I would handle them daily starting with very short sessions and increasing as they get more used to being handled. Now that their eyes are opening they will become a lot more active. You can make a safe play pen area for them to play in once they are getting good at hopping and exploring, then sit in the pen with them.

-Dawn