Newbie and need help

[Fairymist]

Hi everyone, Im Chelle and my bunnies are Hufflepuff and Neville. They are 6 months old French lops.

Ive got a problem can anyone help me?

My Doe had a litter 27 days ago, there are 5 and all doing well. (Was an accident, our other female turned out to be male!) we took him out as soon as we saw the babies. Today she is building a nest. I know its more than likely she is pregnant but i want to know what to do with the litter she has now. They are eating pellets and when they get out grass too! also theyve been seen drinking water. Is it okay to separate them from the mother now? Could I put them in the with the dad? (he has been neutered now) Im new to all this. Please help, I dont want anything to happen to any of them.

 

[Pipp]

I've moved this to the Rabbitry, good luck!

sas :clover:

 

[Nelsons_Mom]

If the dad was neutered less than 4-6 weeks ago, DON'T PUT HIM BACK! He can still impregnate her if he has not already. Also, you will want to do some sort of reintroduction process so there is no fighting.

I'm sure wild rabbits get pregnant back to back all of the time in the wild, but I am not sure what she will do with the babies. However, babies should not be separated from her for a MINIMUM of 6 weeks. I know that female rats will continue to nurse both litters, so a rabbit might since they both have such strong reproductive and mothering instincts.

 

[wendymac]

In the wild, I think the mother would let the older babies fend for themselves and tend to the new ones. And I really can't see how a rabbit will nurse 2 litters, at the same time. That's a tough one, for sure! I've only had 7 litters born, so I'm curious to see what the experts say, too.

 

[majorv]

I responded in the other thread asking the same thing...

 

[MyBabyHasPaws]

yikes, good luck!!

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Definitely would not put them in with an adult male. You also need to sex them and separate too. Good luck.

 

[Fairymist]

Thanks for replying everyone. She has made a proper nest now, and the babies are still in with her, will have to wait and see. I wish i could get a good answer but no one really seems to know, as with everything everyone thinks something different!

 

[melbaby80]

Well everyone's pretty much saying not to put them in with their dad. Mom will begin to boot the others from nest anyway and you'll have to separate the older ones since there are males and females which the males can end up impregnating females . The sons can also impregnate the mom.

As with what everyone is saying, its safe to separate the older babies since they are weaned according to what you have said.

Also it takes about a month for a newly neutered male to not be able to reproduce so your best bet is to keep dad separate from everyone until his hormones are gone and his "left over" sperm is gone.

 

[woahlookitsme]

^^ Yea that

 

[Fairymist]

Ive left them for now, one person did say not too take them away until 6 weeks, some say its ok. But Like i said they are eating ok. I wont put them with the Dad. The mum is bleeding a bit now so i think she will give birth soon. Some people have said she will eat the new kits and the babies might too! (another forum) Im a bit worried about that.

 

[woahlookitsme]

They can be removed from mom at 3-4weeks IF necessary and this I would say is necessary.

Technically they can be removed all the time as soon as they start eating solid foods. But when you say 3-4 weeks they were taken from mom people will often cringe. 6-8 weeks is the most appropriate time to remove them if mom will keep them that long. I have a doe that we have to remove babies at 5weeks because she gets so irritated with them being around her. It is healthier for the babies to be removed at 6-8 weeks because it gives them the best start in life.

In 4 years of raising rabbits we have never had a doe eat a baby. But we also have never had a mom give birth to two litters in such a short amount of time so that i couldnt say anything about

 

[melbaby80]

woahlookitsme wrote:

They can be removed from mom at 3-4weeks IF necessary and this I would say is necessary.

Technically they can be removed all the time as soon as they start eating solid foods. But when you say 3-4 weeks they were taken from mom people will often cringe. 6-8 weeks is the most appropriate time to remove them if mom will keep them that long. I have a doe that we have to remove babies at 5weeks because she gets so irritated with them being around her. It is healthier for the babies to be removed at 6-8 weeks because it gives them the best start in life.

In 4 years of raising rabbits we have never had a doe eat a baby. But we also have never had a mom give birth to two litters in such a short amount of time so that i couldnt say anything about

:yeahthat:
She would know since she and her mom breed bunnies. I also read that rabbits are not big on eating young like hamsters and gerbils may be.

 

[Fairymist]

Thanks Whoa . I know its not ideal for her to have a litter so soon, and obviously something I wouldn't have chosen. To be honest we didnt want to breed at all. But as i said it was a bit of a surprise that he was a he. The babies are totally gorgeous though! and they are really healthy and I believe happy I Wish I could keep them all.
I am a little worried about my Doe as her wee sometimes looks a bit red. She flattened the nest today, but it would be 29 days today so maybe not due yet? Im still not 100% sure she is pregnant.
Anyway i've left the litter where they are for now. She doesn't seem to bothered by them, apart from the fact they eat all her nuggets before she gets a look in! I will keep an eye on her and keep you all posted. Thanks.

 

[woahlookitsme]

I totally understand! Accidents definitely happen I didnt mean to come off any other way but understanding

I would wait until her full term (30-35 days) if she has nothing by then it would be safe to say she wasnt pregnant.

If you are talking about her vent I know a way to tell if a doe is 'in the mood' is to check her vent color and if its a dark red color she is ready to be bred. I havent looked at our does bits after having babies because I just dont want to mess with them alot but i know it can be a red color the day of birth.

 

[Fairymist]

Hi She had babies today!!, There was nothing there this morning but when i came home from work she'd pulled her hair out and made a new nest (i had a quick peek and saw 1 live kit. Didnt like to poke about too much) She still appears quite happy, Infact less grumpy than she was last time she'd had a litter) ive left the older ones with her she seems happy to lay in the "living area" with them (the nest is in the other "bedroom")

By wee I mean pee (urine) language difference lol!

 

[Fairymist]

Counted 7 Babies today!! one was lost and wriggling away from the nest. Ive taken the older ones out as i worried they may stand on the little ones. Hope everything will be ok.

 

[woahlookitsme]

LOL ohhhh i notice ours also can range from a yellow to orange to red color. This scared me at first but then I read that the urine color can vary from those colors.

Glad she had them and everyone is safe and sound!

 

[melbaby80]

awe, good luck

 

[wendymac]

Glad everything is going okay, and I hope it continues to do so. And pictures...we need pictures.