Newborn Rabbit looks underfed

[Damico015]

I have a doe who just gave birth Saturday, we found the kits early morning. At first it seemed we had 5 healthy kits, but yesterday two looked underfed, and one of those was a little more sluggish. This morning, the sluggish one was dead, and the other looked a lot less well fed than the other three. I've tried to handfeed at least a little bit of KMR and goat milk formula today, but the baby doesn't really want to eat. I know I'm not supposed to force it, so I've just been keeping it warm, and having food ready for it when it seems to be rooting around. This is my first litter, as well as my doe's. Looking for any advice

 

[Rclark195]

I was just wondering I have a doe rabbits that the pet shop said it was a male, but it not, it a female and was your doe stomach big? You could feed it every couple of hours

 

[Damico015]

I was just wondering I have a doe rabbits that the pet shop said it was a male, but it not, it a female and was your doe stomach big? You could feed it every couple of hours

She got a bit bigger, but only a bit. She had a healthy dose of pellets and sunflower seeds leading up to kindling

 

[Rclark195]

Thankyou for that, did she put any fur in a corner of the hutch, my rabbit only 6 months old

 

[Damico015]

She did, yeah. Built a nest in the nest box with hay, then pulled fur a few nights before kindling

 

[majorv]

Newborns won’t survive much past 36-48 hours without being fed. We found that does seemed to instinctively know if there was something wrong with a kit, and they won’t feed it. Or the kit may not be trying or may be unable to nurse. Either way you could try turning the doe over and see if the kit will nurse. If it can’t or won’t, it’s usually better to just let nature takes its course.

 

[Damico015]

Whelp. Nature did take it's course. We left it and another seemingly less than well fed baby and took the fat and happy ones out...baby in question didn't make it. Out of a litter of 5, two of them died