Not caring for babies?

CoolWaterRabbitry · Jul 5, 2010

My litter of havanas (8 kindled, 6 surviving) is about...5 turning 6 days old and I've seen a problem.

My hotot litter, I've seen the doe in the box feeding and caring for the babies, nearly every night as her cage faces the door. Our havana is in a larger cage and I have to walk in to see her so thus I have not seen her in the box with them.

But I checked the babies (every day) but today noticed that they seemed small. Not really in bone size, enough though one looks like a runt, but they seem like they have not been fed their bellies were quite skinny and they all seemed a bit scrawny.

Now, we took the box out and took the doe out. We checked her teats and all of them looked like a normal shade of pink and each one produced milk when pinched. So we placed the doe in the box and right away she nursed them without issue (even with us both there).

The runt had issues, he was pushed out of the bunch a few times while they nursed and seemed a little out of it.

So the doe was finished and hopped out and we checked the babies, all had large to very large full bellies, except the runt.

We then in turn put the doe on her back

and I held the baby while my fiance held the doe and tried to see if it would nurse. (Lanna, the doe was WONDERFUL about this too) Right away the little one went to town and after eating had a nice full belly.

Now, to me it seems as though she must have fed them at least once since they were born, as I would have thought that they would've died by now if not. Plus she was eager to nurse them when we set her in the box. But doe it seem like she's not doing her job 100% since they were so skinny? She's just over a year old and has had litters before, she seems to be in the peak of health and eats wonderfully; but the babies just seem so thin (before we had her nurse them).

What would be the best course of action if they continue not to thrive?
I'm worried about the runt, it wants to eat and is very active, but gets sidelined at meal time. I was thinking about fostering it to my hotot litter since the hotot doe has been wonderful with her two, but they're older than the havanas and I would think that's too far apart in age? (havanas are 6 days, hotots are at 10 days of age) Or I could hand feed the runt, or even the whole litter if they don't start to look better. But I want them to really stay on their mother's milk. OR I could just place the doe into the box like we did today and make sure she feeds them...but then I don't want her to start disliking the nest....

Sorry if that's so long and hard to read, I'm just quite puzzled by this. :?

CiaraPatricia · Jul 5, 2010

It could just be that she feeds them when you're not looking. And they will have skinny bellies just before she feeds them, so maybe she had only gone that day without feeding them, which is normal.

Do they seem to be growing? Could you try weighing them every day to see if they've gained weight?

CoolWaterRabbitry · Jul 6, 2010

I could try to weight them, need to find a scale that reads that low first though, but that's a good idea.

At least a few look like they're growing, but they are all hungry all the time. The Hototsat that agewiggled but did not seem so interested in food all the time, whereas the havanas are always trying to suckle and squeak.

Here's a picture of the biggest (which is not really any bigger then the rest of the litter) with the runt:

The big guy seems huge, but he's really no bigger then most of his litter mates. The runt is the one I'm worried about though.

I don't know if it's just the difference between two litters with growth/care or not. :?

But I would like to know what age you could foster up till. Like since the hotots are going on two weeks and the havanas are 1 week of age, since they're a few days apart would (in the future) it be possible to foster a few from the litter to another litter that is older?

lelanatty · Jul 7, 2010

It is usually better to foster babies down to a litter that is younger than them but depending on how big they are compared to you havan runt baby it may work, especially since the havana is going to be so much bigger. I would foster all the way up to the time when the babies open their eyes, or before they start getting out of their nestbox. If your doe is particularly motherly, you probably coul just stick the kit in there and she would accept it as her own.
It all depends on the particular rabbits involved and their sizes and personalities.

CoolWaterRabbitry · Jul 7, 2010

Well, I thought about the pros and cons about if the hotot doe either excepted or denied (even if she would turn on it) it. I thought it would be for the best though, so I rubbed my hands on the doe and then all over the runt, then even took some of the hair in the box and rubbed the baby head to toe. I allowed Momma to smell it and then set it in the box before she fed them (since I've always since her in the box after the nightly feeding).

Well this morning, I checked and all of them were together and pulled the runt out to find that she did indeed fed it and now the little one has a lovely full belly. So hopefully she continues to execpt and nurse it.