Orphaned Bunnies!!

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emokie

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My bunny has had 4 unexpected babies. She's rejected the babies. Two have died, but two are still alive.

I was forced to take the babies away from their mother, as she had killed one, and had started on the other - hence, two dead, two alive.

The surviving two are now wrapped up in a thick blanket by the heater. They've had a tiny bit of cow's milk. They're moving around.

Any tips to increase their already slim chances of survival??

Thanks
 
Cow's milk is not good for baby bunnies. I forget exactly what you're supposed to feed them if the mom isn't producing milk, it might be kitten milk replacement. Some others will be able to help with that, but just don't feed them any more cow's milk!
 
You should use kitten milk replacement, never give rabbits cows milk. Your doe will still have milk for them and that's better than anything you can give them. Hold her over the babies and let them feed, or flip her over and trance her and pop each one on for a few minutes twice a day. Remember to wipe their bottoms with a damp cloth to encourage them to go to toilet after feeding. I've reared a litter this way before, it's not ideal but it's always going to be better if they can get rabbit milk instead of a replacement.

 
When we have to foster we give them Goats milk. Keep them cozy and warm too.
 
Hi,

Cow's milk is a huge no-no for rabbits. Contrary to popular belief, Goat's Milk and Kitten Milk Replacer is totally inapropriate nutrition for a rabbit. That is an old tale that is nothing but myth. We now know thruclinical testing that arabbit's milk is much richer in nutrients than those two formulas. The closest formula you could possibly get quickly that will work is Esbilac Puppy Powder. It contains 33% protein and 40% fat...a little less than a mother's milk but close enough. You should start on diluted fomula...no more than half strength and take a couple of days to get to full formula (1 part formula to 2 parts water). They should be fed 10% of their body weight every 12 hours. They should be fed in a reclining position. The best way to feed then is by inserting a feeding catheter since they don't usually have a good sucking reflex and can easily aspirate the formula into their lungs. Syringe feeding is difficult. The formula should be warm...about body temp. They will also need to be stimulated to go to the bathroom.

The problem you are going to have is how to establish a bacterial growth in the gut. That is going to be the challenge. Many breeders and rehabbers harvest "cecals" from other bunnies and force feed them in an attempt to start the GI flora. The jury is still out on the effectiveness of this. With my baby cottontails, I start them on a probiotic, usually a product called Bene-Bac with their very first feeding. It contains some bacterial cultures that are very friendly to a rabbit...a strain of Enterococcus and L Casei.

Good luck.

Randy
 

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