pregnant mom with babies UPDATE: GAVE BIRTH

[naturestee]

We may have a problem here that we need advice on. Our foster rabbit that has 4 week old babies started nesting again. We think she may have been in with other buns when she gave birth, we are not sure because we first got her a couple days later. Could this be false pregnancy, or is it probably real and what do we do for mom and the babies. Please give all advice on the subject. Thank you.

 

[Becca]

OMG I hope someone experienced comes by soon ... i really can't help... Sorry

Becca

 

[TreasuredFriend]

Dear naturestee, I hope the shelter can clear up some of the what if's?? Foster thoughts are with you & James, and Jazzy!

With abandoned Marietta, she gave birth back to back from the plucked fur by her nipples on Feb. 6 '06 on capture day - and the 9 she delivered in our house on 2/25/06.

 

[naturestee]

Well, I've moved the babies into another cage for now. It's my small emergency cage, I'll be going in to the shelter soon to see if they have a more suitable cage available, or TreasuredFriend has kindly offered a larger spare cage. Jazzy seemed to have stopped nursing them last week so it's not like they're missing out on milk.

Jazzy seems upset and is franticly shredding newspaper, digging, pulling fur, and running around the cage with her mouth packed full of stuff. It would be cute if I wasn't so worried about the rabbit explosion for the shelter.:?

If she is pregnant, no wonder she hasn't put on any weight and has been so tired the whole time!

 

[TreasuredFriend]

Meantime, you as foster mom have provided great nutrition for her if she's gettin' ready for birthing.

 

[TinysMom]

Oh wow - aren't you lucky???

It sounds like she got pregnant right after giving birth (which is what they'll do if given the opportunity).

I'd keep the first litter together for another month to let them reach 8 weeks of age - or at least another 3 weeks.

Just let her nest (do you have a nestbox you can use again) and she'll know what to do.

I would definitely add some stuff to her food though to help her gain a bit of weight - but that is just me being...me. I like to give some extra oats to my mamas when they're nursing - I don't know why - it just seems like they can use the extra calories...

This does explain why she didn't get back into condition well with this current litter.

I'm sorry she's pregnant - but I'm never sorry about babies- which sounds bad I know....

Anyway - at least you know she knows what to do....don't forget - we love pics!

 

[BlueGiants]

I'm with Peg on this... asssume it's a real pregnancy (because you don't know the circumstances before you got her.) You did the right thing. Seperate the first litter ofbabies. Supplement them with rolled oats (dry oatmeal) mixed with their pellets.

Give the momma oats too. (I'd give her a seperate bowl of oats... so she has a choice.) I might also try to raise the protein level of her pellets or food. Sounds like she needs the extra nutririon. Give her all the hay/shredded papershe wants to build a nest. Keep it quiet around her. And see what happens....

Sounds like it's going to be crowded at your house for a few weeks.

 

[naturestee]

No new babies yet. But Jazzy made a very large, very compact, very nice nest. I can't believe she squished all that hay and newspaper into one small corner! I gave her more hay just in case she wants it, although she hasn't pulled any out of the hay rack yet, just the larger piles in the litter boxes. There's not much fur yet, at least compared to last time but then again there hasn't been time for it to grow back much either.

She doesn't seem to be eating much but there are new poops and she will eat carrots. Those are my special treats for her, rewards for going back in the cage after playtime. I'll start feeding her oats too, I just hadn't wanted to change her diet too much too quickly.

I'm guessing she'll give birth tonight. But who knows?

 

[Haley]

Oh my gosh, Angela! Im so sorry to hear this. I know how overwhelmed you guys are with bunnies right now (as is everyone). And poor Jazzy having to go through this right now.

I agree with giving her lots of extra nutrition right now. Maybe some nutrical would help a bit to boost her immune system?

I'll be thinking of you and James today.I wish I was closer and could come help At least the good part is that shes with you during this difficult time and not at some loud shelter.

 

[naturestee]

Eek! I went to let Jazzy out, and apparently she had her babies in the last two hours since I last checked her at 10 am. Man, I didn't think she could look thinner but now she does! Numbers and pictures soon!

 

[naturestee]

All of the babies are dark colored, no dutch here. Four living, two dead.:tears2:

The dead ones look slightly larger and somewhat squished. Torn skin on one too, I'm guessing she had a hard time getting them out. The others all look fine, they're wiggly and one was trying to nurse on his toes, lol! I'm not sure if she's nursed them yet or not. I cleaned out the cage and unfortunately had to toss part of her nest due to blood. I moved the live babies and the clean parts of the nest to the freshly-cleaned nestbox. I just closed Jazzy back up in the cage and she's eating her carrot and oats.

What's normal for mama genitals shortly after giving birth? Jazzy has a little bit of some sort of goo (maybe part of a caul?), also looks sore but then she did just give birth in the last few hours.

Jazzy is acting happy and was very interested in the first litter and was sniffing them through the cage bars before lying down near them.

What should I be looking for to make sure she's ok? I'm going back down now to let the babies run. They're going nuts cooped up in a little 30" cage.

Oh, and a quick picture. Hope you guys don't mind but this is of the whole litter and nest before I even realized some were dead. You can't tell in the photo although you can see a little blood on the newspaper.

 

[aurora369]

That is quite the nest!

I'm not sure about the discharge you were describing. I believe it is okay for a little bit of spotting (blood) but not large amounts after giving birth.

You should check her to see if you can feel any other babies stuck in her. If she had difficulties with two of the babies, I would be checking for any stuck kits.

Changing the nest should be fine. I've had quite a few fosters that I've had to do that with, and as long as the new nest still smells like her old nest, she should accept it just fine.

Now, what we do need, is lots of pictures of the new babies and the older babies!

--Dawn

 

[BlueGiants]

Well, good thing you were prepared! 4 isn't too bad to raise. Make sure Jazzy has unlimited feed/oats/hay. (Nutrical will give her a nutritional boost, couldn't hurt if she is too thin. Won't do anything for her immune system.) Check the babies tonight to make sure they are being nursed.

I'm not sure what the "goo" is on her genitals. Keep an eye on that, incase it's a stuck placenta or kit. (Sounds like she may have been either a little over zealous or had trouble with the two bigger ones.) Any swelling should go away in a day or so...

 

[naturestee]

If she had a stuck kit, would she be acting uncomfortable? She was pretty active- bouncing around, periscoping, checking out the first litter, and making friendly advances towards my feet. No Jazzy, no more babies! She seemed quite pleased with herself until I picked her up. She's still terrified of that.

The little bit of goo wasn't right on her genitals, it was more at the base of her tail and it looks like she had just missed grooming it off. She didn't have any blood on her and since I didn't see any actual afterbirth, I'm guessing the blood in the nest was from the torn skin on one of the dead babies. I think she had pulled that one out of her, and it's hips did look like they had been squished some.

I did see Jazzy jump into the nest box when I was letting the 4 week olds play. She was checking the babies over and may have nursed them.

I have more pics of the older babies, omg they're so cute! I'll try to get more put up in their blog soon but it might not be today. Too many errands, and I have to get the larger cage from TreasuredFriend and get it set up. The little boogers are upset with the small cage and chewing on the bars!

 

[BlueGiants]

I'd guess she is fine then, you'd know if she had a stuck kit. Her behavior would indicate something was up. The blood in the nestbox could have been from the placentas, before she ate it. But it's good that there wasn't much.

Good for her! Glad to hear she's doing so well. Yeah, the first litter is gonna be a handful now. They should wean just fine. And having you handle them so early will give them good socialization skills...

 

[naturestee]

Oh, it's been a long day. I even cut finger open while babyproofing the cage I picked up from TreasuredFriend. Talent, I has it.:?

Jazzy still seems comfortable and happy, although the storm here was spooking her. She's eating some and drinking tons. The new babies have round little bellies and look nice and warm in their humungous nest.

Litter #1 is settling in to their new cage and they're all passed out in one big pile right now.

:bed:

 

[Maureen Las]

OMG Angela
I have been on this site all day hovering over the infirmary and didn't see this.
I don't even know what to say except this isn't going to help your fibro...

I'll process this tomorrow.

You're going to need all the help you can get/:shock:
maureen

 

[naturestee]

You're so right Maureen- I actually passed out from fibro yesterday because I let myself get worked up. Woo hoo fun. I'm better now though.

Know anyone who wants to adopt some baby rabbits?

 

[Maureen Las]

That's what I was thinking..it's going to be hard to find homes for all of these..except maybe on here ..


maybe you can get then adopted on the forum. Just keep posting cute baby pics
and I'm sending healing vibes (Julie sends them to me a lot)

Hang in there !

 

[Becca]

If only you lived nearer me anic: