Shouldn't the mom be keeping the baby clean?

[fffarmergirl]

My baby bunny's 3 days old and I don't think the mom is taking care of it - it's dirty and it's belly looks wrinkly. Don't the moms groom the babies? There's pee in the nesting box and on the baby - at least I think it's pee. It looks kind of tan on the white fur.

Any words of wisdom?

 

[naturestee]

Pee in the nesting box is normal, at least it was with my two litters. I scoop out the wet stuff and put fresh shavings/hay/whatever in to replace it. But a wrinkly belly means the baby hasn't been fed for a long time. Pick the mom up, hold her in your lap with one arm, and then pick up the baby and place it underneath mom's belly. It should start suckling right away.

From what I understand, it's not unusual for first time moms to have trouble taking care of their kits. I just wanted you to know that in case you are worried about future litters.

 

[irishbunny]

You'll want to take out the nest box and see if the bedding is wet and change it because it's not good for the babies to get wet, I'd also clean off the baby that's all icky. Mom must be feeding the baby or else it wouldn't have lived this long. Clean the baby off with a damp cloth, make sure the water is warm but not hot and wipe off the pee, then make sure the baby is fully dry. If the baby is alert and wiggly then it's probably fine, if not then you might want to try holding the mom over the babies and letting them suckle.

 

[fffarmergirl]

The baby is alert and extremely wiggly. I took the mom out and felt her belly, and her teets don't seem the slightest bit swollen - but you say if the baby's lived 3 days then the mom must be feeding it? That's a relief.

I layed the mom in the crook of my arm, belly up, and stuck the baby on one of her nipples and it sucked like crazy. It's belly didn't look any bigger after it finished, though. Do you think maybe she just doesn't have a whole lot of milk yet?

I'll give it a little bath and dry it off well - thanks for the answers!

 

[DeniseJP]

I can't remember how does let down their milk... would one hear the baby drinking if they are nursing? I know in horses a well fed baby keeps the milk bar drained...

Denise

 

[pamnock]

The does have the same "let down" reflex as humans. If the doe is not comfortable, the milk doesn't let down and the kit won't get much milk.

Holding the doe on her back isn't a normal nursing position.

Pam

 

[fffarmergirl]

So if the milk's not "let down," then it wouldn't feel like her teets were full?

The baby's still alive and very active, so I guess I'll assume it's getting fed. I've never once seen it with a belly that looked at all full - it's a long, skinny baby.

I didn't think laying on her back was the right position . . . I tried sticking the baby on a nipple with her in an upright position, but I couldn't see the nipples. Anyway - I think I'll just let Mom take care of the nursing all by herself.

I've been keeping it clean and spending some time holding it and carrying it around every day so that it will be nice and tame. The friend I'm giving it to has kids, so I want to make sure it's very accustomed to being carried around.

 

[fffarmergirl]

Well - darn. The poor little thing didn't make it. It was really active this morning, but like I said before - it's belly never did look full. Maybe she'll learn to be a better mommy next time, but I think we'll wait a while with her. :cry1:

 

[polly]

Im sorry you lost the baby I am sure she will do better next time for you

 

[BlueGiants]

I'm sorry you lost the baby. A lot of first time moms don't figure it out until it's too late. I hope she'll do better next time!

 

[fffarmergirl]

Thanks. I hope she does better next time, too. I don't know how the baby would have found her nipples without help, and she wouldn't let me help - are their breasts supposed to hang down like dogs' do when they have puppies? Because they weren't hanging down at all. Also - don't they usually pull out all the fur around their nipples? She didn't.

 

[clevername]

fffarmergirl wrote:

Thanks. I hope she does better next time, too. I don't know how the baby would have found her nipples without help, and she wouldn't let me help - are their breasts supposed to hang down like dogs' do when they have puppies? Because they weren't hanging down at all. Also - don't they usually pull out all the fur around their nipples? She didn't.

I sorry to hear the bad news.

The area around there nipples will swell but they won't hang exactly. I normally pluck mom's belly if she hasn't already done so by kindling. But then again, I take a very hands on approach with my angora litters because the breed really isn't aggressively bred for mothering ability.This is why you'll find guides on the internet like Betty Chu's who advocates scooping up the kits and bringing them to mom once or twice a day.

 

[fffarmergirl]

Thanks, Clevername - I'll check out Betty Chu's. Don't the rabbits object to having their fur plucked? How do you do it? Do you keep the babies separate from the mom and just bring them to her a couple of times a day? How do you get her to nurse them when you bring them to her?

 

[clevername]

When a doe kindles or is about to her fur will loosen, so plucking isn't so painful. Angora (assuming we're talking about a breed that molts) should submit to plucking anyway as its a pretty common way to harvest fiber. This is why I say angora kits should be handled so often when they are young. They must be as docile as possible to be good wool bunnies.

Anyway here is Chu's guide. It's not a be all end all, but it's helped me with some of my more clueless bunny moms. But I'll add, that I don't use this method with my commercial type breeds as they seem to be more "with it" in the baby raising department and Chu's method is a lot more work for the breeder. So I actually got into Silver Fox just so I would have a foster for my angoras.

 

[fffarmergirl]

Clever, the Germans don't molt, and the English do, so I don't know if these would be considered a breed that molts (German/English Hybrid). I know they shed pretty heavily every 3 months or so but don't know if it's a true molt?

LaFonda is bonded with her sister and her sister was in the cage with her right up until she started building her nest, only 12 hours or so before she kindled. She was plucking her sister's hair and using that, and after I took her sister out of the cage I gave her a bunch of fur I had saved - so I guess she didn't need to pull out her own hair. Lesson learned - in the future I'm not going to provide any help in the fur department and won't give them the opportunity to pull one another's fur.

I'm regretting breeding the other two now. I know I need to do it eventually if I'm going to have more rabbits, but I just don't know if I'm up to the task. I read Chu's guide and I'm feeling pretty intimidated. :tears2:

What's Silver Fox?

Anyway - I'm assuming the other two are pregnant and committing myself to handling them every day until they kindle so they'll be calmer about it than LaFonda was, in case they need help nursing. Hopefully one of them will be a decent mom and she can foster for the other if things don't work out.

Thanks for the help.

 

[clevername]

I would guess (as I don't raise German hybrids) that if they are shedding that they can be plucked for harvest.

This is a Silver Fox. They are a commercial meat and fur breed which tend to be great moms. When I breed an angora, I breed a Silver Fox so I'll have a foster if anything goes wrong.

Chu's method is admittedly much more work but if you get a schedule down it isn't so bad. Bring the boxes in at feeding time-mom is usually jumping into the box before you get it into the cage. Make your rounds and when she hops out pull out the nest box and check tummies to make sure everyone is fed. Take the nestbox back inside and place it in a secure place. Repeat 12-24 hours later.

I've done this in extremely cold weather or for litters where I felt the mom was having trouble. If she's doing things right by all means leave the babies with her. But I've noted that the rabbits I've raised this way do have higher survival rate and tend to be much sweeter.