URGENT URGENT

[maxysmummy]

so, to cut a long story short, rescued a rabbit yesterday at 1pm, felt her belly and suspected a pregnancy, at about 3am she starts nesting and by 7am she has given birth to some kits.
(if you're curious and want the long story it can be found here: http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=62885&forum_id=7&jump_to=837809#p837809 )

needless to say we have been thrown in the deep end here... we had no "nest box" because it was so last minute, but we did put a shoe box and a buttload of hay in her cage with her.

she ignored the nestbox and made a burrow thing using a buttload of hay.

do we need to do anything? like buy a nestbox and move them into it? i'm worried something will happen to them. i'm concerned about the cold but not sure if i should be?
she's inside, covered the cage in thick towels to keep the heat in and they've burrowed quite deep in the nest, on top of that we are in the middle of an aussie summer so its not cold at all)

in terms of diet, what do i do? i have no idea if alfalfa hay is available in sydney... cause she's a stray shes really skinny as it is... i'm worried about her weight. a friend suggested molasses?


please please please somebody help me <3

 

[Pipp]

Lucerne is alfalfa.

Just cut down a cardboard box (bigger than a shoe box) so that the kits can't crawl out but mom doesn't have to jump over anything to high and jump in blind.

Carefully transfer all the contents of the current nest into the box (including the buttload of hay), they'll be fine.

Sorry for the delay in answering.


sas

 

[Pipp]

PS: I'd be more concerned with protein than calories, so don't load her up with carbs or sugars. Just find a good alfalfa pellet with a decent protein content, maybe throw in a sprinkling of oatmeal and some sunflower seeds, and keep her supplied with all the greens and other veggies she can eat, and she should be fine.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

I agree with the above, but just wanted to add that an appropriately sized shoebox is fine. Even normal nestboxes have a 4" or so "lip" on the front so that when mom jumps out, any attached babies are knocked back into the nest and aren't separated from their siblings.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

ray: That was always my biggest fear when we did a rescue.

 

[maxysmummy]

woohoo! so after running around like a headless chicken we got some lucerene and some sunflower seeds for mumma rab. she defs needs fattening up. we've just been scattering them through her hay along side the rolled oats.

i'm so incredibly inspired by her... she went from being a street rabbit to a rabbit about to be killed at the pound to coming to a new home with 3 other rabbits to building a nest and giving birth to FOUR amazing kits.

they are so beautiful and plump and healthy looking.

one is spotty, one is black, one is white and one is white and has darker markings around his face and paws and a dark stripe down his back (sorry don't know technical terms for colour) [we moved them into a shoe box filled with the hay they were nested in and some of her dewlap fur from around the nest as well]

so in my readings, i found that rabbits only nurse once or twice a day... obviously i'm not going to be able to watch her 24/7 so how do i know if mumma rab is nursing? how will i know if i have to hand feed them?

i've been on such a roller coaster of emotions today, i'm just in shock at how beautiful and incredible life is! i'm over the moon.

 

[mistyjr]

Well, It sounds like she is going to be a great great mother. You can tell if they have been feed. If they have like ping pong/ rounded bellies. Then they have been feed.
If she doesn't feed them right away, that is fine.
My babies usually got feed day after they were born.

But congrats with new babies,

 

[Blaze_Amita]

would lvoe to see pictures too!

 

[maxysmummy]

ahh so i shouldn't stress *just* yet...

what do i do if they don't have ping pong bellies tomorrow?

 

[maxysmummy]

unfortunately this is the best pic we got. 4 gorgeous little kits

here is Jemima Puddleduck pre birth

jemima puddleduck post birth with lucerene on her face haha


there are little pools of blood under the hay when she gave birth... when will it be ok to clean the nest?

 

[woahlookitsme]

Babies wont last more than two days if they haven't been fed. The first feeding is the most crucial. If they've been having ping pong bellies then don't introduce any new stresses, keep them covered in mommas fur or buy some nesting material, and enjoy them. They get real cute real fast! Congrats.

I used kitten KMR milk for my runts and any injured babies. My mom is always there to find babies and she usually cleans the dirty bedding the morning post birth.

 

[maxysmummy]

woahlookitsme wrote:

Babies wont last more than two days if they haven't been fed. The first feeding is the most crucial. If they've been having ping pong bellies then don't introduce any new stresses, keep them covered in mommas fur or buy some nesting material, and enjoy them. They get real cute real fast! Congrats.

I used kitten KMR milk for my runts and any injured babies. My mom is always there to find babies and she usually cleans the dirty bedding the morning post birth.

can you possibly post a picture of a kit with a "ping pong" belly so i can see what it looks like?


thankyou everyone for your help! you guys are amazing :innocent

 

[woahlookitsme]

Heres some topics with some healthy babies. I also just made a topic of my new babies you can see the bellies poking out of my hands lol

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=62840&forum_id=8

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=62903&forum_id=8

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=62915&forum_id=8

 

[Blaze_Amita]

Here's a few pictures of some of my past dutch babies with big full bellies

And a couple of my Velveteen Lops:

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

maxysmummy- The kits look nice and warm and fed from what I can tell in the pic you posted of them.

 

[Blaze_Amita]

I just worry about the hay poking holes in their skin, but she'll probably put more fur in there as tiem goes on.

 

[mistyjr]

woahlookitsme wrote:

Heres some topics with some healthy babies. I also just made a topic of my new babies you can see the bellies poking out of my hands lol

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=62840&forum_id=8

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=62903&forum_id=8

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=62915&forum_id=8

Thanks for putting my pictures in with this. Thanks Woahlookitsme.:biggrin:

And i agree with OakRidge about the babies.!

 

[maxysmummy]

When would be a good time to clean the cage? Im just sensitive about stressing out jemima and her chitlens.Theres a little bit of blood on the hay is all

How often should I check on the babies (i mean physically touching them)

If I upload a pic of the babies tomorrow, are you guys able to tell me if they've been fed or not?

Thank you so much for your help you guys, its been a godsend.x

 

[iluvdutchrabbbits90]

maxysmummy wrote:

When would be a good time to clean the cage? Im just sensitive about stressing out jemima and her chitlens.Theres a little bit of blood on the hay is all

How often should I check on the babies (i mean physically touching them)

If I upload a pic of the babies tomorrow, are you guys able to tell me if they've been fed or not?

Thank you so much for your help you guys, its been a godsend.x

I check my babies once in the morning and once before bed. I pick them up and make sure they are fed and warm. I would wait a good week before i clean the cage. If they are not feed they will be all wrinkley.

 

[maxysmummy]

So I checked on them tonight. They were squirming around SO much and digging the box. So I took them all out, lined the tray with an old shirt, put the babies on it, covered them Jemimas fur that was around the nest and then put more hay on top. The smallest rabbit looks quite small and wrinkly... The rest are happy and warm. Mum isn't going near the nest just sitting on tue other side of the pen. When we take the nest she starts looking for it and when we put it back she put her head back in and sniffed around then went back to her spot on the other side and watched.

I read that this is because they don't want to draw attention to the nest by predators but just clarifying this is normal.

I'm free feeding mummabun pellets and lucerene, is that ok?

Lucky we have such experienced breeders to help me through this

You guys are life savers!!!