I am very distraught over this... Cannot eat, sleep, go to work, get out of bed (except to feed my bunnies) and every time I look out my windows to see their little graves, I cry hysterically. Cannot even hear a bird chirp without getting very sad, as it sounds a lot like the babies.
I did my best to keep Storm away from this 6-month-old bunny I am temporarily housing, and had I no idea she was pregnant. But he must have done it through the cage. This was her 4th pregnancy; she has always been an exceptional mother who had 10 babies her first time, and All survived. This was her first pregnancy since weaning in June.
She gave birth in a large box with a hole in it, so I moved them to a plastic nestbox (used the same towels she gave birth on) I always do. For the next couple of days, I checked on them a lot but only saw Storm check on them once. Every time I checked them, their bellies were almost empty with ribs showing (I was thinking that I checked at bad times). Two days after being born, I decided to hold them up to her teats to nurse to at least get something in their tummies UNTIL she nurses them. I kept the nest box right next to my bed to hear if she nursed in the middle of the night. From Friday night to Monday, with almost 24-hour surveillance. Nothing. 15 minutes to a few hours after feeding and urinating since Sunday, the babies would quickly go downhill and pass away. I called the vet and followed her advice, but they still never made it. I even kept them all in my room to avoid distractions.
How can babies go from crawling, being strong enough to latch on any time I offered them food, then suddenly passing away? They were all fairly large, not premature it seems. One odd thing was, they hardly retained warmth, so I used a heating pad on low and sometimes medium, and they were STILL cold. I also made sure I was not over-feeding them.
The last baby lived until 6 AM this morning. Got up at 3 AM, feed him a little, he was crawling around the nest box and was finally warm, urinated, then I went back to sleep. A few hours later, he was gone and very cold.
I just do not understand why none made it. They seemed healthier than a lot of my runts that made it, and were born so lively and strong. Is there something wrong with Storm or the younger, Lionhead bunny? I never use harsh chemicals around my bunnies, and I feed them a good diet and get vet check-ups.
I would have gotten Storm spayed, but her heavy breathing worries me, although the vets said she is perfectly healthy... I am so sorry I failed the babies. I loved them and wanted them to grow up and be happy
I did my best to keep Storm away from this 6-month-old bunny I am temporarily housing, and had I no idea she was pregnant. But he must have done it through the cage. This was her 4th pregnancy; she has always been an exceptional mother who had 10 babies her first time, and All survived. This was her first pregnancy since weaning in June.
She gave birth in a large box with a hole in it, so I moved them to a plastic nestbox (used the same towels she gave birth on) I always do. For the next couple of days, I checked on them a lot but only saw Storm check on them once. Every time I checked them, their bellies were almost empty with ribs showing (I was thinking that I checked at bad times). Two days after being born, I decided to hold them up to her teats to nurse to at least get something in their tummies UNTIL she nurses them. I kept the nest box right next to my bed to hear if she nursed in the middle of the night. From Friday night to Monday, with almost 24-hour surveillance. Nothing. 15 minutes to a few hours after feeding and urinating since Sunday, the babies would quickly go downhill and pass away. I called the vet and followed her advice, but they still never made it. I even kept them all in my room to avoid distractions.
How can babies go from crawling, being strong enough to latch on any time I offered them food, then suddenly passing away? They were all fairly large, not premature it seems. One odd thing was, they hardly retained warmth, so I used a heating pad on low and sometimes medium, and they were STILL cold. I also made sure I was not over-feeding them.
The last baby lived until 6 AM this morning. Got up at 3 AM, feed him a little, he was crawling around the nest box and was finally warm, urinated, then I went back to sleep. A few hours later, he was gone and very cold.
I just do not understand why none made it. They seemed healthier than a lot of my runts that made it, and were born so lively and strong. Is there something wrong with Storm or the younger, Lionhead bunny? I never use harsh chemicals around my bunnies, and I feed them a good diet and get vet check-ups.
I would have gotten Storm spayed, but her heavy breathing worries me, although the vets said she is perfectly healthy... I am so sorry I failed the babies. I loved them and wanted them to grow up and be happy
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