Would a mother rabbit attack a baby that wasn't hers?

[CiaraPatricia]

Just wondering, if you introduce a baby rabbit that's a few weeks old, to a mother and babies of the same age, would the mother attack the new one?

 

[bunnybunbunb]

It depends on the rabbit. A few days ago I had a mother attacking her own kit, 2 weeks old, so I fostered it to a diffrent doe with babies two days older. The doe accepted it but the baby ended up getting stuck and breaking it's back. Some does will, and some will not. I have had many does reject their babies if I simply take the babies away for an hour or more to play with other babies. Some moms are just weird.

 

[polly]

They usually say you have 7 days after a litter is born to foster it over from what I have heard. However I moved one a couple of weeks ago that was 2 weeks old to a different mother and it was fine as Samantha said it really depends on the nature of the rabbit

 

[BlueGiants]

I just lost a Mini Rex Doe that was on a 3 week old litter of6 babies. Those6 babies got fostered off onto 2 Silver Fox Does and2 Mini Rex Does that had litters the same age. I haven't seen any issues or problems. (Had to spread them out! Everyone has such big litters right now!)

The only doe to even notice is my Tort Mini Rex doe... she has all tort babies and the two added to her litter are black! LOL! She's spending a lot of time licking them... I think she is worried they are dirty!

My suggestion is if you have to foster off a baby, try to put it in the nestbox, at night, after the doe feeds them. If you have to do it in the morning, do it after they are fed. The new baby will spend all night (or all day) rubbing up against the other babies and Momma won't be able to tell them apart by the time she goes back in the nestbox.

 

[whaleyk98]

BlueGiants wrote:

I just lost a Mini Rex Doe that was on a 3 week old litter of6 babies. Those6 babies got fostered off onto 2 Silver Fox Does and2 Mini Rex Does that had litters the same age. I haven't seen any issues or problems. (Had to spread them out! Everyone has such big litters right now!)

The only doe to even notice is my Tort Mini Rex doe... she has all tort babies and the two added to her litter are black! LOL! She's spending a lot of time licking them... I think she is worried they are dirty!

My suggestion is if you have to foster off a baby, try to put it in the nestbox, at night, after the doe feeds them. If you have to do it in the morning, do it after they are fed. The new baby will spend all night (or all day) rubbing up against the other babies and Momma won't be able to tell them apart by the time she goes back in the nestbox.

Ha ha Ha! This is too cute cathy!

 

[CiaraPatricia]

Thanks, I'm not fostering one really. It's just I have my baby rabbits that are 5 weeks old now, and I just bought an 8 week old one that's just a little bigger than my biggest ones in the litter. So I haven't put them together yet of course, for fear the mother would attack her, but I was wondering if it's possible because I don't want her to be lonely. Though mine are black and the new one is white, so I think the mother will notice!

And I'm keeping one of my litter, so I'm trying to decide if I should seperate her from the mother at 8 weeks or let her stay a little longer. I might just seperate her at 8 weeks and put her in with the new baby (not permanently, just to have some company for a while).

 

[CiaraPatricia]

So an update, I had the new one in a run next to the others, but two of the litter started bullying the others. I don't know if they were feeling territorial because of the new one being around, or if they were just being too boisterous. They're both girls, I'm pretty sure, but much bigger than the others, and they started biting the others and humping them, even chasing their mother and causing havoc anyway.

Does that sound right, that they are girls? I checked again to make sure. I know female rabbits hump too right? I'm also wondering, because the new one is meant to be a boy but I think it's a girl, but just noticed she has kinda a small lump each side of their genitals, is that normal for every rabbit? I was thinking it might be testicles but then I checked the others and they all seem to have them. All the rabbits except one seem to have taco shapes, and then one has a round tubular shape, so I think only one is male. I hope I'm right!

So I seperated the two bullies and they're in together, they were annoying each other a bit, but have settled down now. They're five weeks, and those two are really big, and are eating fine, so I think they'll be fine, and it'll give their mom a bit of a break . . . Is it ok to be seperating them this young?

 

[Sabine]

Could the small lumps you are referring to be the scent glands? It would be surprising to see his testicles at this early stage.

 

[CiaraPatricia]

Yeah I'd say they are. Just when I first looked at them I was very confused over whether she was male or female! But then I realised they all have them. I'm about 99% sure only one is male though!