New Born Rabbits

[bkkmick]

Hi

Woke up this morning and found that our two rabbits have had three little'uns.

We've made them as comfortable as possible but they don't seem to be feeding off the mother.

I'm fairly sure that they'll die quickly if I don't do something.

Has anyone had experience of this? What can I do to ensure that the wee one's survive?

Any ideas gratefully accepted.

Mick

[bkkmick]

Update: 1 has died.

We've managed to feed some fresh milk to the other two using a syringe (sp?) They're wiggling around quite a lot and look quite healthy.

[chatette]

Have you called the vet and asked? There's a list pinned to this discussion group.

[bina]

rabbits nurse their young once a day... now that u handled them, they most likely will die...forgot to add, when bottle feeding any young neonatal animal YOU must act as mother, therefore YOU must take cotton wool, soak in warm water and then massage anal area so baby can urinate and defecate, the same goes for kittens, pups and baby goats.

female rabbits should be separated from the male when they start gathering straw and pulling out their own fur to make a nest, and then LEAVE THEM ALONE..... they breed again the same day they give birth so whe will have a new set real soon... once they get going, they dont stop unless u separate the male... what will u do with all the little ones...

most rabbits are good mothers. if thley arent, then get rid of her and get a new one... once a bad mother always a bad mother with rabbits. bad mothers mean that the mother throws the babies out of the nest, or doesnt go into the nest, or cover the nest up when she leaves -- the rabbit should have access to straw or something to make a nest with along with her own fur.

REMOVE THE MALE IMMEDIATELY.

google for breeding rabbits theres tons and tons of info... a waste of money to go to a vet for rabbits.

bina

[November Rain]

Update: 1 has died.

We've managed to feed some fresh milk to the other two using a syringe (sp?) They're wiggling around quite a lot and look quite healthy.

I have no experience of rabbits, sounds as if Bina really knows her stuff with them, but 2 points I've found with hand-rearing orphaned pups that may (or may not) be relevant:

Fresh cow's milk is not always tolerated. We used to use puppy formula, but now you can buy cans of goats milk in pet shops & this is more suitable for many mammals

Be careful with syringes. It's very easy for the newborn to aspirate the milk (take it into their lungs) especially if you go too quickly. If bubbles of milk come from their nose, get to a vet, quickly, as that's what they've done. For pups, I use baby bottles with a newborn teat, but that's probably far too big for a rabbit. Just go really slowly with the depression of syringe plunger

Good luck

[guardian]

While on the topic, anyone knows the answer to:

WHAT HAS BEEN THE EMBLEM OF FERTILITY BECAUSE OF ITS WELL KNOWN TALENTS FOR MULTIPLYING?

[bkkmick]

Thanks for the posts.

After posting my update (and before I was able to read Bina's excellent post) I decided to go back to where I bought the rabbits and ask their advice.

They told me to purchase new-born baby formula and try feeding the babies with that.

When I got back home the babies were moving around the hutch and it looked like they were trying to find the mother, so I decided to leave it for a while.

About an hour later the young-uns were nowhere to be seen so I guessed that they were underneath the mother feeding so I thought that I'd leave well enough alone.

This morning I went to the hutch and the two babies were still wiggling around the hutch. I think that surviving the first night is a good omen. I'll keep an eye on them as much as I can.

When my three year old got home I took her around to have a look at the new borns. She took one look and said "Baby pigs, where is mummy pig?" They do look like small pigs.

Anyway, fingers crossed for them.

[Scott]

I used to raise rabbits a long time ago. Here are some suggestions:

1. They are REALLY difficult to raise alone.

2. Let nature takes it's course.

3. Keep the male away from the female--completely away.

4. Don't touch them, or handle them and leave the mother alone. If she gets upset she will kill them and eat them (it's not a pretty site).

5. Sometimes they put one out of the nest to die. I don't know if something is wrong with it or what, but they won't take it back.

6. Good luck and leave her alone, especially keep kids, dogs, and cats away from them.

[bkkmick]

Thanks Scott. I'll keep away. Bina also mentioned keeping the male away but we have nowhere to put him. Six months ago we had a third rabit that 'escaped' from our garden. My daughter found him (or her) dead, killed by one of the local cats I'd imagine.

[guardian]

3. Keep the male away from the female--completely away.

4. Don't touch them, or handle them and leave the mother alone. If she gets upset she will kill them and eat them (it's not a pretty site).

I always thought that it was the male that would eat up the babies and so assumed this is the reason a few of the posters suggested keeping the male completely away .

So, what's the reason for keeping the male away? Prevent breeding?

[bina]

both. the male disturbs the nest, and also breeds the female the day she gives birth which means that u get a new litter within a month of the previous one... breeding like rabbits is the term, i believe...

we keep one male to five females .... we dont bother to keep track of litters, live, live, dead , dead.... we always have enough. we dont breed for purebreds, only to keep a continuous supply for the petting zoo season. nature does her selection with cold, rain, cannibal mothers, disease, etc... and we always have enough rabbits when spring rolls around...

for family pets, i always recommend keeping two females if u must have two animals. they do well as single too.