New kits - help!!! **** Pics added *****

Hi,

Really need advice. ......
I have 2 rabbits (bonded pair - male Fluffy & female Flash) - I have them over 2 years and male has been neutered (I originally had a bonded female pair but one died and we since bonded one of original females with the neutered buck - the buck had lived on his own previously and I thought it would be nice if they were together). They have been together over a year at this stage (he was neutered about 8 weeks before I bonded them). Everything was fine, they get on great and it was all happy days. However this morning I went out and Flash had 11 new kits - how on earth did this happen? He was neutered over a year ago at this stage - rang vet and waiting on him to ring me back!!!
Anyway, my daughter discovered what she thought were mice this morning when she went out to feed them (she's only 5 and thought something had got into the hutch!!) So when I went out I discovered there are 11 kits - Flash has about 6 in a nest all nice and cosy but the other 5 seemed to flung round the hutch and Fluffy (male) seemed to be throwing them round. Took Fluffy out and have confined him to bottom floor of hutch. Left Flash and her kits upstairs and locked hatch closed (Fluffy has the bottom floor of hutch and access to the run but Flash is confined to top floor with her babies). Checked on the 5 that were out of the nest whilst Flash was eating and one was dead, the other 4 are alive but really cold, I have placed them beside the nest and put hay on top - didnt want to disturb Flash's nest. I am now at work and have no way of checking them until I get home this evening at about 5pm. I have no experience of kits and have no idea if I need to do anything or if what I have done is right? Am I right in removing father (will they go back to being a bonded pair - I will be getting him neutered again!!!)? If any are dead do I remove them straight away or will this upset mother? Also, how do I clean out hutch, should I leave it alone due to nest being there for the time being?? Any advice welcomed?
Hellllllppppppp!!!!

Ok to touch the kits clean your hands in mums soiled bedding to remove your scent.....then distract mum with some food so she dosnt see what you are doing and put all the kits back into the nest after warming them in your hands....they will keep each other warm....and cover them over.

If mum 'scatters' tham again move them back one final time.....if she does it a third time then you are probably going to have to try handrearing.....she may only reject some of the litter as 11 is quite large and she may feel she cannot cope with them all so rejects the weakest.

Keep Dad well away from mum and kits.....they need to stay with mum for at least 8 weeks and mum is ging to need extra feeds now to cope with the demand the kits place on her for milk.

Finally.....if dad was neutered are you sure he is the dad???? Do you have a wild rabbit population that could have got to mum?

OMG is all I can say!! I dont know how this is possible after a year, never heard of it before...... :?

Are they ever let out in the garden and maybe another male got to her???

Oh and clean out the hutch in a few days but NOT the nest....mum does that herself, and it helps to take her out and pop her in the run when you do that so she dosnt stress out about you being near the kits.

Remember to disguise your scent again.

OMG!!!! did the norty gal have an affair??? what a shock.... sorry i have no advice but good luck..

Thats the weird thing, I live in a mid terrace house so there is no access to the garden, there are no wild rabbits so it has to be him! So it looks like the neutering failed somehow - is this possible (I thought they removed their bits if you know what I mean ?? They do have free range of the garden but only when I am there and nobody near me has rabbits (well not that i know of - will have to check with all the neighbours!).
I am in work worried as I have no way of checking them. Will Flash be ok in just the top floor of the hutch with the kits? Its a 6 foot hutch so she should have enough room and she has plenty of food and water.
I should have warmed up the cold kits and put them back in the nest - feel terrible now - they may be dead by the time i get home?!

oh my what a shock. Firstly follow all of what Sooz has said. If the kits have died whislt you are at work please do not blame yourself you were not to know what to this morning and you definatly did the right thing by removing your male. Mum will be fine in the hutch with the kits, once they are a little older and out of the nest which is about 5 weeks old i would move mum and babys to the lower half so they have more space and put your male in the top.
I have never heard of a male getting a female pregnant after such a long time, it could well be that there is another bun in the niaghbouhood which has managed to get into your garden.

Good luck with the Kits keep us posted xx

If your male hasn't been neutered properly, then your female may be pregnant again already. They can get pregnant very soon after giving birth. So keep the boy well away from her and have him checked by the vet.

Wow! I bet that woke you up this morning!!:shock:

Oh no what a shock!!

Did the vet get back to you?

if he was neutered a year ago, and she has only now gotten pregnant, I'd bank on it being a different daddy, as if the neutering had failed, she'd have gotten pregnant earlier...
perhaps someone in the neighbourhood has had a buck escape recently? :?
in any case - you should probably look into getting her spayed once the babies are weaned...
I wish you the best of luck!

Vet hasnt got back to me, he is a country vet and is out delivering calves apparently!! His assistant assured me that the neutering was successful and thinks the same as you guys that it is another daddy!! So she suggested bringing him in to double check and getting her spayed once kits are weaned and mum is back to herself, she said to wait til new year to give her a chance to build up her strength. And to make sure she has loads of food and plenty of fresh veg and fresh hay. And to make sure garden is protected against unwelcome male intruders!!

It sure did wake me up, still in shock! Feel so sorry for Flash, thats such a lot of babies! I also feel a bit silly that I didnt notice she was pregnant - she has been fur pulling recently but thats it - looked no different than usual!

Am really hoping the 4 kits I moved are ok and that she took them back in. Not sure about moving her to bottom of hutch as it is much more open, not as much protection from the elements - may try to move Fluffy to garden shead and give Flash the use of the whole hutch and run! Not sure how Fluff will take it as they are so used to being together!

And then I have the whole worry of rehoming the kits in 8 weeks - definitely not keeping any even though 5 yr old has already been deciding names and thinks they are the cutest things ever, although she knows she cant go near them. She was a little upset that 1 was dead - should I remove this one?

The shed would be a great idea, and yes remove the dead one xx

Thanks Phil!

Still in shock over it all, love my buns and cant concentrate on work today wondering how Flash and the kits are.

I will let you all know what happened when I went home this evening, really hoping she took back in the 4 kits that were flung out although also thinking 6 kits would be more than enough for her to worry about - poor Flash! And I will remove the dead one as soon as I get home if she lets me - dont want to upset her. My little girl is away to her dads this weekend so at least I wont have to worry about her going near the buns ...

Also have to explain to her that Fluffy will be taking over her wooden playhouse for a while (its a 6 x 6 pink garden shed - not very masculine - he he!) Oh the joys of being a bunny mum !!

It is a huge shock when you get a litter you really weren't expecting! I had one and i thought it was mice at first as well!

Im sure your daughter will be more than happy for muma nd babsy to take over her playhouse!

oops i thought fluffy was mum lol sorry! Mum and babies will be fine in the hutch but do keep the ramp blocked off until the babys are able to move freely and have there eyes open which is about 5 weeks.

Oh, do you think I might be better moving mum Flash and kits to the playhouse? I suppose they would be much warmer and safer and have a good bit of space. I was thinking about how the kits would cope with the ramp - would hate for any to fall down!!

Just not sure how to go about moving them without disturbing the nest .... or upsetting mum. The hutch I have has a pull out tray that I could technically remove altogether to the playhouse without touching the nest or disturbing it too much! Might try that this evening. Do I need to put in any heat warmers or anything like that? Think I will need to put some lino in the playhouse first though!

I think I would be happier if she was in the playhouse, she would be warmer and safer - should I ensure she has access to a run (I have a temporary one I could use when I am home!) so she can escape for some "me" time too or do they sit with the kits all the time .....

And then male Fluffy could stay in my current hutch run combo on his lonesome! Hope he doesnt feel too left out ...

I wouldn't move mum and the babes yet i would wait until there a bit oldeand there able to move better as moving them now could distress mum quite a bit.

Could fluffy go into the playhouse for now and them swap them when the kits are older? I think the playhouse would be better for mum and kits once they start moving round alot.

Mum will usually feed the kits once at night time and thats it the rest of the day she will probably spend away from them but might keep going and checking on them, so best to keep the ramp blocked until there older. They open there eyes at about 10 days and will exit the next at about 3 weeks but there really wobbily at this age

Oh, I really want to go home and check on them - cant concentrate on work today but I think if I asked my boss to finish early cos of my bunnies she would think I had flipped - people who dont have rabbits arent so understanding!!

:wave: Gosh what a suprise you have had ! Hope all goes well with the babies

If their eyes are still shut at 14 days you may need to help them open them, In the litters we have had both had at least one kit who hadnt opened both eyes by day 14. We bathed them with moist cotton wool and gently peeled the lids apart.