Unexpected Baby Rabbits

[kaffmck]

On monday morning I went to feed our 2 FEMALE!! rabbits and discovered babies.:shock:
The first thing I noticed was a dead one which had been shoved out into the run. There were 4 babies (3 pink, one black skinned) and we have checked them a couple of times a day to make sure they haven't left the nest. This morning the black one was missing and we eventually found it kicked out into the run. Is this normal behaviour? Are the other likely to die? Any advice would be greatly appreciated, as we had no intention of breeding rabbits!!

Many Thanx

[abbymarysmokey]

Sorry to hear about the babies that didn't survive :(

Firstly, make sure you find out which rabbit is the dad, and remove him asap, otherwise mum could end up pregnant again very quickly. :shock:

I'd block up the entrance to the run, so that the babies can't fall out of the hutch and die from cold.

Can you tell if mum is feeding the other babies?

Amy

[JellyBelly]

You shouldnt really be touching the babies as the mum will smell your scent and reject them, maybe thats what happened with the little one that has been kicked out..

Have you removed the dad as he to could be responsible for kicking out the baby?

I have no experience with babies but i'm sure somebody will be along shortly with some more advice..

Welcome to the forum :wave:

[kaffmck]

They look full! They seem to be wriggling everytime we have checked them. She is very protective if you go near the nest.

The opening to the run is the far end of the hutch from the nest and it is unlikely the baby would have got there by itself. Will block the entrance to the run though - thanks for help.

[Tamsin]

Rabbits can't pick up and carry their babies so most likely what is happening is the babies are being dragged out the nest because they are still latched on suckling. You need to block off the entrance to the run or put a barrier in mum can easily jump over but will knock off the babies so they don't get dragged out.

It's quite likely the mum will already be pregnant again so mark the date on your calendar the second litter will arrive in four weeks. Dad should be removed straight away.

Any babies that come out of the nest, rub your hands in her bedding, then pop them back in. Other than that leave the nest alone until the babies eyes open and they start hopping out on their own - this happens about 12 days.

Tamsin

[kaffmck]

Thanks for the advice and so quickly. We haven't been touching the babies, just lifting the nest gently to check they are still alive, as we were advised by the person we bought the original rabbits off, that we should reguarly check for dead ones, as ant dead ones would harm the rest of the litter. Is this correct or have we been doing the wrong thing? We really are novices and IF we had planned to breed rabbits we would have done a lot of research first.

[JellyBelly]

Ask as many questions as you like-they will definately be answered by one of us!

[Tamsin]

As long as the mum is feeding them (do they look plump?) then it's uncommon to loose them in the nest. It's only if they get knocked out and they get cold that you get problems.

Different breeders have different routines they'll swear by :) If the mum doesn't mind you can check once a day for dead ones but try to disturb the nest as little as possible. Rub your hands in the hutch litter first to disguise your smell and don't touch the actual babies.

Mum will probably eat more so make sure she has plenty and water too. When the babies leave the nest you'll need to adjust the water so they can reach it.

They should get fur very quickly, in about 10 days they'll look like mini rabbits rather than little sausages. By three weeks they'll be running about the hutch acting like mini rabbits and copying mum.

[kimd6200]

how old is mum?x

[kaffmck]

Mum is about six months.

[ZakuraRabbit]

6 months isn't too bad, preferably they shouldn't be bred before this age but accidents happen. I've known rabbits who have given birth at 4 months:cry: (sometimes bought pregnant from a pet shop:evil:)
There might have been something wrong with the one baby that died, either it was stillborn or sick. It happens. But if she's caring for her young I don't think she'll try to kill them. What you should look out for is that if the male was in the cage at the time of birth it is very likely you'll have another litter in a month's time:cry:
Some rabbits don't like having two litters in the cage at once, so she might turn aggressive towards them after 4 weeks, preferably they should be with their mom to at least 6-8 weeks.
You better look out, if the doe becomes very aggressive towards the kits it may well be better just to remove them:cry: I wouldn't sell them immediately though, even without mother's milk they're still not ready to leave for a new home, many rabbits taken from their homes too early fall ill when they grow up :cry: because their immune system isn't fully developed.

Mind you I don't have any experience with two litters coming soon after one another...I heard if a similar case once, where the mother rabbit ended up rejecting her first litter, and the second one died (probably due to stress) even after the death of her second litter though, she would no longer accept the oldest kits:cry:

[amber26]

i been in the same boat my girls had a litter two weeks ago i agree i think the baby was attached to the teat thats why it was at the end of the run it happened to one of my babies but luckily i went back and put himback

[Cream]

We had 4 unexpected babies this time last year!
The worse thing to do is keep giving them hay , They can sometimes overfill the nest and suffocate the babies.
don't touch them, I didn't starting touching them for 4 weeks! and they grow fast

[ZakuraRabbit]

We had 4 unexpected babies this time last year!
The worse thing to do is keep giving them hay , They can sometimes overfill the nest and suffocate the babies.
don't touch them, I didn't starting touching them for 4 weeks! and they grow fast

4 Weeks sounds a bit extreme to me.
I'm pretty sure you can go ahead and touch them when they leave the nest on their own at 2-3 weeks of age.:D
Rabbits need hay 24-7 regardless of if they have babies or not so I didn't quite get that...

[IzzyTwig]

4 Weeks sounds a bit extreme to me.
I'm pretty sure you can go ahead and touch them when they leave the nest on their own at 2-3 weeks of age.:D
Rabbits need hay 24-7 regardless of if they have babies or not so I didn't quite get that...

I was thinking that. Don't stuff the nest with hay, but the rabbits will need a constant supply of fresh hay to eat and so they can add to the nest if needed.

[kaffmck]

i been in the same boat my girls had a litter two weeks ago i agree i think the baby was attached to the teat thats why it was at the end of the run it happened to one of my babies but luckily i went back and put himback

I guess this is what must have happened, but in the middle of the night and unfortunately we didn't find it until it was too late. If it has happened once, is it likely to happen again or was it just unfortunate?

Also somebdy mentioned about the second litter, which could be on the way (quite likely as the male was humping before I noticed the babies and i remember thinking what is it with these girls?!?) Should the first litter be seperated before the birth or should we soo how it goes. Could the older litter trample the younger ones...assuming this first litter survive.....this is getting complicated, thanks for all the advice.:)

[amber26]

I guess this is what must have happened, but in the middle of the night and unfortunately we didn't find it until it was too late. If it has happened once, is it likely to happen again or was it just unfortunate?

Also somebdy mentioned about the second litter, which could be on the way (quite likely as the male was humping before I noticed the babies and i remember thinking what is it with these girls?!?) Should the first litter be seperated before the birth or should we soo how it goes. Could the older litter trample the younger ones...assuming this first litter survive.....this is getting complicated, thanks for all the advice.:)

Its not happened again but now mine have there eyes open and are crawling arounde ekkkkkkkkkkkkkk http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k85/amber26_03/Photo-0410.jpg

This is one of mine yesterday mum was to busy eating

No doubt she is pregnant again i am not quite sure about how two litters ???????????i am sure someone will know

[oscarbunny]

Hi, welcome to the forum :wave:

Have you removed the daddy bun? I was just wondering where abouts you were, as eventually when the babies are bigger (someone advise about what age as i have no idea), you will need to separate the boys from the girls otherwise you could end up with a lot of babies very quickly... i was thinking that a rescue could help you sex the babies. Please dont let the person who sold you the bunnies sex them, as she obviously isnt quite an expert at it.

Hope all the babies are ok, and good luck

[ZakuraRabbit]

I know one student rabbit at school had two litters in the cage at the same time once... (accidental breeding) but then again, by the time the second litter came the first two (very small litter) were around 8-9 weeks old when litter nr 2 came...also the fact that they were only two may also have something to do with mom not rejecting them just yet. I think there were 5 kits in the second litter. Frankly I only saw the babies first when the owners were taking the older kits out, they were fully covered in fur by then and the mom didn't seem to mind having the older kits around.
I haven't gotten any first-hand experience with two litters soon after one another though, only the story mentioned in my past post which sadly ended rather tragically:cry: So my best advice is just to keep an eye on the doe.
If you're "lucky" she might reabsorb the second litter or by some chance not get pregnant again so she only has to nurse the one.. only time will tell sadly:(

[Raven Rexs]

please dont tell me the mother and father were litter mates!!!!:?

Babys are 10 days old when they start wondering about!

[lidanhew]

The youngsters wont suffocate by giving plenty of hay the mum will use it for her nest as well as eat plenty of it. She will regulate the temp. in nest by opening and covering over as she feels the kits need warmth or need more air.
Some does are very strict about the one feed every 24hrs and may pile heaps on top of kits to keep them in the nest, they wont suffocate! but others feed more often and dont tend to cover them with as much.
Checking the nest on a daily basis is a good idear at the start as any dead kits can be removed always have sent of mother on your hands before doing so and be as quick as you can putting nesting material back in place.
First time mums often loose kits some take to having babies better than others.
If buck was not removed before she had kits then she is most likely expecting again and a 2nd litter will come around 31 days after the date these were born. She will cope with the two litters but you need to make sure extra feeding 3 times her normal amount is given whilst raising her young. Remove the first litter from her at 6wks to allow her to raise the second if this happens.
Hope all goes well for both mum and babies.:wave:

[kaffmck]

please dont tell me the mother and father were litter mates!!!!:?

Babys are 10 days old when they start wondering about!

No, I remember asking at the breeders and was told the two were not from the same litter and therefore not sisters! The now male is much smaller, but maybe that is normal.

[kaffmck]

Hello again

Sorry to ask more questions but we've been kins of thrown in the deep end. We currently have a hutch, which sites on top of a run. The nest box is at the far end away from the hole and we are closing the hole at night. In preperation for when the babies start to move around, we were thinking that we should put a barrier across the hutch, that mum can get over, but the babies can't. We have some lilandi (not sure on spelling!) logs from a tree we cut down last year. I am sure that I have read somethng about rabbits and evergreens and they shouldn't have them. Is this just the leaves or would the log be harmful to them? Does anybody know?

Thanx

[Gem]

Ask as many questions as you like ;) Theres always someone that can answer them :)

How about a brick across the bedroom doorway, mum should be able to get over it but any babies will stay where they are meant to be......until they are ld enough to get themselves out and about

[Tamsin]

Is the run big enough for you to lift the hutch off and put in on the floor inside. Babies tend to climb a lot so I think you'd need to be extremely careful as they developed that they couldn't get over and fall/jump down. If they did it at night and couldn't get back up they'd get very cold.

Tam