spellbound015
New Kit
Briefly: I have an 8 month old pregnant rabbit and I need some advice on how to either assure that she will care for the kits or advice on hand-raising the kits. I do have some information at hand, having looked at a couple of articles over the net. But I also have specific questions that might be better answered in a forum.
I’ll try and make it as short as possible, but I tend to write a lot and I have a bunch of questions.
A couple of days ago, me and my sister purchased a 7 months old female rabbit from a breeder who was selling out her rabbitry. This rabbit, Honey, was supposed to be a retired breeder. Maybe we should of been even more careful when selecting her, but we trusted the breeder (we’ve bought two other rabbits from her).
Thing is, Honey is HUGE. And, the next day after getting her, we started wondering. I checked her lower abdomen and she does have lumps. Some articles on the net mentioned grape sized lumps... well they are bigger than that. We called the breeder, she won’t take Honey back. But we also love this rabbit so much. We’d been eyeing her since August. She’s a pretty large sized harlequin lionhead.
Honey's history
Back in early December, the breeder had told us Honey was pregnant and soon to give birth. We were interested in the babies and came back a week later. Honey had successfully given birth to five babies, but she hadn’t pulled out any of her fur and they had all died. (The breeder said she had been away on vacation and the person taking care of the rabbitry hadn’t acted quickly enough to save the babies.)
Predicament
We’ve never had a pregnant rabbit before and Honey might not even be able to take care of her kits when they are born.
Goal
Do our possible to assure the kits and the mom survive.
What we’ve done so far
We bought a few supplies (all which can be returned to the store): KMR kitten powdered milk replacement, a bottle and some nipples. We also placed a typical nesting box inside the cage. (We don’t know when she’ll be giving birth and she might not even tell us by pulling out her fur! So yes, it might be way too early for the nesting box...)
Questions
BEFORE BIRTH
1- Should Honey not be handled anymore and/or let out to play?
2- Is there any way to know how far along Honey is in her pregnancy? Maybe by the size of her embryos?
3- If Honey doesn’t pull out her fur, how will we know when she’s about to go into labour?
4- How much hay should we have put in the nesting box?
IF MOM DOESN’T PULL OUT FUR
5- Is Carefresh bedding (along with brushed out rabbit fur and hay) a good substitute to the mom's fur?
6- Is using other rabbits’ fur safe?
7- Should we actually cut some of the extra fur from the mom (she IS a bushy lionhead)?
AFTER BIRTH - IF MOM IGNORES KITS
8- What are the vital signs to check in the kits?
9- If we cannot milk Honey, is KMR a good milk replacement?
10- Is a small bottle (with nipple) just as good as a syringe?
11- Is there anything else we need to have at hand in case of an emergency?
Thank you very much!
- Gen
I’ll try and make it as short as possible, but I tend to write a lot and I have a bunch of questions.
A couple of days ago, me and my sister purchased a 7 months old female rabbit from a breeder who was selling out her rabbitry. This rabbit, Honey, was supposed to be a retired breeder. Maybe we should of been even more careful when selecting her, but we trusted the breeder (we’ve bought two other rabbits from her).
Thing is, Honey is HUGE. And, the next day after getting her, we started wondering. I checked her lower abdomen and she does have lumps. Some articles on the net mentioned grape sized lumps... well they are bigger than that. We called the breeder, she won’t take Honey back. But we also love this rabbit so much. We’d been eyeing her since August. She’s a pretty large sized harlequin lionhead.
Honey's history
Back in early December, the breeder had told us Honey was pregnant and soon to give birth. We were interested in the babies and came back a week later. Honey had successfully given birth to five babies, but she hadn’t pulled out any of her fur and they had all died. (The breeder said she had been away on vacation and the person taking care of the rabbitry hadn’t acted quickly enough to save the babies.)
Predicament
We’ve never had a pregnant rabbit before and Honey might not even be able to take care of her kits when they are born.
Goal
Do our possible to assure the kits and the mom survive.
What we’ve done so far
We bought a few supplies (all which can be returned to the store): KMR kitten powdered milk replacement, a bottle and some nipples. We also placed a typical nesting box inside the cage. (We don’t know when she’ll be giving birth and she might not even tell us by pulling out her fur! So yes, it might be way too early for the nesting box...)
Questions
BEFORE BIRTH
1- Should Honey not be handled anymore and/or let out to play?
2- Is there any way to know how far along Honey is in her pregnancy? Maybe by the size of her embryos?
3- If Honey doesn’t pull out her fur, how will we know when she’s about to go into labour?
4- How much hay should we have put in the nesting box?
IF MOM DOESN’T PULL OUT FUR
5- Is Carefresh bedding (along with brushed out rabbit fur and hay) a good substitute to the mom's fur?
6- Is using other rabbits’ fur safe?
7- Should we actually cut some of the extra fur from the mom (she IS a bushy lionhead)?
AFTER BIRTH - IF MOM IGNORES KITS
8- What are the vital signs to check in the kits?
9- If we cannot milk Honey, is KMR a good milk replacement?
10- Is a small bottle (with nipple) just as good as a syringe?
11- Is there anything else we need to have at hand in case of an emergency?
Thank you very much!
- Gen
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