kits being fed?

Hi,

my rabbit gave birth to 6 babies on Sunday the nest was hidden and we were not aware that she had been pregnant. She most definitely had not been near her kits for over 2 days. When we found them they were alive I brought the nest and kits in to the house. They are 5 days old now and I haven't seen mum feed them once. Ive spoken to vets and a petshop and am confused as have had different advice.

One baby died today, I found it outside the nest. Ive been told by touching the kits the mum could either kill them or abandon them but i had to bring the nest in from outside where it was. I got a small syringe and gave them some milk the day I found them but vet said best to leave them in the nest and if they die they die as feeding them by hand comes with the high risk of asperating pneumonia. I really don't know what to do. (maybe the small amount of milk i gave them just that one time has kept the others alive?)

One crawled out from nest tonight so i distracted the mum into another room so i could put her baby back in the nest, it was so cold to touch but had a fat belly, can they get huge bellies from starvation? I really don't know if she is feeding them, i know its likely to happen early AM or late at night but i feel she has abandoned them.

Also I want to transfer the nest (which is under a table on a blanket) to a box so the kits can't escape but if I do this will this anger the mum knowing ive moved the nest to a box? And ive put the dead baby at the back of the nest should I take it away?

Thanks and sorry so many questions.

Help

Female rabbits only nurse their young for two or three minutes once a day (usually late at night). If they are five days old she is almost definitely feeding them. Unless you've been watching 24/7 you've probably just missed it To compensate for this their milk is very rich.

What do the babies look like? Are they plump little sausage like things or very skinny with wrinkled skin that stays up like a tents when you pinch a fold?

Hand feeding is very high risk and not recommended. If the kits are wrinkly (dehydrated) then the best option would be to hold them to mum so they nurse. By the sounds of it you don't need to do this. I think she's feeding them.

Did you see the baby crawl out of the nest or just find it out. Most common reason for babies being out of the nest is mum accidentally dragging the babies out because they are suckling and 'latched on' when she gets out. A low barrier around the nest stops this (knocks them off). You could minimise the disturbance by cutting the bottom out of the box and popping it over the nest to make sides.

If the baby is dead (check as they can look dead when they get chilled) then yes remove it.

A healthy baby should look something like this (bit less fur as this ones slightly older):



Hope that helps

Tamsin

Hi

Hi Tasmin,

thank you for your reply + photo.

The one that was dead was stiff + very cold, not knowing what to do with it i put it at the back of the nest.

Earlier i saw one kits crawling along the floor well away from the nest (daytime, dont think mum would have fed at that time) do they crawl out the nest looking to be fed?

I tried to latch the babies on to mum but she just jumps away.

I don't want to touch the nest much now but i can only see 3 babies alive now and think the others dead as my hand knocked on something hard

Ive only seen one baby that had a big belly and not so wrinkly the others seem more wrinkly and moving less.

Just worried that those two days mum was indoors away from the nest her milk would have dried up?

Is it usual for 3 or more to die in first week?

Thanks

It's difficult to say what's normal as it can go from one extreme to the other. They can lose kits, particularly first time mums, even if the nest isn't disturbed. To try feeding them from her get her to sit up with your hand under her chest and let them nuzzle. You can distract her with food. You could also get her to stay in position over the nest by hand feeding her so she has to walk over it.

Try squeezing her teats gently to see if she has milk.

If the nest is just on a blanket then they will come around easily. They can crawl about quite small but they'd usually be in a burrow so it's not an issue.

If you do supliment their milk you need to use full fat goats milk or kitten replacement powder. Cows milk is no good. You'll need a 1ml syringe and if possible some tiny teats to fit on it. You'll need to feed very slowly, don't put the syringe too far in the mouth. If the milk comes out their nose you're feeding to fast.

If she hasn't objected to moving the nest etc. so far then I wouldn't worry to much about going near it. You need to remove any dead babies so they don't chill the others.

Tamsin

There is an article on hand rearing her: http://cottontails-rescue.org.uk/handrear.asp

If you can get it the teats from the Mikki Mothering Kit are meant to be good (not the nursing kit with the bottle, the one with the teats/syringe) You might find alternative brands via vets/big pet store.

Also your local rescues/shelter may have advise, wildlife rescues can be good to as they can be experienced with orphaned babies.

Tamsin

pps if there is a delay until you can get suitable milk, you can feed water to stop dehydration.

That's why I think they must have fed some, otherwise they'd have passed from dehydration by now.

I take it their eyes are still closed?

Tamsin

Hi

Hi Tasmin,

thank you for replying.

There is only one baby left the others have died
Their skin was wrinkly and although vet had told me as I find them scattered around the kitchen they are likely to have been feeding at night, I think if that is the case then her milk can't have been any good?

Ive been feeding the surviving baby with special tin from pet shop with small syringe. This baby is slightly bigger than the others were although still seems so small. Ive put a hot water bottle under a blanket with warm water and she's in a box now with the original nest.

Do i keep the baby away from mum completely now?

Thanks

I'm sorry, babies are very delicate if things go wrong Yes, if she's not feeding take it away.

Btw, who is dad? Was she still in with him when she gave birth? If so she may be pregnant again.

the dad is rabbit from next door who burrowed his way under the fence, he's done this a few times despite our efforts to seal fence off. The day we saw mum with blood coming out from her behind area we assumed it was because the male had been fighting with her (but unknown to us she had given birth that day, we didn't know she was pregnant) so yes its a possibility she is pregnant again. Worried now as 5 of her babies have died will the next litter have problems, could it be a disease/virus that killed then?

Feel so sad that i wanted to feed them witha bottle and the vet said best not to intervene, if they die they die. The baby left is feeling warm now as im feeding him myself, wish id gone with my insticts and fed the others the same way but i thought vet knew best im finding it really upsetting, cant bring myself to lift the 5 dead babies up, and what do i do with them?

My children were excited when they knew she had babies, what do i tell them?

Even if you hand reared right for the start, the changes from that young aren't very good I had reared a litter of five from about 7 days old an I lost all accept one. It really is heartbreaking because they are so tiny and there is very little you can do.

It's most likely they died because the mother wasn't caring for them properly than an illness. Some rabbits just aren't very good first time around. The next litter, if she has one, may be fine. You might want to consider spaying which would prevent further pregnancies. It's also possible to do an 'emergency' spay' early in a potential pregnancy which would terminate the litter - it's down to personal choice what you feel is best on that one.

With children it's best to be honest. Explain that they have died (don't say they went to sleep), if it's within your beliefs you might like to say they've gone to heaven. If the children are very aware of them you could perhaps bury together to say goodbye. Your vet will also take the bodies if you prefer, though there may be a small charge. Let them know that your sad too and that's okay - it's much less confusing that you acting strange/worried and them not knowing why.

Tamsin

hi,

thank you for all you all these last few days, so glad i found you as it was helpful reading the other stories also at this time.

Sadly the last baby died a little while ago, i couldn't stop crying, guess i felt close to it having been bottle feeding it today.

My children knew she had had babies but ive not let them near them should it have bothered the mum. If i bury the 7 maybe mum rabbit will sniff them out and dig up, not sure what to do yet.

Yes most definitely want to get her spayed, cheapest i could find was about £50, never thought we'd have to but didnt plan on our neighbours getting a male that gets in. Also looking in to a run so she can play there rather than around garden should he get in until she is spayed.

Thank you for listening xx

No, the mum won't dig up the babies. You might need to be careful of cats/foxes though. You can put a couple of bricks or a bit of paving slab over to prevent digging.

£50 isn't bad for a spay, you probably won't find much cheaper than that. If you want to get it done now the vet might let you split the payment in two or you could save up over a couple of months.

A run would be a good idea or if you have a room inside that's quite bunny safe she could exercise there. If you give her a litter tray (like a cat) then many bunnies will use that and not make a mess

I'm really sorry they didn't make it, I think all of us her understand how it feels when you lose a pet. It's even harder when you've been nursing them.

Take care
Tamsin

rabbit kits

Hi Seren, I was in the same position as you two years ago in January when a newly acquired doe gave birth unexpectedly to 7 babies. She was in an outside hutch with ramp and pen. I found the nest and just peeped in to check then recovered it. As this was unplanned birth I knew little about how rabbit mothers deal with their offspring so had to do some research. I was surprised to find that they only feed the babies once a day, usually at night so you are unlikely to have seen her feeding them. I never did. I left them alone except for checking carefully for any dead ones without disturbing the nest. Two died out of the seven so Teasel and I did quite well for beginners.
Hopefully yours will survive. Ours started coming out of the nest at two weeks and were keen to get out of the hutch and explore by three weeks so I had to build sides onto the ramp and cushion the drop with swathes from the hay bale in case they went over the side!
They were absolutely entrancing to watch as they became adventurous and developed their own personalities.
Fingers crossed for you and the little buns.
Teasel and Basil

I am sorry they didn't survive. It is heartbreaking.