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Dora foster bunny has just had babies - ADVICE PLEASE!

montyflossy

Alpha Buck
My foster bunny Dora has given birth this afternoon! We knew there was a possibility she was pregnant but it has still come as a bit of a shock!
This morning there was no sign of babies or a nest, nor was there at half one today. Going up there at 7 this evening there was a big fur nest. I went to refill her hay and the nest moved :shock:
I rubbed my hand in her poops and stuff and parted the nest. I could see 2 babies wiggling. I didn't want to poke too much in case she hadn't finished?!
The babies were moving and making a few noises.

Dora came from a pet store-she was in the adoption centre and she was taken in by bunnyrun (Caroline)

Any advice is welcome. I have never had baby bunnies here before!

Should I be adjusting any of her diet or routine?
At the mo she has pellets, greens loads of hay and as of tonight a bowl of water as well as a bottle (she was v thirsty after giving birth!)

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
You have done everything right!

Keep up with the greens for mum as they will help her milk.

Give her plenty of fresh hay to graze on as she will need the extra help to boost her milk flow. Two babies is a small litter so all should be well.
I wouldnt look into the nest too much although as you have already - and done it right by masking your scent Mum obviously trusts you.
With this cold weather I would check the hutch regularly as sometimes a baby can hold onto mums teat when she leaves the nest and the baby will then be on the hutch floor and will chill very quickly.
If this happens rub your hands as you did before and pop the baby back in the nest.
Good luck, nothing else needs to be done until the babies are around 14 days old and you then just need to make sure their eyes open correctly.

Louisa
x
 
Hi :wave:

Just leave mum be for the time being. She is more likely to drink a lot more and consume a lot of food. You should feed her a high calorie pellet ad lib....if she is ok on excel give her junior and dwarf. Don't be surpised if you are having to fill up her bowl a few times a day!

Give her plenty of dark leafy greens to help with the milk production and allow her exercise as normal. She will most likely feed the babies late in the night/early morning so should still be allowed to go out as usual. I would leave the nest if you can help it and let nature take it's course. If there are any sick/dead babies she will most likely push them out of the nest or to the top.

good luck!! :)
 
Well done Mum!!, you have done everything right and she will be fine, if ever you go to touch her or near the nest then rub your hands in her poo first, I wouldn't worry about cleaning her out too much as she will be very protective of her nest, give her plenty of greens and make sure she has loads of hay and readigrass, I am sure everything will be fine with her.

You have done a great job Lucy, well done!!
 
Awwwwwwwwwww thanks for your replies.

Dora is in an indoor cage which is inside a run. She has given birth in the indoor cage. The run is in my garage and is part covered wih blankets to prevent drafts etc.
I do hope she and the babies will be ok, I won't disturb them anymore. Should I be checking the nest daily or only intervene if I see a baby out of the nest? Luckily I had only just cleaned Dora's run enclosure (there didn't seem to be any reason not to as I thought no babies were coming!)

Sorry sooo many questions...:oops:

Dora seems fine by the way, acting normally eating greens from my hand.

How will I know she is feeding them?!

OMG Im such a worry wart

Lucy x
 
Don't check her nest, only intervene if one is out of the nest, Mum will only feed for 5 minutes in the morning and 5 minutes in the evening, she will just stand over the nest and the babies will poke their heads out to her nipples and will feed, that's all they get,

Give her plenty of food, loads of hay and green leaf vegetables
 
Well this morning the nest is still the same and she has kept it covered.

I found something in the run part though :shock: About the size of the end of my thumb and pale brown in colour. I had some bood on it so had def come from 'inside' Dora. It did not look like part of a baby??? and the nest was still moving. Any ideas???

I left it as I didn't want to poke around after advice given last night.

Do rabbits 'pass' anything after birth? It was kind of round (sorry if you are eating your brekkie!)

Lucy x
 
they do pass afterbirth but they usualy eat it straight away as not too attract preditors.it could part of a baby that was stillborn n she didnt eat it all?:?x
 
Babes!

Oh, very best of luck, and congrats on your arrivals. Just to say I'd agree with all advice - tho am a complete novice! But my bun had kits a week ago today, I have visited the nest every other day VERY briefly, rubbed hands on mum and in her bed etc etc. She is very calm and to my great surprise the two kits I saw on day 1 are actually 4 beautiful buns now!! So there may just be more underneath! But take care, don't disturb too much and very best of luck!
 
Well thank you for your replies! I was rather worried about leaving any dead or cold kits in the nest so I checked the nest again, very briefly this evening. Again I rubbed my hands in all Dora's stuff and whilst she was eating her greens I moved just the very top bit of fur.
There are definitely more than 2 :shock:
All very wiggly and the nest was warm (I could feel this by just touching a bit of the fur) I still don't know how many though as I covered it straight back up.
Dora is acting as though nothing has happened and even took her leap at the edge of the run as she normally does!:shock:
I do hope they are all ok, now I know there is no dead babies in there I will be leaving it well alone.

What a brave bunny my Dora is :D
 
Well thank you for your replies! I was rather worried about leaving any dead or cold kits in the nest so I checked the nest again, very briefly this evening. Again I rubbed my hands in all Dora's stuff and whilst she was eating her greens I moved just the very top bit of fur.
There are definitely more than 2 :shock:
All very wiggly and the nest was warm (I could feel this by just touching a bit of the fur) I still don't know how many though as I covered it straight back up.
Dora is acting as though nothing has happened and even took her leap at the edge of the run as she normally does!:shock:
I do hope they are all ok, now I know there is no dead babies in there I will be leaving it well alone.

What a brave bunny my Dora is :D

Awww well done Dora :D

Janex
 
dora foster bunny has just had babies

glad she,s doing well hun, cant wait to see babies, thank god i got when i did or who knows where she,d of ended up. Thanx for fostering her your doing a great job:D give dora nose rubs from me :D
 
Well thank you for your replies! I was rather worried about leaving any dead or cold kits in the nest so I checked the nest again, very briefly this evening. Again I rubbed my hands in all Dora's stuff and whilst she was eating her greens I moved just the very top bit of fur.
There are definitely more than 2 :shock:
All very wiggly and the nest was warm (I could feel this by just touching a bit of the fur) I still don't know how many though as I covered it straight back up.
Dora is acting as though nothing has happened and even took her leap at the edge of the run as she normally does!:shock:
I do hope they are all ok, now I know there is no dead babies in there I will be leaving it well alone.

What a brave bunny my Dora is :D


Well done Lucy, you are doing a brilliant job, keep doing what you are doing and just keep an eye on her, sounds like she is a good mum.
 
Why rub your hands in poo when bunny mum makes such an effort keeping the nest and kitts clean? Surely she doesn't expect her kitts to smell like poo? I would rather just pet her a bit before taking the kitts out and making sure they are all alive and have full bellies.
 
Hi Ida,

I did not actually touch any of the babies, I rubbed my hands in Dora's bedding and her droppings so that anything I touched near the nest smelt of Dora, and not me!

I have been advised to do this by breeders and rescues alike, it is not something I would just 'do' because I wanted to.

:wave::DLucy x
 
let her show you the babies when she is ready and just increase her food. it wont take long before they make an apperence. if you want to check make sure your hands and towel smell of mummy bunny. as sometimes new smells upset her. she may feed them late at night and the milk is so high in fat content that they usally feed once if twice aday. moomin left her nest building till the last minute. plus didnt know she was pregnant until the vet was about to spay her:eek: she only went in for xray on her hips as on leg sticks out with extra on one hip joint and no ball joint on the other:x only been at mine for 2 months!!!
 
In sme boat

Hi i'm in the same boat as you my female rabbit gave birth on 25th Feb, she had 5 babies. They are all doing fine, i'm just not sure what to do for the best regarding cleaning the nest out or do i need to leave it longer, also when can i handle the babies, they all have their eyes open and fur and lovely round bellys. They have not left the nest yet, when should they ? the mother has blocked the hole up with loads of hay do i need to move it or will she when shes ready for them to leave?

It is stress full as i don't want any harm to come to them,

Please help
 
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