unexpected litter questions!lotsa pics of kits update

Hi found today that sid is a girl when i came across a litter of babys in the corner of the hutch!!!was told he was a boy and so took in another boy found in a neighbours garden! hence the litter. i have lots of questions ive read old threads but would love some advice!
sid and babys in the hutch dad housed seperate they have got together during free range play time.
1 .sid isnt laying with babys at all and doesnt seem intrested babys are warm and covered with her fur is this normal?
2 .sid is eating lots and is happy to run round and exercise as normal leaving babys in hutch is this ok?
3 . i think there are 6 babys is this ok?
4 . babys arent in a nest box but buried in a nest she has made and has then covered them over is this ok do i need to get a box?
5 . how do i clean them out or dont i?
6 . have only lifted fur off to count babys wearing glove covered in rabbit poo and put fur straight back sid was fine with this is that normal?
This isnt an ideal situation i know it was not planned but want to do my best for sid and the nippers so dad is off for the snip next week and ive found good homes for 4 of the babys so far where i can visit and be updated on their progress (should they survive.)please help me

Hi i have answered your questions below

sidsmum said:

Hi found today that sid is a girl when i came across a litter of babys in the corner of the hutch!!!was told he was a boy and so took in another boy found in a neighbours garden! hence the litter. i have lots of questions ive read old threads but would love some advice!
sid and babys in the hutch dad housed seperate they have got together during free range play time.
1 .sid isnt laying with babys at all and doesnt seem intrested babys are warm and covered with her fur is this normal?
Yes, rabbits will only go to and be with their young once a day, at feeding time. You probably won't see her do this but as long as they are warm and have "pot bellies" and not wrinky, dipped in bellies then they are being fed.
2 .sid is eating lots and is happy to run round and exercise as normal leaving babys in hutch is this ok?
Yes this is fine.
3 . i think there are 6 babys is this ok?
6 is an average amount so should be okay.
4 . babys arent in a nest box but buried in a nest she has made and has then covered them over is this ok do i need to get a box?
As long as they are all together and warm, they should be okay. If they keep wandering from the nest, then you may consider a box, try to avoid contact as much as possible for the first 2 weeks.
5 . how do i clean them out or dont i?
I wouldnt clean her out for at least 2-3 weeks, but take out any dirty patches/urine patches to avoid flystrike.
6 . have only lifted fur off to count babys wearing glove covered in rabbit poo and put fur straight back sid was fine with this is that normal?
As long as you used a glove that has her scent on as you have, she should be okay.
This isnt an ideal situation i know it was not planned but want to do my best for sid and the nippers so dad is off for the snip next week and ive found good homes for 4 of the babys so far where i can visit and be updated on their progress (should they survive.)please help me

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Hope this helps in some ways!!

1 .sid isnt laying with babys at all and doesnt seem intrested babys are warm and covered with her fur is this normal?

Yes. It is completely normal. Rabbits only visit their kits once or twice a day and normally when you are not watching, as in the wild they want to divert predator's attention away from the nest.

2 .sid is eating lots and is happy to run round and exercise as normal leaving babys in hutch is this ok?

Yes, as mentioned above. They'll do fine without their mom.

3 . i think there are 6 babys is this ok?

Yes, its a pretty normal litter size for a small to medium size rabbit.

4 . babys arent in a nest box but buried in a nest she has made and has then covered them over is this ok do i need to get a box?

I don't think you would need one...if the rabbit lives indoors it won't be any problem if they don't have a box, and she might get stressed if you suddenly put in one now.

5 . how do i clean them out or dont i?

I wouldn't clean out the nest itself before the babies start moving on their own. (about 2-3 weeks) but you can clean the hutch itself though, it gets very dirty in 3 weeks, which really isn't healthy for any rabbit:roll:

6 . have only lifted fur off to count babys wearing glove covered in rabbit poo and put fur straight back sid was fine with this is that normal?

I'd say its pretty much a myth that every rabbit mother eats their babies by the tiniest hint of human smell on it... most rabbits are in fact fine with it, rubbing your hand in her bedding of course isn't a bad idea, and recommended too if you're unsure how she'll react.
It's good to check on the babies every now and then in case some of the bunnies die (it can happen no matter how many kits there are). Dead babies are cold, and make the others cold too.

So far it seems they are doing fine. I hope the buck isn't still with her? Cause if he is or was when the babies were born, don't be surprised if there's another litter there in 4 weeks

sidsmum said:

sid and babys in the hutch dad housed seperate they have got together during free range play time

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Are you saying that the adults are still seeing each other during free run time?

She can get pregnant again straight after giving birth, please don't let them together again unless you want another accident

no bunnies dont have free run time together now ive learnt my lesson!!!just hope they didnt do it b4 i realised shed had a litter.(opened hutches put food in and discovered the nest so if they were quick he could have got her again i hope not!)
checked them this morning and she had uncovered them but ive read that happens so she can reg their temps? and to feed them i guess anyhow hard to count em but all together and ones i can see were wriggling.fed and watered hutches, and let mum out gonna get her in soon and let daddio out alone!keep your fingers crossed for sid and her six!!!
thanks for your advice please keep it coming
cheers
sidsmum and gran to 6 :roll:

congratulations on your unexpected arrivals. May not be ideal but now they are there, enjoy it

Aww congrats for Sidina and her new kits!! :lol:
It's very strange how you think they're boys when they're girls.. dont the big things give it away :lol:

thanks guys i keep wantin to post pics but worried i'll tempt fate!think i will give it a few days,could anyone tell me when its safe to handle the kits without mum rejecting them?

me agin sorry ,ive noticed some have dark patches on them their dad has quite a speckly coat is this to do with their colouring when they get a coat?

sidsmum said:

me agin sorry ,ive noticed some have dark patches on them their dad has quite a speckly coat is this to do with their colouring when they get a coat?

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Yes, the only rabbits who are actually born bright pink are white and brightly colored rabbits, you can see here they actually have different colors even as babies:

(These eventually turned black, brown sables (the brighter grey ones) and REW (the pink ones))
Spotted infants will turn spotted as adults, we've had quite a few broken rabbits at school and they were spotted as babies too.

(Yes I handle newborn rabbits, I don't cuddle them but I sometimes pick them up to check on them and they are fine! No mother has ever eaten the kits I've picked up, not for that reason anyway)

It might be worth getting the boy neutered very soon so that by the time the babies are weaned your boy will have done his time and can go back in with the mum.

hes booked in for tuesday,they wernt hutch mates at all they got together during outside playtime,i didnt house them together as i thought they were 2 un neutered males.thanks for the pics i still dont think i could touch them yet would be scared of upsettin sid,my big fear now is that he caught her again since her having kits before i knew they were there! will she defo be pregnant again if he has?

Everything sounds fine it is ok to pick them up and handle them I play with them from day one so they are used to it clean it out at ten days after they are born the again at three weeks pm me for anything you need I'm a rabbit breeder so know lots about it

AllForTheAnimals said:

Everything sounds fine it is ok to pick them up and handle them I play with them from day one so they are used to it clean it out at ten days after they are born the again at three weeks pm me for anything you need I'm a rabbit breeder so know lots about it

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You pick up day old babies?:roll:

Angie65 said:

You pick up day old babies?:roll:

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I'm an AllForTheAnimal's side here. There's nothing wrong with picking up day old bunnies of a domestic mother rabbit. I've done it plenty of times to and like I said: none of them died.

yeah It's really fun also it makes them alot tamer when they are older you just got to watch out for the nibblers:lol:

hi all just a it of an update from an exited newbie lol!
sid seems to be doing ok still six babies 2 were abit lost away from nest so ive had to pick them up and put them back still looked fed and felt warm so hopefully they were just a bit late letting go after feeding and got carried!
I cant believe how lively they all are wriggling and jumping about! cleaned out sids side of hutch but left babys side well alone ,this was last night so hopfully its not bothered mum too much as all was well this morning.
fetching large hutch today ready for the lil family to move house once they are a bit bigger!

update on sids litter im so proud!

well the kits are thriving! sid turned out to be a great mum with all 6 kits surviving and getting strong! heres some pics of the lil ones all with good homes ready for their 7 week birthday!(apart from the 2 im keeping farmer pickles -the black one and stan- the dark tan one) new to photo bucket so bear with me!
three weeks today



at two weeks

They are just gorgeous! Mine have been causing me all sorts of trouble today. your story and photos remind me how very much I love them and would never be without them!

They are amazing