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Babies 4 weeks old - mum pulling fur this morning???

jvccoke

jvccoke

New Kit
Sorry it's gonna be a long one....
We have 2 dwarf lops that we were told by breeder and vet were both bucks. Just over 4 weeks ago we got up one morning to find one had had babies in the night. So I left mum with babies and separated dad away from them. All has gone well with them and we have 7 little ones now hopping around with mum.
Now this morning mum is frantically pulling her fur out again and has even been trying to pull some out from her babies!! I'm worried that the buck got her pregnant again in the hours after she had babies and when i found them and separated them.
If she does have another litter do i need to move the older babies out - they are all eating well and drinking lots of water, and look self sufficient. I have only seen mum feed them herself once so i've no idea if any are still having her milk at all.
I'm in a right flap about the prospect of having so many rabbits - I just hope they sell ok as we really can't keep any more. I've got my fingers crossed it's a phantom pregnancy. I feel really bad letting this happen. :(
PS - Daddy rabbit has been to vets and been castrated now.
Any advice or help would be great.
 
I've just looked again and she is now giving birth!!!!
Do i move the older babies out now???
Please anyone have any advice??
 
I wouldn't take the older babies out yet as they still need mum.

Hopefully, someone with more experience will be on to offer advice in a second. x
 
I am going on my own experiance only. My rabbit angels babys where 4 wks old when she started to reject them. She attacked one and sadly it had to be pts(dont realy no if it was her hurting them or an illness) she did it again and i seperated them all the next morining, and 4 days later she gave birth again they didnt survive. Are they eating? My vet who is a very rabbit savy vet said because they where at the start of weaning they would not need to be fed. It might not be the same in your case though. I would personaly take them away if they are eating but others might not agree. The toddlers as my son calls them are now around 10wks and seem to be doing fine. She also 12 days ago gave birth again to 6 babies which are also doing fine. If you have any concern i would phone you vet up for advice.
 
Thanks - i have removed the older babies at the moment as they were all clambering around mum giving birth.
They are all a good size and eat loads of food - they all rush over to the food bowl when i feed them. And they all drink loads of water. As i said before they all look self sufficient - but i have no experience of this!!
 
Dumpling said:
I am going on my own experiance only. My rabbit angels babys where 4 wks old when she started to reject them. She attacked one and sadly it had to be pts(dont realy no if it was her hurting them or an illness) she did it again and i seperated them all the next morining, and 4 days later she gave birth again they didnt survive. Are they eating? My vet who is a very rabbit savy vet said because they where at the start of weaning they would not need to be fed. It might not be the same in your case though. I would personaly take them away if they are eating but others might not agree. The toddlers as my son calls them are now around 10wks and seem to be doing fine. She also 12 days ago gave birth again to 6 babies which are also doing fine. If you have any concern i would phone you vet up for advice.
Click to expand...

My word...your bunny has had a lot of babies in a short space of time :shock:
 
I know she has. The new ones have new homes and she is going to be spayed asap after weaning. I havent kept it a secret on here that she has had babies. All the animals that i have are loved and cared for in always.
 
Last edited:
Have you removed the Buck now. Bucks can remain fertile for up to 4 weeks after castration.
If not the Doe may well be pregnant yet again :cry:

If you remove the 4 week old Kits I'd still supplement their feeds with some Full Fat Goats Milk and an added probiotic until they are 8 weeks of age. They will need the additional nutrients, especially calcium.
I have recently successfully reared 5 orphans from the age of 2.5 weeks by giving them the Goats Milk and probiotics along with tons of good quality hay and an appropriate pelleted feed.
 
Some rabbits may accept having two litters around but sadly most don't:cry:
Don't rehome the older babies just yet, even if they are eating they should be kept in their old home till they are at least 8 weeks, or the chances of them falling ill as adults will increase. Its not because of the milk, but they are so used to the bacteria flora at your home so they need to stay there till their immune system gets time to develop properly.
 
Thanks for all your replies.
The buck was removed as soon as i saw she'd had the first lot of babies and has since been castrated but not put back with the doe at all since.
I won't attempt to rehome the older babies yet; i'll make sure they're doing ok without mum first so will wait a few weeks.
I'll look into the extra dietary things you recommend - again thank you.
What a morning!!!
 
I think you did the right thing in removing the older babies, the new ones, i very much doubt, would survive with the older ones around.
Good luck with them all x
 
Gosh you'll be a busy bee! Hope all the babies and mum are ok.

Remember, its best to wait until the babies are at least 8 weeks old before rehoming :) And... i'd get them to the vets to be sexed when theyre around 10 weeks old, so you can seperate the sexes into different hutches, as you dont want more babies :)

Good luck xXx
 
Glad you seperated the babies. Angels are doing fine and are all tame. They wash your hands when you put your hand in there cage. They have been to the vets at 4wks and about 6wks they thought they where 3 girls and 1 boy but bring them back when they are about 12wks to double check.
 
Oh you poor thing, lol. That's a lot of work.

I think you're doing everything right - the older buns should be ok away from mum 24/7 now, the tiny newborns need her more.

Don't take the comments about the litters personally (this is for you too Dumpling), some people don't read everything first, and they comment without all the facts. They love buns and are just concerned that there will be more unwanted babies that's all.

This wasn't your fault, you were left to deal with a situation that is less than ideal but you stepped up, so did Dumpling - woo hoo to both of you ;)
 
Becky86 said:
Gosh you'll be a busy bee! Hope all the babies and mum are ok.

Remember, its best to wait until the babies are at least 8 weeks old before rehoming :) And... i'd get them to the vets to be sexed when theyre around 10 weeks old, so you can seperate the sexes into different hutches, as you dont want more babies :)

Good luck xXx
Click to expand...

Some vets are useless though!! My vet has only ever sexed one of my buns correctly (and I think that was a fluke :lol:)
I had to get in contact with a breeder in the end so they could show me how to do it (got contact details from local pet shop)
I do blame myself as well though as I should have found all this out before getting my buns, I am an experienced piggie keeper and stupidly assumed that bunnies would be as easy to sex as piggies are!!
 
Thanks everyone for all your advice. Just to update you - the older babies are doing just fine without mum and seem to be enjoying their new hutch which i had to get rather quickly!!!
The new babies are all doing ok as well - nice round tummies.
With regards to getting them sexed i was thinking of taking them to the vet - but i do have reservations about this. When we bought our two from a breeder she told us they were two boys and when i first took them to the vet i asked her to confirm this; which she did!! Both were obviously wrong - hence the sudden arrival of all these babies.
 
jvccoke said:
Thanks everyone for all your advice. Just to update you - the older babies are doing just fine without mum and seem to be enjoying their new hutch which i had to get rather quickly!!!
The new babies are all doing ok as well - nice round tummies.
With regards to getting them sexed i was thinking of taking them to the vet - but i do have reservations about this. When we bought our two from a breeder she told us they were two boys and when i first took them to the vet i asked her to confirm this; which she did!! Both were obviously wrong - hence the sudden arrival of all these babies.
Click to expand...

I'm glad the babies, young and older are all doing well :D
I think the important thing is, make sure the vet you take them to is rabbit savvy. Many vets receive very little training in vet school about rabbits and small animals. Generally only those vets that have a special interest in small animal medicine and attend various conferences and courses will be well praticed with sexing rabbits and their healthcare.
If you post the general area where you are someone here may be able to recommend a good rabbit savvy vet.
Good luck with them I hope all continues to go well x
 
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