maggie12566
New Kit
hi all one of my rabbit does has had babies three days ago any advice on what to do now would be much appreciated hope to hear from you soon
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babies
- Thread starter maggie12566
- Start date
Jack's-Jane
Wise Old Thumper
Have you removed the Buck ?
If not the Doe will be pregnant again and will give birth to another litter in about 30 days
Have you checked that there are no dead kits in the nest?
The Doe will drink more whilst lactating and she should have access to good quality hay 24/7 plus her normal pelleted feed. If she is used to dark leafy greens these can be fed in moderation as they help promote milk production.
She should do all the work for the Kits and will only feed them once a day, usually at night. You will need to check the kits a few times a day to make sure none have been scattered from the nest. If you have to touch the nest or the Kits rub your hands in Mum's toilet area first so you have her scent on you. If Mum is restless with you being near her babies take her out of the hutch before attempting to do anything with the Kits/nest
The Kits should have rounded bellies and their skin should not be very wrinkly. Flat bellies and wrinkly skin indicates that they are not being fed.
They will develope a downy fur at about 5 days and their eyes should open by day 10. From anytime after their eyes open they may stray from the nest so care needs to be taken that they cant fall down any hutch ramps etc.
They will start to nibble hay and any feed Mum has as they venture from the nest. They can have veg as long as Mum has been having it too. The Kits can be vaccinated against Myxomatosis at 6 weeks and VHD at 10 weeks (for the CYLAP VHD). Lapinject VHD Vaccine can be given at 5 weeks but personally I would not vaccinate such a young Rabbit. I would leave it til the 10 week mark.
The Kits should be weaned at 8 weeks and the Bucks seperated from the Does by 10-12 weeks.
If not the Doe will be pregnant again and will give birth to another litter in about 30 days
Have you checked that there are no dead kits in the nest?
The Doe will drink more whilst lactating and she should have access to good quality hay 24/7 plus her normal pelleted feed. If she is used to dark leafy greens these can be fed in moderation as they help promote milk production.
She should do all the work for the Kits and will only feed them once a day, usually at night. You will need to check the kits a few times a day to make sure none have been scattered from the nest. If you have to touch the nest or the Kits rub your hands in Mum's toilet area first so you have her scent on you. If Mum is restless with you being near her babies take her out of the hutch before attempting to do anything with the Kits/nest
The Kits should have rounded bellies and their skin should not be very wrinkly. Flat bellies and wrinkly skin indicates that they are not being fed.
They will develope a downy fur at about 5 days and their eyes should open by day 10. From anytime after their eyes open they may stray from the nest so care needs to be taken that they cant fall down any hutch ramps etc.
They will start to nibble hay and any feed Mum has as they venture from the nest. They can have veg as long as Mum has been having it too. The Kits can be vaccinated against Myxomatosis at 6 weeks and VHD at 10 weeks (for the CYLAP VHD). Lapinject VHD Vaccine can be given at 5 weeks but personally I would not vaccinate such a young Rabbit. I would leave it til the 10 week mark.
The Kits should be weaned at 8 weeks and the Bucks seperated from the Does by 10-12 weeks.
not really got anything to add except that at 12 weeks you should start sexing them and putting them into same sex groups. please dont rehome before 8 weeks even if they are weaned from mum as they still need to learn things from her. if it ends up them not being fed and you have to hand rear this has a very low sucsess rate...so try adn keep mum doing all the work if you can... if adn only if she stops feeding tehm for whatever reason then you will need goats milk and to feed them 4-6 times a day i think. x
when it comes to rehoming it is advisable to put an amount on them if advertising on fre ad sites as this discourages people looking for snake food. also neutering will stop accidental litters from the babies and will mean a male adn female can be paired to go live togehter. all buns should be vaccs before rehoming, also one other thing id like to add please homecheck so many people fall short of knowing how to really care for bunnys adn the home may not be suitable... ie house rabbits wires available or toxic plants... or cages too small and no run attatched.. or outdoros hutch open to elements no cover for winter les than 6ft length. good luck to mum and bbies x
when it comes to rehoming it is advisable to put an amount on them if advertising on fre ad sites as this discourages people looking for snake food. also neutering will stop accidental litters from the babies and will mean a male adn female can be paired to go live togehter. all buns should be vaccs before rehoming, also one other thing id like to add please homecheck so many people fall short of knowing how to really care for bunnys adn the home may not be suitable... ie house rabbits wires available or toxic plants... or cages too small and no run attatched.. or outdoros hutch open to elements no cover for winter les than 6ft length. good luck to mum and bbies x
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hi congrats on the new babies, My doe had babies yesterday and i have three week old kits too. All i can add is you can check on the babies, i do once a day in the morning while mum is feeding, of course i rub mum first etc like mentioned. Just to check they are ok. Dont disburb the nest too much though. Just dont scare mum. goodluck xxx
maggie12566
New Kit
thanks very much as i was at a loose end with it i have checked and they feel warm and have fur so think mummy is looking after them thanks for the advice and will let you no how they do thanks again maggie
