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hand rearing baby wildie-advice please x..V sad update...please can you shed light?

Nicola3

Mama Doe
Hello friends.

I received a phone call from a local vet practice yesterday asking if I would take in a baby wildie that needs hand rearing. The girl I spoke to thinks he's about 3 weeks old. She fed him a little goats milk last night and he was seen to lap some water from a bowl yesterday evening.

I would be very grateful for any advice regarding hand rearing buns as I have never handreared a baby bun before.

How much milk do I give the bun at each sitting? The girl I spoke to said he should only need a couple of feeds a day now.

What's the best way of warming the milk up for the bunny? Obviously he can't have it cold.

Any other things I need to know and anything else I can give him?

Any advice/help would be greatly appreciated.

Love, Nicola x x x
 
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I think you can feed wildies some mushed grass (How you mush it is beyond me! :lol:) as it's what they'd have in the wild. Have you got a heat pad to put him on?

Best way to heat the milk is to put it in a bottle and put that bottle in a bowl of boiling water. ...then syringe from there.

I don't know about regularity of feed, but I know my breeder friend feeds handreared babies every 4ish hours, until their bellies are all round and full. He should have a bit of a bot belly.
........actually he won't have as noticeable belly as he's 3 weeks old. I'd wait for him to settle in to a routine and then at about 4/5 weeks offer him some pellets.
 
Thanks Teddy's mummy x x x

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

How many mls do I feed at each sitting?

I've read some peeps put probiotic in the milk?

I will try and get a heat pad from the vets.

Any other tips and advice much appreciated.

love, Nicola x x x
 
Everything depends on whether he is going to be released back to the wild (not really advisable with only one baby in the litter).

If he is going to be released he will need to start on grass now, supplemented with full fat goats milk, cimicat, esbilac or lactol gold kitten. If he laps up milk he must be well-on so won't need bottle/syringe feeding. Adding probiotics to the milk is a good idea (i.e. avipro).

If baby isn't going to be released, then don't risk giving him grass at this stage...just the milk, hay and a few junior pellets to encorage him to eat solids.

I find the easiest way to warm milk is to put it in a thin china cup and stand the cup in a tub of very hot water for a few minutes.

Remember that the number one cause of death in hand reared babies is bacterial gut infections...so make sure feeding equipment is sterilized and everything else is cleaned regularly.

Good luck :thumb:
 
Thanks Teddy's mummy x x x

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

How many mls do I feed at each sitting?

I've read some peeps put probiotic in the milk?

I will try and get a heat pad from the vets.

Any other tips and advice much appreciated.

love, Nicola x x x

You shouldn't really need a heat pad if he's 3 weeks old, as long as he's somewhere warm. You can put a snugglesafe in, but make sure he has room to get away from the heat if he wants to.

If he's lapping, don't worry about the amount. My 3 week olds wouldn't lap so I aimed to feed about 10-12mls each feed at that stage if I remember rightly.

You need to do a maximum of 3 feeds per day...weigh the baby regularly and if he isn't putting on weight at 2 feeds per day, you can up it to 3
 
You shouldn't really need a heat pad if he's 3 weeks old, as long as he's somewhere warm. You can put a snugglesafe in, but make sure he has room to get away from the heat if he wants to.

If he's lapping, don't worry about the amount. My 3 week olds wouldn't lap so I aimed to feed about 10-12mls each feed at that stage if I remember rightly.

You need to do a maximum of 3 feeds per day...weigh the baby regularly and if he isn't putting on weight at 2 feeds per day, you can up it to 3

Sorry...my mind was baby kit focused. :oops:
 
Thank you ever so much for replying.... I really appreciate any help or advice you can offer.

I haven't actual seen the little bun yet. I'm going to the vets today after work to collect him.

I have previously had two wildie buns...one of which, Harvey, I found in the road on Easter Sunday injured as a baby and the other was a rescue. It was Harvey who started my passion and love for bunnies. He died last year and I miss him with all my heart.

If the little one survives I will keep him and provide as stimulating an environment as I possibly can with another bunny for company. I know their needs are different to domestics.

I just want to make sure I have as much info as I can get to give him a good chance.

The vet nurse said he took the goats milk from the syringe. He was seen to lap water from a bowl but not the milk yet.

How much probiotic do I put in the milk?

Would anybody be willing to let me have their contact number just in case I need some help as I don't have a computer at home.

Thank you for all your help.

Love, Nicola x x x
 
The vet nurse said he took the goats milk from the syringe. He was seen to lap water from a bowl but not the milk yet.

A 1ml syringe with the smallest size teat on the end is best (catac ST1 here: http://www.catac.co.uk/shop/product.php?productid=172 ). Remember to keep baby in a normal upright position whilst feeding...never on his back. If baby starts to splutter or milk comes out his nose he could have aspirated milk, which can be fatal (n.b. milk going up the nose shouldn't be a problem).

How much probiotic do I put in the milk?.

Doesn't really matter, roughly a scoop per cupful.

Would anybody be willing to let me have their contact number just in case I need some help as I don't have a computer at home.

Will PM you

Also... always throw away unused milk after each feed...NEVER RE-HEAT MILK!!!!!

(sorry about the caps, but forgot to put that very important piece of info in my other posts)
 
Thank you Amy, you're an angel...... and thank you to everyone else who has replied x x x

Any other tips, hints, advice greatly appreciated.

Nicola x x x
 
very sad update...please can you shed light on cause? x

Hello friends. I picked the little wildie up from the vets on Tuesday and he had been doing brilliantly. Taking his goats milk mix brilliantly, munching hay and bopping around for Britain. He would even jump on my hand to come out of his indoor cage and sit on my lap to be syringe fed. At night time he would nestle on a fleecey blanket on my chest and fall asleep. He'd also been doing so well with the hay..munching away to his little hearts content and boundless amounts of energy...bombing all over his cage. He'd also been passing nice little droppings...everything was excellent. I really had bonded with the sweetheart. He had become a little ray of sunshine in my life, something positive to focus on and he had really given me a huge amount of happiness seeing him doing so well. This morning I gave him his usual feed and popped him back in his indoor cage....he was still bopping away and trying to clamber all over the place....a real little mischief. I popped out of the house at 10.30am to get some more goats milk...bought a new warm fleece blanket for him and some more protexin biolapis. When I got home at 1pm I went straight over to his cage to check on him and he was in the corner of his cage, he didn't look right, very quiet and subdued...not bouncing all over the place like I was used to. I picked him up and his head wasn't right, like he was trying to twist his head around..out of balance and his little front paws were pedalling in the air.His eyes were almost rolling around to the back of his head from time to time. His breathing was shallow so I wrapped him up in a blanket and just cuddled him close to me next to the fire...I knew he was going and my heart was breaking. All I could do was just hold him close against my chest and try and comfort him until he had gone. I couldn't believe he had gone as he was in such mischievous and spritely form when I left him. I am absolutely devastated and the tears are rolling down my face as I type. I just keep asking myself what happened? The only explanation I can think of is that maybe he knocked his head in his cage whilst I was out as he had been such a little acrobat..trying to clamber up the sides of the cage and falling..getting back up again and charging about or that he had something like e cunniculi but I would have thought I would have seen other signs...? His spine was all intact and there was no diarrohea or upset tummy.
I'm just very very sad that I've lost such a beautiful little soul that had brought me so much joy in the short time I've been looking after him. I had been meticulous with keeping everything clean and sterile...been staying up all hours to watch over him and make sure he was ok. I was so looking forward to seeing him live a long and happy life with another bunny. It's the anniversary of me finding my gorgeous wildie Harvey tomorrrow. Easter Sunday....I found him laying injured in tthe road 5 years ago...He passed away last year and I miss him every day.

I would be very grateful for any possible explanations as to how the little one died.

Lots of love and thanks, Nicola x x x
 
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Unfortunately babies go down hill extremely quickly. Three weeks is about when the ph in the gut changes and they are super sensitive. When they are being handreared sometimes even the best of care just isn't enough to get them through :cry:
 
Hi Tamsin,

Thank you for replying. I just wondered if anyone could shed light on the cause? There was no diarrohea, bloat etc. He was out of balance and his head was trying to twist around...like there was something wrong with his central nervous system.

Thank you for any explanations anyone can give.

Love, Nicola x x x
 
Awww Nicola,
I know how you feel and bless you for trying with the wildie. Attempting to hand rear anything can so often be heart breaking and they can so often die for no apparent reason. We can never offer the same nutrients and care that a true mother can and you sound like you did everything for the little guy.

Sending hugs to you.

I wouldn't beat yourself up about what the bunny was doing in the last few minutes as I have seen animals do that just before they pass away. It could've been anything. He died in caring, warm hands and that counts for so much.

Beth
 
Do you know the circumstances he was found in? I wonder if maybe the mum drove him out from the nest because she knew there was something wrong with him?

Having said that, he was at the crucial time and they can have gut problems without showing outward obvious signs and go very quick. Maybe he became septic from bad bacteria or something.

We probably won't ever know and thinking about it may torture yourself more because you won't ever get a definitive answer.

He was very lucky to die comfortably and have such good care while he was alive.
 
Aw no...binky free little one :cry:

Ditto what Tamsin and Beth have said...rabbits are one of the most difficult animals to hand rear, and they often die even you do everything right.

((hugs))
 
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