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underweight baby bunny - Tiny tom is actually Thumbelina!

ecudc

Warren Veteran
This is Tiny Tom. You can see how tiny he is compared to his brothers and sisters and is about a third of their size.

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I think he gets a bit flattened by them when it comes to milk time and is so small that he's finding even the junior pellets a bit of a mouthfull so I'm wondering what I can give him to help him on his way, given that mum may be dropping litter number two in about a weeks time. So far I have come up with the cunning plan of watering down some of the junior in to a paste which he might find easier. They also do nibble on mums veg so I thought a bit of grated carrot but after that I am a bit stumped. Can baby bunnies eat porridge? Could I mix it with kitten milk?

Obviously I don't want to pile on the new foods to be careful of their tums although they have taken to pellets and limited veg very well.
 
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I WANT HIM!!!!!!! I have a girlfriend for him.....same size too!! Oh please!! Oh please!!! Im not gonna stop chasing you till you give in!!!!!!:love::love::love::love::love::love:
 
well he wont be ready for rehoming (if he makes it) until he is neutered which will not be for probably 4-5 months but if you still have a space available then then I'm sure we'd consider you (subject to home checking). The one thing I would say is that he is very small and I am not 100% sure yet that he is going tp survive although I will try my hardest. There are indications that he may have problems other than just being small.
 
Aw...hope he survives and gets to be a big strong boy - I have no ideas for feeding him I'm afraid, but I'm sure someone on here will be able to help :)
 
well he wont be ready for rehoming (if he makes it) until he is neutered which will not be for probably 4-5 months but if you still have a space available then then I'm sure we'd consider you (subject to home checking). The one thing I would say is that he is very small and I am not 100% sure yet that he is going tp survive although I will try my hardest. There are indications that he may have problems other than just being small.

Awwww Bless him.
My Lily has a kyphosis of the spine, and malloclusion.Her brother has the same condition, but it seems to have stunted Lily.Shes 665 grammes....her brother is 1.4 kilo!!!
Really hope he has the constitution of an Ox, like my Lily Bun.Please keep me in the loop so to speak!!
 
Is he just tiny but still in proportion or is he thin and under weight?

It makes you wonder if his major organs are properly formed :(

I would try to stick to proper bunny food rather than use porridge especially if he is just tiny rather than under weight.

Rather than make a paste could you try bashing a few junior excel or SS pellets with a rolling pin to make them smaller? That way he will still need to use his teeth to eat them :?

Bless his little heart, sending lots of vibes for him :love:

ETA how old is he?
 
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have you tried latching him onto mum when the others are not on her?
if you support him and give her something nice to eat while doing it .then the best way to get him nourished:D
 
I don't think he is a peanut. The girls are neddie crosses but quite big. They were almost certainly mated with their brother so he may be peanut esque, although he was not noticably smaller than the others until about 10 days old. He is about the size of a large tomato (not beefsteak) and about 20 days old, the others are about the size of an aubergine :lol:. He is thinner than the others who have a nice baby covering of podge and fur.

I will try your tip honey bunny. I did have a go last week at that but she would not let me pick her up, especially not near the babies and I didn't want to put them at risk. Now they are out of the nest she is calmer, although I will still need to be careful as she is almost certianly pregnant again.

I like the idea of bashing up the pellets. I'll try that as well.
 
Even if he doesn't eat them it will make you feel better :lol:

Good Luck, sounds like you are doing a great job :)

oh er not to sure about that. The babies are all very happy and friendly but I worry what is going to happen when litter number 2 comes along (& probably 2 litters as two girls are still together because they came with kits and mum was??????). Depending on how big the litter is we may have to take the babies out when the next are born which isn't ideal. Fingers crossed for only 1 or 2. It will be an anxious few days once that nest appears.
 
oh er not to sure about that. The babies are all very happy and friendly but I worry what is going to happen when litter number 2 comes along (& probably 2 litters as two girls are still together because they came with kits and mum was??????). Depending on how big the litter is we may have to take the babies out when the next are born which isn't ideal. Fingers crossed for only 1 or 2. It will be an anxious few days once that nest appears.

I am sure you are :) Sounds like you are having to make the best of somebody elses mess :( You can only do your best:)

Even if the little one only has a short life, as long as it surrounded with love you will have given him everything he needs :)
 
update

tom is now big enough to eat junior pellets :) not only that he has now realised that he's small enough to fit in the food bowl & his brothers and sisters aren't so they can't push him off. Every time I go in the shed now tiny tom is sitting in one of the bowls scoffing away to his hearts content! he gets his own little mini breakfast first in my kitchen before the others with some grated carrot & bananna and goats milk that he seems to enjoy. Mum is not keen on being picked up so wasn't able to suckle him off her without causing her extra stress. Given that she is due to give birth again in just under a week I'd rather not stress her out too much.
 
tom is now big enough to eat junior pellets :) not only that he has now realised that he's small enough to fit in the food bowl & his brothers and sisters aren't so they can't push him off. Every time I go in the shed now tiny tom is sitting in one of the bowls scoffing away to his hearts content! he gets his own little mini breakfast first in my kitchen before the others with some grated carrot & bananna and goats milk that he seems to enjoy. Mum is not keen on being picked up so wasn't able to suckle him off her without causing her extra stress. Given that she is due to give birth again in just under a week I'd rather not stress her out too much.

Sounds as though your doing a fab job !!

Way t' go Tiny Tom. Keep eating so much and you'll soon be 'Major Tom' :D
 
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