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Should I start hand rearing my 3 day old kits...

brutalbaby

Warren Scout
Here is the thread so that you all know the situations, theres a video on there aswell of my babies yesterday.

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?324814-Ok-mummy-had-babies-yesterday-morning....

Basically they are 3 days old, I have 4 of them... they all seem to be being fed but they dont quite have the full round looking bellies. I have 3 black ones and one butterfly... that one is the one that's worrying me the most she seems smaller and thinner then the others. Do you think I should start feeding them with milk myself? Mums too stubborn for me to hold her and attach a little one to her nipple, and ive tried standing her over the nest when shes eating so they can grab on to her... but shes very moany!! Please help
 
Nope. Absolutely not. You will likely do more harm than good. The best you can do is try and help mum feed them, but equally, if she is feeding them early in the evening, then they won't look as full and round now, so you may be checking them when they are due a feed.

I would suggest helping mum feed them (in the way I mentioned on the other thread), and also checking just before you go to bed and seeing if they look any different.
 
Nope. Absolutely not. You will likely do more harm than good. The best you can do is try and help mum feed them, but equally, if she is feeding them early in the evening, then they won't look as full and round now, so you may be checking them when they are due a feed.

I would suggest helping mum feed them (in the way I mentioned on the other thread), and also checking just before you go to bed and seeing if they look any different.

I would second this - can you get someone else t help you hold her over them whilst you 'slip them in' underneath her? They will find the nipple themselves. We used to hold the bun on a lap with a towel underneath her - then slightly part our legs so there was a sort of hollow' or 'hammock' of the towel then slip one in.
 
I would second this - can you get someone else t help you hold her over them whilst you 'slip them in' underneath her? They will find the nipple themselves. We used to hold the bun on a lap with a towel underneath her - then slightly part our legs so there was a sort of hollow' or 'hammock' of the towel then slip one in.

That's a good tactic. *makes mental note to self*
 
Thanks guys, I wasnt going to hand rear them until last resort. I was quite scared on how thin the little pink one looked. But this afternoon I got my hubby to hold her in a towel on her back while I held a baby by her nipple all of them latched on with no probs :)
 
Well done! I would guess all are looking much better now?

You can keep doing this as regularly as you feel they need it. Mum's milk might still be coming in (can take up to 72 hours initially and it will still be colostrum) and you might find that once she susses it you will need to help less.

I think you did brilliantly :D
 
babies looking healthy and strong

Ok its day 6 now since the babies have been born, appears mummy has been feeding them as we left them for 2 days (still checking on them) and mum had been feeding them. Today we helped her feed them just to fatten them up a bit more, but I think by us helping her she gets the idea of how to feed her babies now. The fur is growing on them now and the ears are getting bigger, sweet little things :love:
 
I'd definitely try restrain her first before trying to hand rear, and even if it did come to that I'd keep them with mum so they were still getting a bit of rabbit milk on top of cat/goat milk whatever you decided to feed. Strangely one of my rabbits and its litter were hand reared on SMA gold and survived :? (I didn't hand rear them)
 
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