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Need help 12 kits!

Kellylou89

Warren Scout
I rescued a supposedly Rex rabbit about 2(ish) weeks ago .. only she isn't Rex shes old English .. she began making a nest a couple of days later, so i asked her previous partner "has she ever been with a buck as she is nest building" to which he adamantly said " no no she was my in my aviary" .. so i thought ok, phantom pregnancy.
Yday i noticed she was alot heavier, firmer and low hanging tum so i sat and watched her and saw her tummy rolling etc .. pretty much written in stone so my plan of action was go and get a nest box today just encase .. i have been at my brothers today for lunch, just got home, went to cover the buns up and checked on her to find a nest and inside that nest TWELVE kits!!!.
All are alive!! .. my only concern is, is she going to be able to feed a whopping twelve kits!?!? .. do i rotate daily put the smaller ones on top and the fed ones below or do i try and foster some onto my other bunny who had 3 on the 2nd june .. the 3 born on the 2nd are big now tho and almost ready to open there eyes so would that work?
she made two nests and must of had some then had some more, so the only thing i did do was put them all together in one nest as i have been told two nests its likely the one nest will be forgotten/ignored.
I have left them for now see how mom does with them tonight and if i need to interfere in the morning i will do!
Any advice?
 
If you havent already I'd increase her pellet ration (gradually so as to not upset her stomach) to unlimited, and make sure it has a decent protein level as well as fibre level, as feeding all of those will be really hard on her body. I'm afraid to say she may not feed them all though, she may abandon the weak ones, and to be honest I'm not sure how much you should interfere with that, as bad as that sounds, as feeding 12 kits is going to be a strain on her. It might be best to contact a vet. Is she in good health and a good weight? Also, you can check the babies tums every day to see if they are round, so you know if they have been fed, as it is unlikely you'll actually see mum feeding. Give mum a good stroke or rub your hands in her bedding and maybe droppings before touching the babies, juust to be on the safe side.
 
Ive took in rabbits that have had kits before and know all the things i need to do and what happens etc, however ive never had such a big litter before and know that 12 is a big litter and her feeding all of them is 99.9% no chance.
Do i try and foster them onto my other rabbit who's litter is a week old or do i just let nature take its course? .. i will be phoning the vet tomorrow yep :)
 
Shoud check them a couple of times a day to see if their bellies are full (they only feed once-twice in a 24 hour period), Should make sure she has plenty of hay and water (obviously) and would gradually increase her feed / maybe give her some high protein hay like alfafa to increase milk production.

If some are clearly not being fed, you can buy milk replacement (have no idea from where) or goats milk seems to be the most successful substitute and need to feed small amounts from a syringe.

You can get her to feed the babies by flipping her over and holding the smaller ones to her nipples (although wouldnt recommend it as would cause stress and/or she could hurt the babies if struggling).
 
Shoud check them a couple of times a day to see if their bellies are full (they only feed once-twice in a 24 hour period), Should make sure she has plenty of hay and water (obviously) and would gradually increase her feed / maybe give her some high protein hay like alfafa to increase milk production.

If some are clearly not being fed, you can buy milk replacement (have no idea from where) or goats milk seems to be the most successful substitute and need to feed small amounts from a syringe.

You can get her to feed the babies by flipping her over and holding the smaller ones to her nipples (although wouldnt recommend it as would cause stress and/or she could hurt the babies if struggling).

Thankyou! i heard about milk substitute .. i will ring my vets first thing to be sure on the best substitute .. unfortunately demi wont let me turn her over, she is a cruelty case she was dumped in an aviary never handled and just thrown food in, and i have only just about started making progress on her been picked up and carried to the run, she would flip out and stress so i cant really do that.
Thanks for the help! :)
 
Did just think she might forget one of the nests, don't know what to do about that if you had her for longer and she was more comfortable with you would say put them in the larger nest so they all have a shot at milk, but that could cause her to abandom them all together

No matter what you decide before handling them its best to give her a good fuss first so your hands smell like her and your not scenting them with you (if that makes sense its late :p) or some people recommend putting vanilla on their nose so by the time it wears off they will smell like her again anyway
 
Did just think she might forget one of the nests, don't know what to do about that if you had her for longer and she was more comfortable with you would say put them in the larger nest so they all have a shot at milk, but that could cause her to abandom them all together

No matter what you decide before handling them its best to give her a good fuss first so your hands smell like her and your not scenting them with you (if that makes sense its late :p) or some people recommend putting vanilla on their nose so by the time it wears off they will smell like her again anyway

Yep i always do the scent thing and i use some of there pulled fur to rub into my hands too, know about all that side no worries ;) .. she does trust me i moved the separate kits into the big nest no problem, while she was eating her fresh hay, then she went had a nose to check them and returned to her food .. its all trial and error at the moment, i doubt il get alot of sleep tonight be worrying haha
 
Good luck with the sleepless night ^^ would love to know how it turns out and will keep my fingers crossed for you ^^
 
It sounds like a good idea to let the other bun feed some of the babies, however I would be worried about her kits bullying the smaller ones.
 
I have no advice, but just thought I'd keep this bumped up for you and hope the kits are doing OK.
:love:
 
Thanks all! I am of to get some supplement today, i dont think fostering them onto my other bun would work as they are so much bigger and almost have there eyes open that they may fall to the bottom of the nest and die.
All 12 are alive this morning, nice and warm it seems all have been fed, some more than others but the smaller ones do i have small rounded tum!.
I was going to put mom and babies in an indoor cage and put them in my room so i can check all the time easier and feed if needed, but wasnt sure i moving he would stress her so i left her where she is
 
I think moving them would prove very stressful, especially as she is nervous of humans and indoors she will be around them a lot. Moving the nest also can cause them to abandon or destroy it, or even kill the babies. Best to leave them where they are and play it by ear I think. I'd count them everyday and make sure they are being fed - I'd also get some cimicat milk just in case, but dont use it unless you 100% have to, as hand-rearing is not only hard, but also dangerous for the baby due to the milk not being rabbit milk and so nowhere near as rich, and the big risk of aspiration of it when feeding.
 
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