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Newborn concerns!

C

Clairey-Bun

New Kit
I posted a few days back as our Doe had an unexpected litter 3 days ago.

We have 2 surviving kits out of a litter of originally 4, however I am worried about one of them in particular. Of the 2 one is almost double the size of the other and it's the small one I'm concerned about. I'm guessing by day 3 he must be feeding to a degree otherwise he wouldn't still be here, but he doesn't have the same rounded belly as his litter mate, which i know is a good sign for them to have. While he is a wriggler in the nest, it's the other one who is far more lively. Basically I'm worried he's not making as much of an effort to get to mum when feeding time comes, whereas judging by the size and activity level of his litter mate, he certainly is!

I've read that its possible to manually latch them on to mum to make sure they get a feed. Does anyone have experience of this? That said our Doe is a right grumpy bum (she's always been that way), so trying to keep her still while we did that would be a challenge in itself!

Sorry for going on a bit, I'd be ever so grateful for any advice

Xx
 
What breeds are your bunnies? Dwarf breeds can have a genetic problem where they have a kit which is double dwarf and very tiny compared to the rest of the litter, they often have large skulls and might be odd looking not just smaller - unfortunately they don't usually make it.

Some variation in size isn't a problem, but not having a round belly does imply not feeding enough. If the mum is ok with you touching her and him you can try helping out. To do that you want to encourage mum to sit up - giving her some food usually helps and then hold the baby to a teat. If you've got someone, getting one person to hand feed mum while another holds baby might be easier. I'd suggest rubbing your hands in the litter first so you keep baby smelling right.
 
Mum's a Rex and dad is a Lop. No Dwarfs (that I know of) in the family.

We weighed them both yesterday and again this evening, the little one has lost a bit while fatty has gained! Mum has surprised us though as we thought we would have trouble trying to get the little one to latch on to her when we tried ourselves, but we managed it (eventually!). She's not one for sitting still and letting you do much to her! Took some coaxing though for the little one, even with the nipple on his nose several times it was like he didn't get the idea? Eventually he latched on for a little while but not for a long as we would have liked, maybe only 1 minute? Then mum had enough of us helping her sit still, and hopped off. I'm hoping that was better than nothing!

My partner witnessed her feeding them earlier on, the big one was right in there whereas our little fella didn't even make an effort :( So some intervening is needed I think.
 
You can also try to hold her in your lap with a towel or something under her - slowly spread your knees so you make a sort of 'hammock' under her and then post in the little one. They usually go from nipple to nipple so latch on then off and latch on another one then off then latch on again etc etc - so you may need to try and keep her there whilst he does that rather than her scooting off as soon as he has tried one. You should try this several times a day as although they usually only feed once or at most twice a day the little one sounds like they need lots more food - loosing weight is very bad sign.

If trying the hammock effect make sure he does not fall out or she kick him.

Alternatively try and find someone with experience of hand rearing asap.
 
Baby rabbits don't feed for a long period - around five minutes once a day. So if you can get him to latch on for a minute or so three times a day that should go along way to helping compensate. Hopefully you'll find it gets easier after you've done it a couple of times and he may feed better once he's built up some strength. You might find mums dinner time is a good one and you can then handfeed her dry food a pellet at a time to keep her still.

I'd be reluctant to add substitute milk as there isn't a great one for rabbits and it can upset their gut, so if she's got milk that's best. It might be worth giving him water though as dehydration will effect him faster than lack of food. Boil the water and let it cool, and use a 1ml syringe (no needle) very slowly a drop at a time as you don't want him to inhale it. He'll probably only take a syringe at a time.
 
I'll try the hammock suggestion, though don't hold out much hope as she's a nightmare to handle if it involves lifting her off the floor. When we have succeeded in the past all she wants to do is get away and she hardly keeps still :(

I've contacted a friend who I remember kept buns many years ago. She's only had to hand rear once and she used a prem baby milk formula to do so. Other accounts I've found online suggest goats milk. It's all very confusing, don't want to do right for doing wrong!

Fortunately I have a supply of 1ml syrginges at my disposal, as I'm a nurse and have access to them from work - at least that's something!
 
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Just from a little experience I have had at attempting hand feeding, it is extremely difficult to avoid risks of the baby aspirating the milk. So I would suggest only resulting to hand feeding if there is no other way to get the kit to nurse enough from it's mom, and it seems necessary to attempt to help the kit survive.

It may just be that the baby is a runt and needs an extra hand to start to thrive. But you should be aware that there are some potentially fatal health conditions that some undersized kits can have. Tamsin mentioned one, which is the dwarf peanut.

Depending on what type of lop or rex the parents are, it is possible they carry the dwarfing gene. If both parents do then the baby may be a peanut. Unfortunately it is fatal and babies usually don't survive more than a week. Another possibility is that the baby could be a fader. These babies can survive for several weeks but often succumb to whatever medical issue is causing the failure to thrive.

Wishing for the best possible outcome and that little baby starts to gain some strength as it nurses some more.
 
If you do handrear then goats milk or kitten formula is best, but the survival rate for handrearing from such a young age is really low with rabbits so sticking with mum is babies best chance. I would try with mum over the next day or and see if it gets easier and you may find that's enough to get him going.
 
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