Back with baby questions

Hi all, I last posted on here when our female Netherland Dwarf "Frisky" had an unexpected litter. Sadly all those babies died. We had the male "Cookie" neutered but due to timing he must have made Frisky pregnant again shortly after she gave birth and we now have 3, 12 day old kits who seem to be doing well so far.

I'm back for advice again, if anyone can help.

We check the babies daily and they have so far stayed in the nest with no issues. However we've been very worried about taking them out and handling them in case Frisky gets stressed by this, so we've not fully examined them. We can definitely see that at least one has partially opened his/her eyes.

My questions are: should we be taking them out of the nest and handling them to check that they are healthy and well? Also, as it is 2 weeks today since they were born, should we be taking them out of the nest and cleaning the hutch (discarding the current hay and nest), then re-make the nest with as much of the saved fur Frisky originally used (she used a LOT!!) in order to give them a clean nest to snuggle in?

Or, should we be leaving everything alone and just clean the rest of the hutch, leaving the bedroom as it is (the nest is in the hay in the bedroom). This is how we have been handling the cleaning so far, cleaning the rest of the hutch but leaving the bedroom.

Any advice appreciated.

Russell

russhill said:

Hi all, I last posted on here when our female Netherland Dwarf "Frisky" had an unexpected litter. Sadly all those babies died. We had the male "Cookie" neutered but due to timing he must have made Frisky pregnant again shortly after she gave birth and we now have 3, 12 day old kits who seem to be doing well so far.

I'm back for advice again, if anyone can help.

We check the babies daily and they have so far stayed in the nest with no issues. However we've been very worried about taking them out and handling them in case Frisky gets stressed by this, so we've not fully examined them. We can definitely see that at least one has partially opened his/her eyes.

My questions are: should we be taking them out of the nest and handling them to check that they are healthy and well? Also, as it is 2 weeks today since they were born, should we be taking them out of the nest and cleaning the hutch (discarding the current hay and nest), then re-make the nest with as much of the saved fur Frisky originally used (she used a LOT!!) in order to give them a clean nest to snuggle in?

Or, should we be leaving everything alone and just clean the rest of the hutch, leaving the bedroom as it is (the nest is in the hay in the bedroom). This is how we have been handling the cleaning so far, cleaning the rest of the hutch but leaving the bedroom.

Any advice appreciated.

Russell

Click to expand...

This may be useful to read:

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/s...ng-on-Babies&p=5210254&viewfull=1#post5210254


And more details here :

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?327923-Accidental-Litters-and-Taking-on-Babies

Hi and thanks. I had read through most of that and there is great advice there. I admit I still feel very nervous about getting the babies out of the nest and trying to remake it after cleaning. I really do hope Frisky isn't put off them by the disruption to the bedroom.

Should I just go ahead and do it? The last thing I want is for the little ones to get nest eye or other issues if the nest is unclean...

russhill said:

Hi and thanks. I had read through most of that and there is great advice there. I admit I still feel very nervous about getting the babies out of the nest and trying to remake it after cleaning. I really do hope Frisky isn't put off them by the disruption to the bedroom.

Should I just go ahead and do it? The last thing I want is for the little ones to get nest eye or other issues if the nest is unclean...

Click to expand...

I would definitely check on the kits and clean the nest now. You could remove Frisky well away from it all as you do it. Scent your hands in some of Frisky's bedding before you handle the kits/nest. As you mentioned, once you have removed any soiled nest and put fresh hay in you can put a bit of the fur from the original nest back too.

Personally I would normally have played this by ear as it were, so what I mean is if you see the nest is looking grubby then clean it, but if it is staying reasonably clesan then leave it for a little longer. In another week the babies will be leaving the nest at times so it isn't as important to them. I am pleased to hear Mum and babies are doing well. Don't worry if you need any more help, please ask.

Thanks for the responses. We opted to take the babies out, check them over and clean the nest - while at first the nest looked fine, as you dug to the bottom it was damp with wee, so I think we did the best thing. We remade the nest with all of the original Frisky-fur so that it was as close to the way it was as possible.

For anyone interested, here's a quick video of the 3 little munchkins.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18lTgJhy5rw

2 of them have both eyes open, the black one has one eye open and the other partly open (just a slit). We aim to keep a close watch on the black ones eyes.

Is it recommended to bathe the eye with warm water to try and see if it will open? I note the linked article says to try holding a warm wet compress on the eye - would warm water and cotton wool do for this?

Thanks again. My 2 children found the whole thing an amazing experience to see the babies and hold them, to be honest, so did my wife and I!

russhill said:

Thanks for the responses. We opted to take the babies out, check them over and clean the nest - while at first the nest looked fine, as you dug to the bottom it was damp with wee, so I think we did the best thing. We remade the nest with all of the original Frisky-fur so that it was as close to the way it was as possible.

For anyone interested, here's a quick video of the 3 little munchkins.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18lTgJhy5rw

2 of them have both eyes open, the black one has one eye open and the other partly open (just a slit). We aim to keep a close watch on the black ones eyes.

Is it recommended to bathe the eye with warm water to try and see if it will open? I note the linked article says to try holding a warm wet compress on the eye - would warm water and cotton wool do for this?

Thanks again. My 2 children found the whole thing an amazing experience to see the babies and hold them, to be honest, so did my wife and I!

Click to expand...

Awwwwww very cute video !

Yes, I would use a cotton wool pad (the sort that doesn't 'moult' so-to-speak) and gently bathe the closed eye with cooled boiled water.

I hope the kits all continue to do well xx

russhill said:

Thanks for the responses. We opted to take the babies out, check them over and clean the nest - while at first the nest looked fine, as you dug to the bottom it was damp with wee, so I think we did the best thing. We remade the nest with all of the original Frisky-fur so that it was as close to the way it was as possible.

For anyone interested, here's a quick video of the 3 little munchkins.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18lTgJhy5rw

2 of them have both eyes open, the black one has one eye open and the other partly open (just a slit). We aim to keep a close watch on the black ones eyes.

Is it recommended to bathe the eye with warm water to try and see if it will open? I note the linked article says to try holding a warm wet compress on the eye - would warm water and cotton wool do for this?

Thanks again. My 2 children found the whole thing an amazing experience to see the babies and hold them, to be honest, so did my wife and I!

Click to expand...

That's a lovely video

And yes, bathing the eye will do no harm so long as you are gentle. Warm water and cotton wool is fine. Make sure the water is cooled from previously boiled to keep it as sterile as possible x

I would continue to handle the kits daily as it really is necessary, especially now their eyes have opened and they will have started nibbling on solid food. They need to be checked over for any signs of illness like an eye infection, which can sometimes develop while they are still in the nest, and once they start eating solid food their bums really need to be checked at least once a day, though twice a day is better, as they can develop soft poop from their gut adjusting to the new food, and this can cake over the rectal opening plugging it up.

Once their eyes have opened it is also important to handle them daily to help socialize them so they don't develop a fear of people. A good way to do this is bring them out for play time while you sit there with them in a rabbit safe environment. The socialization time is good for them as well as being a real joy to watch them play, especially at this age when everything is new to them and they are just learning how to do things. But do keep in mind(as I'm sure you are aware) that they are very squirmy, unpredictable, and very fragile at this age, so any handling needs to be done with great care.

If mom seems to get stressed from you checking the babies over or taking them out, you can try distracting her by using this time to feed or engage her in some other activity. If she is people friendly, you may even be able to bring her with the babies for play time, if it doesn't overly stress her.

They are adorable, as all baby bunnies are, and I think you and your kids will really enjoy your time with them.

Thanks again for the replies.

We took the babies out of the nest again today - while mom and dad where out in their run on the grass - and checked them over. The black ones closed eye is now open, so that's good news. We also took the opportunity to weigh them and keep a note - as we just cannot be sure that Frisky has gone back and is feeding them since we remade the nest yesterday.

Actually, there is one unusual change in behaviour since we remade the nest yesterday: on 2 occasions this morning, Frisky had been into the bedroom where the nest is and had rooted around in it, leaving the fur cover off the babies. We've never seen her do this before. Whether this was after she had been cleaning them or not, I simply don't know as it's so hard to catch her and see what she is doing. Has anyone experience that? Could it be deliberate or is it just accidental and a coincidence? It's 6.3C here today so it would seem unrelated to the mom wanting to keep the nest at a comfortable temperature...

Just to update: we have had the babies out and weighed them yesterday and today and they have all put on weight. There is one who is lighter than the others, but he's a feisty little fella. At the moment, we have 2 that are 114g and one that is 92g. They are 16 days old today. I would hope that as they gained weight over night that Frisky IS indeed feeding them. We noted that one of the babies was starting to nibble on hay when we got them out, which might mean they are going to start on "proper" food soon.

It could be she moved it as she was coming to nurse them, or some mom's have been known to adjust the fur covering if the babies are getting too warm. Babies by themselves, will also adjust the amount of fur covering them depending on their comfort level. If they are getting too hot they will wiggle themselves above the fur and spread out to help cool off. If they are cold they will dig down into the fur to cover them more and nestle close together. They are also developing a good fur coat at this stage and are almost to the point of not really needing mom's fur in the nest anymore, especially as the temperatures are getting a bit warmer. Usually around three weeks old you can remove the old nest of fur and hay and just replace it with a pile of hay to nestle into if they want. Usually they end up in a bunny pile to stay warm, or will snuggle in with mom.

They grow really fast at this stage. You may see them doubling their weight each week, sometimes even faster.

Thanks for the update, and if you ever want to throw in some baby pictures, it's always appreciated here. After all, who doesn't love to see cute baby bunnies

awww lovely little buns. i had a very similar situation but she had 6 kits. are you like us and cant bare to let them go? i dont envy the worry that comes with the joy though but then again we are still worrying about these 6 daily and they are 17 wks old now. enjoy the growing phase because its gone before you can blink. xx would love seeing more picks of mum and babies xx

Should I be worried though that today when we weighed the babies, 2 had put on 2g and the other had stayed the same? Jbun you mention them doubling in weight during a week, but we're not going to be anywhere near that at this rate. These are Netherland Dwarfs by the way.

Here's another video of the 3 of them, I'll get some pics posted next: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s72QUhi9RI

russhill said:

Thanks for the responses. We opted to take the babies out, check them over and clean the nest - while at first the nest looked fine, as you dug to the bottom it was damp with wee, so I think we did the best thing. We remade the nest with all of the original Frisky-fur so that it was as close to the way it was as possible.

For anyone interested, here's a quick video of the 3 little munchkins.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18lTgJhy5rw

2 of them have both eyes open, the black one has one eye open and the other partly open (just a slit). We aim to keep a close watch on the black ones eyes.

Is it recommended to bathe the eye with warm water to try and see if it will open? I note the linked article says to try holding a warm wet compress on the eye - would warm water and cotton wool do for this?

Thanks again. My 2 children found the whole thing an amazing experience to see the babies and hold them, to be honest, so did my wife and I!

Click to expand...

I watched your video and the three bunnies are very cute.

Here's Frisky, the mom:



Here's Cookie, the dad:



And the babies:

russhill said:

Thanks for the responses. We opted to take the babies out, check them over and clean the nest - while at first the nest looked fine, as you dug to the bottom it was damp with wee, so I think we did the best thing. We remade the nest with all of the original Frisky-fur so that it was as close to the way it was as possible.

For anyone interested, here's a quick video of the 3 little munchkins.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18lTgJhy5rw

2 of them have both eyes open, the black one has one eye open and the other partly open (just a slit). We aim to keep a close watch on the black ones eyes.

Is it recommended to bathe the eye with warm water to try and see if it will open? I note the linked article says to try holding a warm wet compress on the eye - would warm water and cotton wool do for this?

Thanks again. My 2 children found the whole thing an amazing experience to see the babies and hold them, to be honest, so did my wife and I!

Click to expand...

OMGosh they are beautiful! ♡

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They are the cutest little things!

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I have a black otter male ND that looks a lot like Frisky. Have you named the babies?

I don't have any helpful advice I'm afraid but oh my goodness they're cute! And mum and dad are lovely too