Baby bunny just born - HELP!

Well...so much for Spice and Mitzy being two GIRLS!! :roll:

Last night, when they were out of their cage, Spice (the little one) kept tearing up the newspaper and carrying it into her litterbox...she never actually LEFT the paper in the box - she would carry it out again and then run back in with it and dig around in her box then carry it out again, over and over. My husband said, "What is she DOING?" I said, "It looks like nesting behavior to me...I will call the vet in the morning and see if we can get her in for her "pre-spay" visit sooner than the scheduled appointment on the 21st."

This morning, when I uncovered their cage, an entire side of the cage was COVERED in bunny hair - like she had pulled it out of herself or Mitzy and made a little nest.

So, I called the vet and explained what had occurred and she told me just to keep my appointment for next Tuesday.

WELL...about one hour later, I went to the cage to clean the bowls and lo and behold there is a pink, naked, little baby bunny in there!

AGH! I called the vet again and said, "HELP! WHAT DO I DO?"

I was told to take Mitzy/Daddy out of the cage (because he was suddenly mounting poor Spice CONSTANTLY!) and leave Spice and the baby alone. I added some shredded newspaper and tissue and put down a nice soft towel. There was a LITTLE spot of blood on the aspen chips...just a spot and I am ASSUMING it was from birth. I filled Spice's bowls with timothy hay and pellets. I put Mitzy/Daddy in a separate cage, but right next to Spice because I do not believe they have been separated since they were introduced in March.

Spice is NOT paying any attention to the baby. The vet said not to worry - that she is probably still in labor and will tend to ALL the babies once she is done. I put a little stuffed animal next to the baby to cuddle with and keep warm - although the air conditioning in my house is set at 74F (23C), so it is not too cold.

I didn't think to ask if I should worry that Spice is 3.5 pounds and Mitzy/Daddy is 4.5 pounds - if I should worry that these babies may be too big for Spice to birth! Also, keep in mind that from my understanding, Spice and Mitzy are only about 6-8 months old!

I am going to go back on your forum and read as many old "birthing" posts as I can find to learn what I should be doing. In the meantime, ANY and ALL suggestions and thoughts are COMPLETELY appreciated and welcomed!!

THANK YOU!

Michelle

Best suggestion I can make is to leave Mum to it for now! Well done on taking Dad out tho and hopefully she is still in labour cos I hate to tell you this but rabbits can get pregnant again 1hour after giving birth!! Is the baby snuggled up in the nest and are you sure there is only one as rabbits do tend to give birth at night, not during the day?

Just seen you are in the USA so guessing it might be night for you now? If she is still in labour just leave her to it, if you interfere too much it might stress her out and she may kill the kits. Be warned tho some first time mums litters don't make it. Fingers crossed for her and the kits.x

Oh gosh that is a surprise:shock: I think you've done everything quite well, but I am no expert.

However, it is my understanding that does can get pregnant again straight away, and if he has already mounted her it maybe that she already is. Also I have heard that she could get pregant through the bars of the cage (if it is a cage) and that perhaps he needs to be moved further away but where they can still see each other.

I'm not sure how long it will be until she csn be spayed as she needs to look after her little one, but i'm sure the more experienced members will be along shortly with tonnes of advice.

Good luck with everything!

I wouldn't worry about her ignoring the baby. That's completely natural.
Rabbits only visit their babies once or twice a day to feed them, in the wild they don't even sleep with them.

6-8 months isn't really too bad for a first time mother, bunnies can give birht as early as 4 months, but it is prefered to not breed them before they are 6-8.

I'm a bit more worried that if the male did mount her after giving birht it's high chances she's already pregnant:? It doesn't take much to impregnate a female bun.

Just looking ahead, as I know nothing about baby bunnies that's not already been said - When you get the boy neutered make sure you keep him away from her for 8 weeks as he will still be fertile. Best wishes to the babies and poor mum meanwhile :shock:

Thank you all so much for the kind replies! I am so nervous here this morning!

Thank you all for the information about males and the fact that Spice could be pregnant again! SIGH! Of course, baby bunnies are ADORABLE but they are so hard to find good homes for here in the US (or at least in my neck of the woods!). There are ads for them EVERYWHERE for FREE!

Spice does seem like she might be trying to have more babies...she moves from one place to another in her cage a lot and keeps licking herself (is it called a vagina in bunny anatomy?). I have not seen another baby, and I have not seen her tend to the baby. I'm so worried about the baby - and Spice - but your kind replies have really made me less nervous. Is it REALLY OK for a baby not to nurse for several hours?

It is now 1:50 PM here - I THINK we are five hours behind you timewise. To the best of my knowledge, the baby was born about 2 hours ago - around 11:30 AM...but I could be completely wrong and he/she could have been born during then night...which is why I am so worried about Spice not tending to him/her.

Do I need to worry about the fact that Mitzy Daddy is one pound heavier than Spice? It troubles me to think she might be having a hard time birthing these babies as her mate is bigger than her and the babies may be too big for her to birth safely!

THANK YOU AGAIN for comforting me!!!

Michelle

Could you check her belly and find out if she's got more babies in there? If she's still in labour for more than a few hours (or maybe only one....most bunnies i know gave birht when I'm not around but I don't think it's supposed to last more than an hour or so) it could get dangerous as the babies could be stuck in the birth canal, in that case I would advice you to go see a vet.

ZakuraRabbit said:

Could you check her belly and find out if she's got more babies in there?

Click to expand...

I DID actually just pick her up and turn her upside down to see if she had a kit being born because she keeps licking herself. There is no baby bunny head to see, but her vulva is very large and red...I think, but then again, this is the first time I have ever LOOKED at a bunny vulva! :shock:

I am NO HELP in determining what is going on with her because I have NEVER had a pregnant animal (all of my pets are always spayed or neutered ASA safely possible!) and I myself - at age 41 - have never had children! How would I be able to tell if she has more babies in her uterus - or - God forbid - one stuck in her vagina?

I want to thank you all again...I just don't know what I would do without you here to help me (AND SPICE!!!)!

Found this information from a search on rabbit kindling http://islandgems.net/kindling.html

It says giving birth takes 15 minutes, so it sounds to me like your girl is in serious trouble and needs a vet - also says not to disturb her or the nest/babies at all. Hope she's going to be OK - keep us posted

Hi again,

if you can pick her up safely perhaps try to feel her tummy, I would imagine that if she has more kits insided her you would be able to feel them.

If you are still unsure I would get her to a vet if you think it's safe to do so in her state, i'm sure the little one will be ok for a hour or so on it's own. Having said that i'm not sue what her reaction to the baby will be once she returns...?

Perhaps you can get a vet out to visit you so you don't have to move her?

OK...I *think* Spice might be all done birthing - just the one! Is that really unusual?

She is acting very "normal" in her cage - eating the veggies I just gave her and sitting up and displaying her usual CURIOUS behavior. She doesn't seem to be in any pain or distress at the moment, and believe me, I have been watching her ALL DAY!

She still doesn't seem interested in the kit, although I DID see her lick him/her a few times, but no nursing yet! Do I need to head to the petstore and worry about bottle feeding this little one?

She IS keeping an eye on him/her and whenever I go in there and check on the baby, Mama immediately grabs newspaper and covers him/her up...so maybe that is the first step....I just don't want this baby to die of hunger!

What should I do about out-of-cage time tonight? I don't think I will be allowing Spice and Mitzy to be together again until I am sure we won't be making any more babies! However, I do want them to have enough room to run and play. Can I let Spice run around, too, or does she need to stay still and calm (and with her kit!) for a while?

You have all been MARVELOUSLY kind and helpful today. I can't thank you enough for helping me through this...I am sure I will come up with at least one thousand more questions for you!

Pictures attached - and ANY suggestions or advice are welcomed and appreciated!

THANK YOU!

Michelle

Awwww bless the ickle pink thing!

I should think that Spice will be ok without run-around-time tonight, and she's best off staying with the little one. You can probably let Mitzy out though, perhaps cover the part of the cage with the baby in over with a towel to protect it from it's daddy, he could spray it! hehe

The licking sounds promising, and i'm sure they will feed soon. It probably has enough nutrients inside him still to last a while, but i don't know how long is normal till they start feeding, anyone?

You seem to be doing a good job, just keep doing what you are doing

Lovely piccies and that baby looks so fat I'm sure it's been fed If you see the link I posted page one bottom it says they only feed once a day for a few mins as rabbit milk is super rich. I wouldn't let mum out for a couple of days till she's really accepted her baby - but if she's clawing at the bars to get out I'm sure half an hour will be fine so long as daddy is WELL out of the way Good luck with your baby - it's a blessing if there is only one as you will be able to keep him/her

Forgot to say - don't handle the baby for a couple of weeks either or she may reject it if it smells different!

I did read the information on the link Elve posted for me (THANK YOU by the way!)...it says, "If the doe has already nursed the kits they will have big frog bellies." Doesn't that little one look FULL AND FAT to you? He/she does to me!

I haven't had my eyes on them ALL day, and I don't know if the kit was born hours before I actually saw him/her, so maybe Spice IS a GOOD MOM and HAS nursed...and maybe I am just an overly-anxious "granny!"

Animal Quackers said:

I did read the information on the link Elve posted for me (THANK YOU by the way!)...it says, "If the doe has already nursed the kits they will have big frog bellies." Doesn't that little one look FULL AND FAT to you? He/she does to me!

I haven't had my eyes on them ALL day, and I don't know if the kit was born hours before I actually saw him/her, so maybe Spice IS a GOOD MOM and HAS nursed...and maybe I am just an overly-anxious "granny!"

Click to expand...

If he was any fatter he'd burst - I'm sure she's fed him

awww congratulations Mitzy and Spice!!

That little pink baby is adorable, atleast with only one, you will hopefully have the space and not have to rehome him/her.

xxx

I've rarely seen a mother rabbit nurse her young but still haven't experienced loosing a litter to hunger yet (school bunnies)
As I've said before, she only feeds them once or twice a day and rarely while you're watching. That baby looks well-fed to me so don't you worry It's gorgeous!

As for litter size, it's not normal for a rabbit to have only one kit but sometimes things happen, she could have absorbed the babies during pregnancy or possibly they might even have been stillborn, most rabbits eat their young if they are sick or dead, that's only natural. Of course there's also the chance that she only ever had one baby.

Awwwww lovely round tummy. I know my doe had her and my first litter 7 weeks ago i was full of questions and always worried but she sucsefully raised all 3 and all the worrying was for nothing. Yes it is very rare that you will see her nursing especially in the early days anyway, just keep an eye that everything is ok and try not to touch little one. Although if your doe is happy with you inside her cage (some get aggressive) you could rub your hands on her and in her pea (yup i know sounds yuk) give her something to distract her (favourite treat) then you could check the lilttle one over but i would wait atleast a few days. As there is only one you will not have to check for dead ones as you would in a multiple litter. I am sure she will be a great mum.

Oh dear if she had the kit then the buck kept having a go so to speak sounds like she could be pregnant again. From the time he did count 28-32 days and thats when she should have another litter this time possibly larger. You will have to get him neutered or kept seperate from now on.

Good luck
:wave:

Aww what a chubby little baby, I hope all goes well for you, bunnies and baby. Good luck :rabbit2:

Here are two pictures of Kit at three days old. Look at his pretty color coming in!