Not sure if I gave the right advice?

[Pipkin01]

Got a phone call today at work asking for some bunny advice.. I know this forum is against breeding and so am I but I still have to give advice to clients at work :? and the call today was on advice to do with babies.

Basically a bunny has had babies and owner keeps finding the bunnies in the run area, so looks like mum is moving them out of the hutch and putting them in the run. Owner keeps picking them up and putting them back in the hutch but they keep being put back in the run.

What's best to do? Shut mum and babies in the hutch and leave them alone as much as possible? Or leave the hutch and run as it is and just let mum get on iwth moving them about? She'd been told by someone else not to shut them up in the hutch as mum will squash the babies.

Babies are only a couple of days old...

So what would people do?!

 

[abbymarysmokey]

I'd shut mum and babies in the hutch. They might be getting dragged out into the run when they're latched onto mum for feeding. Closing off access to the run should solve this problem.

 

[LionheadLuver]

I'd close off the run and keep them in the hutch. Mum won't squash the babies, however it looks like the babies are crawling away from the nest, so the owner will still need to keep putting them back. Rabbits can't pick up their babies like other animals can, so she can't move them, so owners need to do this for them.

 

[Santa]

They might be getting dragged out into the run when they're latched onto mum for feeding.

This is by far the most likely cause - rabbits don't pick their young up like cats do, and baby rabbits of that age aren't mobile and can't crawl around or climb and won't get there or back on their own, so yes they do definitely need to be popped back in the nest as otherwise they won't survive. Mum rabbits only feed once or twice a day for a couple of minutes, so it's possible that she's just not a very attentive mum and isn't feeding them quite enough to satisfy them so they are still latched on when she gets up to leave them. So it's worth the owners also monitoring very carefully that the babies have nice round bellies.

I too would shut off the run, although because buns only feed once or twice a day, with monitoring of when she is feeding, there's no reason the door can't be opened and mum let out for some exercise when the babies have full bellies after a feed. Maybe also suggest carefully moving the nest into a nesting box so that the babies have more chance of being contained in the nest rather than dragged around, as if it's because mum is not hanging around long enough for them to feed, she may just find the same problem replicated within the hutch area only, and babies would still need to be put back in the nest from there.

 

[Pipkin01]

That's great, thank you I told her to shut them in the hutch and leave them alone as much as possible. Not too sure if she listened to me though, was one of those conversations that kept going round in circles!

Was wondering how the babies were moving as didn't think rabbits picked up their young and they're pretty defenceless as babies.

Mum is only 10months old so only a baby herself really so probably not too attentive.

Just glad to know I said the right thing, always worry!

Thank you for the mum and baby advice, I shall remember it for future phone calls, as I am now nominated 'bunny lady' I'm sure I shall be getting plenty more calls! :lol: