2 litters! Advice needed from anyone with experience or know how

The last month has been a bunny roller coaster. We had a suprise litter of 6 a little over 4 weeks ago. Seperated the dad as soon as I found out but suspected it was possible he had gotten her again before we realised (Thought we had 2 girls in a nut shell!) so today we have had another litter of 4 possibly more I won't move them to see if there are any underneath. I already know the health implications on my poor mummy bunny and I feel dreadful. Please can anyone tell me am I ok to leave the 4 week olds in the same hutch (for now) I know the babies need to stay with mum for 8 weeks.

Hi there

I'm no expert but I think you will need to remove the first litter when the second appear. The first litter should already be eyes open and eating well (hay and junior pelleted food) and you can continue to syringe feed to assist with feeding. I have successfully syringe fed baby bunnies and from 3 weeks of age too. They wont' be as healthy as they would be if they stayed with mum but in your situation I feel it might be more sensible to give mum less to do and allow her to nurse the second litter as they will need her milk more than the first litter.

Be sure to feed mum as much as she needs to keep her nutrition up. I've had a poorly mum here before that never recovered from having to feed her litter. So it is important that all have the right nutrition.

I think if you left the two litters in with mum you'd end up with bunnies being rejected and mum being worn out.

Giving the first litter pro biotics will help supplement their food intake and help build up their immune system - where they'd normally get that from mum's milk. I used goats milk (gently warmed) with probiotics added. But you can also use cat kitten formula.

Thank you. I have a hutch waiting to be made up. The 4 week olds are feeding extremely well. Very active bunnies. Mum feels like skin n bones is there anything I can use to help her with her nutrition?

eta: How much pellets is mom getting and how much does she normally weigh?

I agree with duchess that you will need to wean the older litter for there to be any chance for the new kits to survive. They can't compete with the older kits for milk and trying to double nurse the mom will be too much stress on her physically with so many babies.

To wean them, if you can it's usually best to keep the bunnies in the cage/enclosure they are used to and put mom in a new cage/area. This will cause the older babies the least amount of stress at being weaned. If mom's new area is next to the babies enclosure, this will also help reduce stress on them.

If you can't keep the babies in their usual enclosure and have to put them in a new one, try to make sure it is right next to mom's so that they can see her. You are just trying to limit the amount of stress they experience, as too much stress can make them vulnerable to developing digestive illness, which is their biggest risk at this young age.

At this age it shouldn't be necessary to give supplemental milk feedings as they should be eating enough solid foods to compensate. But you have to make sure the older bunnies are all eating solid food really well. In particular, make sure they are eating their grass hay really well, as this will help keep their digestive flora in balance. Also make sure that they have no problems with drinking water.

if they aren't eating solid food well, then you will need to do supplemental milk feeds. You should be able to just offer them a dish of it without having to syringe feed.

Weaning early is not the ideal thing to do, but it really is what will give both litters the best chance of survival.

Also agree that you need to make sure mom is getting plenty of food. Usually a nursing doe will eat three times what she would normally eat. So if you aren't already feeding her more pellets, you will want to gradually increase her amount over the next week. As well as feeding unlimited amounts of grass hay.

The only thing I'd add to the very good advice above is to ensure that mum is getting baby/junior pellets as this is heavier on nutritional value for her and her kittens plus it means that she will be replacing the goodness she gives to the new kittens. And when they are old enough to join in on solid foods they can all eat the same thing.

If mum is under weight I think moving out the first litter is a good idea. They should be ok to wean at that age even though it's not ideal. It's best not to move the new nest so keeping the same space might not be practical but you can help by taking litter/bedding from the current living space so it smells like them and make sure to keep the food the same. They'll still need to stay as a group until 8 weeks even without mum.

For mum, giving her the junior version of the pellets will help. I'd also add in some rolled (porridge) oats, and you could feed her alfalfa mixed with the hay as well. That should all give her extra calories and alfalfa is also high in calcium which she'll obviously find useful for milk production.

Wow thank you all so much this is absolutely great advice. Am feeding mum junior pellets just not the alfalfa hay which I will collect today.
Will do everything mentioned for the first litter. By seperating them will i still be able to let them in their run together or will the bonds break? I mean litter 1 and mum? The hutches will all open onto a large exercise area

They should be fine to be together as long as it is a regular thing and they stay used to it. When they are separated for too long, this is when it can cause issues. Though I would suggest letting them out together when mom isn't about ready to need to nurse, so that she doesn't try to nurse the older babies.

At 8 weeks old the group playtime will have to stop though(at least with the boys), as you will need to separate the boys from the girls, and the boys definitely shouldn't be with mom any more after that.

That's great that you already have her on the junior pellets. Is she getting an extra portion(or two) of them?

I would suggest gradually introducing the alfalfa hay, as I have had it cause issues for some rabbits when introduced too quickly into their diet.

I have answered on other thread However mum should be getting as much food as she wants - so not letting bowl empty. And alfalfa hay - and you may want to get a supplement such as Avipro for her - full of vitamins etc

How are mum and both sets of kits doing now?

Hi everyone mum seems to be doing well. She's very active has unlimited foods and is her usual sunny self. The first litter are gaining weight growing and curious about everything, also eating very well. Second litter was much smaller she had 4 babies but we lost one the first day. The 3 remaining are doing well. Round tummies, leaping up searching for mum when I check them. thank you all for the great advice

so glad to hear mum is doing well, poor lil thing. sorry to read you lost one of the second litter Sounds such a nightmare few weeks, how are YOU doing? hope you are taking time to recharge your batteries too x


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