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Help!!!

Me&MyGirlies

Young Bun
Around 7 weeks ago I rescued 2 supposedly female rabbits around 4 weeks ago on 9th Feb I woke up to babies the buck was removed immediately and on the 14th Feb was castrated and is still living on his own as my other 3 are all girls(luckily the new buns were quarantined from my others) anyway mum and her 5 babies are doing great however I just checked them and she has 5 more babies I'm absolutely gutted as I thought I'd got him out in time(she only had 2 when I removed him so was obviously still giving birth when he was removed) now I don't know what to do I thought I'd done the responsible thing getting him castrated as soon as vet could fit him in and keeping him separate but I obviously wasn't quick enough. She seems happy enough and both lots of babies seem fine she's not being funny with the older ones and the newborn look snuggly well fed and are warm. My problem is surely all these babies will drain her should I remove the older ones even tho they should be with her til 8 weeks or not. Again I'm absolutely gutted this has happened I feel awful but I genuinely didn't know they different sexes til I found babies so please no snide comments I just want what's best for my bun
 
Forget to add she was seen by a vet shortly after first birth and again with babies at 2 weeks I will be contacting my vet in morning but worried about her tonight
 
Around 7 weeks ago I rescued 2 supposedly female rabbits around 4 weeks ago on 9th Feb I woke up to babies the buck was removed immediately and on the 14th Feb was castrated and is still living on his own as my other 3 are all girls(luckily the new buns were quarantined from my others) anyway mum and her 5 babies are doing great however I just checked them and she has 5 more babies I'm absolutely gutted as I thought I'd got him out in time(she only had 2 when I removed him so was obviously still giving birth when he was removed) now I don't know what to do I thought I'd done the responsible thing getting him castrated as soon as vet could fit him in and keeping him separate but I obviously wasn't quick enough. She seems happy enough and both lots of babies seem fine she's not being funny with the older ones and the newborn look snuggly well fed and are warm. My problem is surely all these babies will drain her should I remove the older ones even tho they should be with her til 8 weeks or not. Again I'm absolutely gutted this has happened I feel awful but I genuinely didn't know they different sexes til I found babies so please no snide comments I just want what's best for my bun


Hi there :wave:

I haven't time to write a long reply just now, but here's a link in case you might find anything useful:

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


Sorry not to be able to write more just now x
 
Thanks for the reply. I'm still not sure whether to move the older babies as mum is very tolerant of them still she was actually grooming 1 of them when I found the new nest of babies and again the new babies seem fine(they are less than 24 hrs so tonight is crucial as to wheather she'll feed them but I'll be checking in on her before bed and again in morn) I don't want to stress her anymore than she already is I'm p**sed right off at myself for not noticing he was a boy sooner. Do you think it would be better for her if I got another cage for older babies and she spent day with the older ones and night with the newbies for a few weeks
 
Forget to add she was seen by a vet shortly after first birth and again with babies at 2 weeks I will be contacting my vet in morning but worried about her tonight
You are not only person to be fooled by a rabbits sex. Twice I got boys I and others told me were girls. This is why I had vet check my latest brothers to be sure. I even double checked myself when Evan has visible parts weeks before Dash.

I am surprised vet did not suggest spay after 1st babies for her health. Uterine tumors are very common in bunnies.
Bunnys have 2 sections to the uterus. It is possible 1st babies were in one uterine horn and other side was fertile.
Are new babies able to nurse without being crowded by older siblings?
Hopefully someone can give you better information on handling this situation.
 
Hi yeah they did gunna get her spayed when babies have gone he was removed at birth and castrated 5 days later and is still living in his own hutch so I really didn't anticipate this problem I really thought I'd caught him in time. I've had to remove the older babies as she started chasing and biting them so will have a chat with the vet tomorrow about supplements for the older babies diet needs(vet will be sick of seeing me soon I've already been 5 times in the last month just with the buns) I really wanted to avoid separating them but I'd never forgive myself if any of them got hurt. Mum is happily preening her nest and still collecting mouth full of bedding and the older babies seem quite content now they're not getting chased. Vets said he was hard to castrate as his uh hums were sucked right in.
 
Hi yeah they did gunna get her spayed when babies have gone he was removed at birth and castrated 5 days later and is still living in his own hutch so I really didn't anticipate this problem I really thought I'd caught him in time. I've had to remove the older babies as she started chasing and biting them so will have a chat with the vet tomorrow about supplements for the older babies diet needs(vet will be sick of seeing me soon I've already been 5 times in the last month just with the buns) I really wanted to avoid separating them but I'd never forgive myself if any of them got hurt. Mum is happily preening her nest and still collecting mouth full of bedding and the older babies seem quite content now they're not getting chased. Vets said he was hard to castrate as his uh hums were sucked right in.

As long as the older Kits are eating well for themselves and drinking too then they should not really require any supplementary feeds. Introducing a substitute milk at this stage could do more harm than good. Lots and lots of good quality hay, fresh water and an appropriate amount of pellet feed (one manufactured specifically for growing Rabbits) should be all that they require. If they have been used to nibbling fresh Veg when they were with their Mum then they can continue to have a small amount of that too. But dont introduce any new foods until they are about 10 weeks of age.

Keep an eye on their poo output, any signs of bloated looking bellies, soft fecal poo, very small fecal poo or, worst case scenario, true diarrhoea and Veterinary treatment needs to be obtained immediately.

I would clean them out thoroughly daily and 'spot clean' poo and wee twice a day.

Good luck with you unexpected arrivals xx
 
Thanks for the reply. I'm still not sure whether to move the older babies as mum is very tolerant of them still she was actually grooming 1 of them when I found the new nest of babies and again the new babies seem fine(they are less than 24 hrs so tonight is crucial as to wheather she'll feed them but I'll be checking in on her before bed and again in morn) I don't want to stress her anymore than she already is I'm p**sed right off at myself for not noticing he was a boy sooner. Do you think it would be better for her if I got another cage for older babies and she spent day with the older ones and night with the newbies for a few weeks


You're welcome :)

Don't blame yourself. Many people have ben in the same position re the sex of rabbits.
And dare I say it, even vets :shock:
 
Small update: older babies are seeing the vet on fri by then they'd have been away from mum 4/5 days vet reckons they should be fine at this age as long as I'm careful and watch them for problems. They too said any supplementary feeds would most likely do more harm than good. Mum has been checked today and vet has said no retained kits she looks healthy is a good weight so he's happy with her and she has been looking after the new babies beautifully they had huge full tummys this morn. Fingers crossed every1 makes it and thanks so much for the advice last night I've never had baby rabbits before and 1 litter was a big shock let alone 2. Mr lover bun is definitely gunna have to live alone a little longer than originally planned
 
Small update: older babies are seeing the vet on fri by then they'd have been away from mum 4/5 days vet reckons they should be fine at this age as long as I'm careful and watch them for problems. They too said any supplementary feeds would most likely do more harm than good. Mum has been checked today and vet has said no retained kits she looks healthy is a good weight so he's happy with her and she has been looking after the new babies beautifully they had huge full tummys this morn. Fingers crossed every1 makes it and thanks so much for the advice last night I've never had baby rabbits before and 1 litter was a big shock let alone 2. Mr lover bun is definitely gunna have to live alone a little longer than originally planned


You're welcome - glad I could help!

Well done for taking Mum to the vet, it's a very reassuring update :)
 
I felt I had to even tho she seemed fine just to be sure 2 litters in 4 weeks is a lot for any bun. I kno she must have been pregnant when I took them in but they're my responsibility now and I would have never forgiven myself if anything happened to her I already feel guilty that I didn't realise the other was a buck in time
 
Small update: older babies are seeing the vet on fri by then they'd have been away from mum 4/5 days vet reckons they should be fine at this age as long as I'm careful and watch them for problems. They too said any supplementary feeds would most likely do more harm than good. Mum has been checked today and vet has said no retained kits she looks healthy is a good weight so he's happy with her and she has been looking after the new babies beautifully they had huge full tummys this morn. Fingers crossed every1 makes it and thanks so much for the advice last night I've never had baby rabbits before and 1 litter was a big shock let alone 2. Mr lover bun is definitely gunna have to live alone a little longer than originally planned

I am glad your Vet agreed with my advice and that all is well with your Bunny family. A similar thing happened to me several years ago. I ended up with 16 more Rabbits than I started off with :shock:
 
As long as the older Kits are eating well for themselves and drinking too then they should not really require any supplementary feeds. Introducing a substitute milk at this stage could do more harm than good. Lots and lots of good quality hay, fresh water and an appropriate amount of pellet feed (one manufactured specifically for growing Rabbits) should be all that they require. If they have been used to nibbling fresh Veg when they were with their Mum then they can continue to have a small amount of that too. But dont introduce any new foods until they are about 10 weeks of age.

Keep an eye on their poo output, any signs of bloated looking bellies, soft fecal poo, very small fecal poo or, worst case scenario, true diarrhoea and Veterinary treatment needs to be obtained immediately.

I would clean them out thoroughly daily and 'spot clean' poo and wee twice a day.

Good luck with you unexpected arrivals xx
Jane gave you good advice about monitoring the young bunnies output closely. Sending you some positive vibes.
 
I felt I had to even tho she seemed fine just to be sure 2 litters in 4 weeks is a lot for any bun. I kno she must have been pregnant when I took them in but they're my responsibility now and I would have never forgiven myself if anything happened to her I already feel guilty that I didn't realise the other was a buck in time


They are lucky to have you taking care of them :)
 
Sorry mental day yesterday the babies who are now 5 weeks and 2 days were checked over yesterday by the vet and he gave them all the all clear gunna take hem to get checked again at 8 weeks unless I notice a problem. Mum and the new babies are doing really well too off to the vets in a few weeks to get them checked with mum once they are happy out of the nest. I think I'm single handedly keeping my vets in business at the mo lol but I'd rather be safe than sorry ain't losing no bunny on my watch
 
Sorry mental day yesterday the babies who are now 5 weeks and 2 days were checked over yesterday by the vet and he gave them all the all clear gunna take hem to get checked again at 8 weeks unless I notice a problem. Mum and the new babies are doing really well too off to the vets in a few weeks to get them checked with mum once they are happy out of the nest. I think I'm single handedly keeping my vets in business at the mo lol but I'd rather be safe than sorry ain't losing no bunny on my watch


Well done you!

I hope Mum and the babes keep well. They are in good hands x
 
Sorry mental day yesterday the babies who are now 5 weeks and 2 days were checked over yesterday by the vet and he gave them all the all clear gunna take hem to get checked again at 8 weeks unless I notice a problem. Mum and the new babies are doing really well too off to the vets in a few weeks to get them checked with mum once they are happy out of the nest. I think I'm single handedly keeping my vets in business at the mo lol but I'd rather be safe than sorry ain't losing no bunny on my watch

So pleased to hear that all the Bunnies are doing well :D
 
Thank you it's hard work and I'm exhausted but it can't be as bad as what mummy bun feels like. I've taken over full care of the older 5 and my goodness they are running me ragged lol they are proper loveable now tho they even groom u as your stroking them lol. Honestly they are gunna be amazing babies for someone if I can bear to let them go
 
Thank you it's hard work and I'm exhausted but it can't be as bad as what mummy bun feels like. I've taken over full care of the older 5 and my goodness they are running me ragged lol they are proper loveable now tho they even groom u as your stroking them lol. Honestly they are gunna be amazing babies for someone if I can bear to let them go

I totally failed on that count !! My entire house was taken over by Rabbits and everything else had to go !!
 
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