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newborn kits and mother rabbit

Hello again. Mums vary in their cleanliness of their nests. Some keep it very clean and at this stage the babies themselves won't be making any mess. The problem sometimes is Mum herself who will wee very close to the nest and you need to keep your eye on this. I have usually left the nest unattended until babies start to venture out, unless the Doe has been particularly messy then I have intervened. Can you see where Mum is doing her toilet? This cold weather it is best to leave things but top up with soft hay like you are doing and Mum should re-line the nest when she feels it needs it. She is a very young Mum though so take that into consideration. I am glad you've been able to move the hutch into a more sheltered position.
 
The nest itself is very clean. We have a litter tray the opposite end of the hutch and she does quite well going in there or in the main area where she sits, which we obviously clean. I haven't seen any droppings or wee in the nest itself, so that's good. Fingers crossed it's ticking along nicely.

Thanks Tonibun 😃
 
Hi again. Well the babies are now 11 days old and in the little peeks we have had, they seem to be doing well and grown amazingly. We have seen 2 of them briefly venture out of the nest then tuck back in again. They are soooo cute :) :)
Dad was spayed last Tuesday and is doing fine too. He has been kept inside in a large enclosure overnight and roaming round the kitchen or garden (when it's his turn) during the day. Vet said he can still conceive for at least 6 weeks so staying apart still, but they are still able see and smell each other.

Had a close shave a couple of days ago though, mum was in the garden while dad was inside. I saw a cat on the fence looking down at mum and wasn't sure how this would go so dashed out, unfortunately followed by the lightning dad, making a beeline for mum. She dashed behind the bike shed, closely followed by him. I wasn't sure whether to be concerned they'd fight as they'd been apart for a while or mate! All was okay though, he was coaxed out quickly with a bit of cabbage and my daughter watched them all the time, they didn't mate, phew!

Now the babies are venturing out of the nest a question please. Mum and the babies are upstairs in our 2-tier hutch and dad is downstairs (although he's been inside since the op, will probably go back out today as the vet said it is okay). When mum is out we have been putting bales of hay at the entrance to make stepping stones for her. We did make a ramp but she wasn't keen to use it, preferred to jump so we used the hay. We are concerned that if babies venture out as far as the main living area and mum is out, the door is open and they may fall out. Is it okay to relocate mum and babies downstairs and put dad up? We would make sure mum was with us so she could see where babies are and understand they are now downstairs. If so, can we freshen up the nest with new material, keeping mums hair as much as possible, or should we keep as much of the original material as possible because of the scent.

Thank you.
 
Hello there. I was thinking about you and babies just earlier so am glad you have posted. So pleased babies are doing well and the scare you had sounded very familiar. I hope the cat doesn't become a nuisance, it probably smells the babies! I don't think it a good idea to move Mum and babies just yet, it might be ok, but I personally wouldn't risk disorientating Mum just at this stage. If Mum wants to go out then I would close the door so babies are safe and then open it when you want to get Mum in. She won't need to go back in for the duration of her free-range time. Pleased to hear Dad is recovering well from his op, bless him. Going back to moving Mum, any change for the babies tends to set them back. This is what I have read so I've always followed this. But you can clean up a bit if the nest needs it. Mum will probably drink slightly more at the moment as you may have noticed.
 
Thanks very much for your reply Tonibun (and for thinking of us). The cat in question I only ever see walking along the fence at the bottom for our 60 foot garden, and the babies are up by the house, so hopefully it's not aware of the babies. All the same, we're being very careful.

Thanks, I'll take your advice and not move the nest then. We can close the door when mum is out. I just thought it might stress her not being able to get to the babies, but that's fine if it's the best way. We tend to let mum and dad have an hour each then do a swap.

The nest is still staying quite clean, we have just picked up some of mum's dropping occasionally. Yes, she seems to be eating and drinking well.

Many thanks for your advice.
 
Another question i'm afraid. We have decided to get another 2-tier hutch to house dad for the time being as when babies start moving out of the nest more often we don't feel just the upstairs is enough space for them and mum. Are the babies generally okay managing the slope to the downstairs straight away do you know please. Don't like the thought of them falling down or going down then being unable to get back up. Thanks very much.
 
I have never had this situation but would imagine babies could easily slip down the ramp. I think if you were to put lots of hay, say, down the ramp, then if a baby does slip down it won't hurt itself. Baby rabbits are very adventurous and don't seem to have any idea of danger, they are very quick also! :love: Just a thought - if you can get one of those tubes, not plastic, from PAH and attach it to the ramp then that would make it much safer as it should block the gap.
 
Thanks for that Tonibun. I think what I might do is put up a wall, kind of like a bannister, so that they can only access the slope from the top and not fall down the gap. I spoke to someone today who had baby rabbits and did that, seemed to work. I'll put the hay down too as you suggest. Many thanks.
 
Hi again. Hope everyone had a nice Christmas. Just thought I would post an update. Baby buns are doing great, nearly 5 weeks old now and sooo cute. :love:Mum and dad have both been spayed and doing well. We have decided to keep two and family friends are having the other two, so we’ll still be able to see them, works well. Best wishes for the new year.
 
Hi again. Hope everyone had a nice Christmas. Just thought I would post an update. Baby buns are doing great, nearly 5 weeks old now and sooo cute. :love:Mum and dad have both been spayed and doing well. We have decided to keep two and family friends are having the other two, so we’ll still be able to see them, works well. Best wishes for the new year.

A lovely update :D
 
Thanks for this update. I have been thinking of you. 5 weeks was very soon but hopefully she will recover well both emotionally and physically. May I wish you and yours a very happy and healthy New Year. xx
 
Hi again. Hope everyone had a nice Christmas. Just thought I would post an update. Baby buns are doing great, nearly 5 weeks old now and sooo cute. :love:Mum and dad have both been spayed and doing well. We have decided to keep two and family friends are having the other two, so we’ll still be able to see them, works well. Best wishes for the new year.


Thank you for posting Alison - that's lovely :love:

Happy New Year to you all as well :wave:
 
Hi all. A few questions please. The vet said mum bunny is healing up great after her op and we were able to reintroduce mum and dad to each other yesterday and they got on great again thankfully. After just a couple of minutes they were licking each other and have had time together again today, sitting together and grooming each other. They have rekindled their relationship, so lovely to see 😍 The babies are now 5 and a half weeks and mum is splitting her time between being with dad and the babies. Are we correct in presuming dad can’t be introduced to them yet, that they should be bigger? Also, should mum still be with the babies at night or can she be with dad sometimes overnight so that he isn’t on his own. I have heard that mum should be able to have time away from the babies but surely they still need her guidance most of the time. The babies are also doing their best now to get into the garden when we transfer them from the hutch into the kitchen for some exercise. Are they okay in the garden, obviously under strict supervision.

Thank you.
 
It sounds like Dad would be fine being introduced to the babies - you will only know once you try it. I am so pleased Mum and Dad are getting on,that is really great news. As far as letting babies run round the garden, the problem is they know no danger at times and can roam off. If it were me I wouldn't let them and you have a very big garden so lots more places to find gaps etc. When you bring them into the kitchen is it much warmer than outside, as the difference in temperature could upset their respiratory system. The babies really need Mum more than Dad does just yet so she should stay with them for a couple more weeks, of course if Dad behaves when he is with them then they can all be together. :thumb:
 
Thank you for replying so quickly Tonibun. That’s fine, we’ll keep mum with the babies at night and might just pluck up the courage to introduce dad tomorrow. Our kitchen is quite cool and I don’t have them inside while cooking, too risky underfoot. We have a smaller patio area in the garden that has a high fence either side and lower wall to the grass, we thought we could confirm them to the patio. Perhaps that would work, we’ll see, won’t take any chances though.

Thanks again for your advice. Much appreciated. 👍😃
 
Just wanted to post dad was absolutely fantastic yesterday. After a very short time he was licking the babies and was quite happy letting the little rascals jump all over him when he was trying to take a break. :love: Suppose it helps that all along he has been able to see and be nose to nose with them in their hutch. Have also decided we won’t let the babies out into the garden until they are bigger, want to play it safe. They are a lovely, happy family :D:D
 
Isn't that wonderful! You have got 2 very lovely bunnies and babies of course. Thank you for letting us know.
 
Just wanted to post dad was absolutely fantastic yesterday. After a very short time he was licking the babies and was quite happy letting the little rascals jump all over him when he was trying to take a break. :love: Suppose it helps that all along he has been able to see and be nose to nose with them in their hutch. Have also decided we won’t let the babies out into the garden until they are bigger, want to play it safe. They are a lovely, happy family :D:D


What a beautiful update, thanks so much :D
 
Hi everyone. Sorry it’s been a while between posts. Babies are now eight and a half weeks. Everything’s been going well with our bunny family up til now. Not so sure at the moment, may be overreacting, some advice please.

Dad has been great until the last few days but have noticed him recently sniffing the bum end of the babies a lot. We kind of laughed, saying he’s checking out what sex they are, but he has now started having moments of chasing them. This morning we had them all out in the garden together and quite quickly he was sniffing them again and started chasing them on occasions. There’s a gap behind our bike shed that they all dash to if anything alarms them, and dad chased one of the babies behind there and although the babies can turn the corner at the end and get out fine, baby was obviously alarmed and tried to climb out. We immediately picked up dad and put him back in the hutch. Another baby was next to dad at one point, seemingly okay, and dad seemed to lick his face, as often he does to the babies, but then the baby jumped and run off as if dad might have bitten him.

We’re confused as if it’s raining outside we have them all in the kitchen for some exercise and he is fine, still grooming them and seeming okay. Dad does have his own space on one of the dining chairs that he likes though, the babies are too small to get up there.

Is this a sign he is not tolerating the babies any more and we should keep them apart, or is it just him exerting his dominance and it will pass. Any advice would be great please.

Thank you.
 
I would imagine you have a boy or boys and these are the ones Dad is chasing. He may not want to share his territory with another male. Perhaps it would help if you had the babies sexed if you don't feel confident to do it yourself then you could see which babies Dad is chasing. I hope they are not all boys. You did mention you were going to keep 2, I would recommend a brother and sister as they get on really well so you will need to know which are boys or girls. Will this pair be separate from Mum and Dad? If you wanted to keep the 4 together I would suggest choosing 2 Daughters as this should work very well. Are te babies still with Mum?
 
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