update on 11 bunnies

hi, just to let everyone know a few days ago i checked the one i thought was expecting, i lifted her little bed thing up as i normally do. i was looking (i dont touch just look lol) and i saw a bit of fluff that didnt look fluffy but it was a lil dead baby so i pulled it out. i did have a lil poke about and found a small group of babys theres 4.

i have 2 bunnies in a dog cage in my kitchen who havent shown any sign of nesting but today i was about to clean them out when i noticed some movement at the back i thought it was mice till i had a good look (i have no idea why there would be mice in my kitchen but i was hoping it would be mice rather that bunnies) but yes there they where 4 more little babies that where wrapped up in a jumper they had pulled in that was on the floor near the cage. i have no idea who the mother is but i checked to see who had milk and who didnt but they both did, so does that mean that other might be expecting or just producing milk to help out? (they both have had litters before according to my friend) as i know that cats do not produce milk till they day they give birth (i know there not the same lol) the problem is the 2 bunnies are really rough with eat other and will hump but when they run of from each other there running over the babies, there both protective of the babies and will run to them when i go to feed them. i have no idea what im going to do if the one that didnt have the litter has another one!!
i have 8 babies!! this is mad!!

my friend still has not been around with any food or bedding and im running very short! if she finds out im just going to tell her i will get the RSPCA involved if she trys to take the babies back.

is there any food that i can give them to help them out with milk and raising the young uns

(sorry for spelling or grammer mistakes)

tricky situation you're in! Have you got a male rabbit with the females because if you have the females will undoubtedly be pregnant again already.

On the diet front the mummy bunnies need just a little extra food and unlimited hay and fresh water.

Have they got space to move around because the conditions sound a little cramped, maybe somehow separate each litter and mother to stop the babies being trampled.

the boys are in a cage together and all the girls are on there own apart from the litter i found earlyer which has two girls in, i would seperate them but i dont know who the mother is as they both are protecting the babies and they are both producing milk. i havent seen who has fed them either, but im worried that if i remove one of the bunnies it might be the wrong one and the one i have left in might have a litter. for all i know everyone of them could be pregnant as i have found one litter dead and there is two other litters at the moment so ther could still be another 5 litters!! and the one that had the dead babies could already be pregnant again. the babies are at the back of the cage and when they are chasing each other they run around the edge of the cage where they babies are which makes the babies jump about.

i really hate my friend for doing this, go knows what could of happened if she had them still.

Oh gosh, what a mess!

I think spinach and brocolli are especially good foods for producing milk, although I can't remember why.. I've also hurt of plain yogurt from a bottle cap, or just licked from fingers or a spoon? The rabbits certainly love it.
Apart from that its just lots of hay and loads of pellets.
Sorry that wasn't very helpful.

Hope this gets sorted out.

Cow dairy products can be poisionous to buns, many don't tolerate the lactose in milk, and therefore things such as yoghurt too.

Now the babies are here make sure mum is on unlimited pellets. I gave Isla a small rabbit bowl full, as the babies have grown it is now a dog bowl, as the babies are on pellets too. This is along with unlimited hay.

In the beginning, mum got spring greens, its the folic acid in the greens that help mum produce the milk. As the babies started to wander I took her away from the babies to feed it, now at 5 weeks I have started to introduce the babies to grass and spring greens, with no problems.

I would seperate the two muma that are together, and give each some babies. The scent would be the same, and as they are each producing milk then I really couldn't see a problem. I think that is the better option over the mums turning on the babies.

if i seperate them with 2 babies each and one of them has another litter would they all still be ok? and would they just carry on feeding them all?

gosh that is a tricky situation...do you know any breeders? I had a surprise litter and my breeder has been so helpful.

I was advised that babies are always better off with mum, but in this situation maybe get some replacement milk/syringes just in case...only intervene if crucial though (in my opinion)

my breeder advised me that she didn't think mum rabbits actually were aware of the number of babies they have when are they are first born in the very first few days until they start getting their own scent, I also know that in the first few days babies can be adopted by new mums. Is it just one bunny that has pulled fur, if you can tell?

I dont think there is a 100% safe answer, but if it were me, I think I would separate mums and give 2 babies each and keep a very, very close eye, if babies are warm and round tummies they are being fed.

Also,if mum buns dont know you well go careful and on their terms...it is very stressful but all you can do is seek advice and do your best.

Hope it all goes okay.

I helped hand rear a litter of kits about 10 years ago. We used goats milk and the buns loved it. We'd warm it to about blood temp then they'd drink it from a syringe. It was lovely seeing them change from hiding at the back of the cage whenever we went near to being desperate to be the first one to be fed.

i have used the goats milk on kittens before so i can try with these. i habe noticed every morning one or two of the kits are in the middle of the cage out of the nest and sometimes out of the cage all together i have left a camera in there and recorded to see what is goign on but i havent seen anything in 2 hours havent even seen one of the rabbits feeding the kits.

I haven't rea the thread, so know this will have been covered (my concentration is shot to pieces sorry).

Is there a mummy bunny in with the kits? Do they have a nest? a nest box? How old are the kits?

Have you given them anything yourself yet?

as of thi momey i havent done anything. i have found out that the lion head is feeding them so i have removed the other one. i have put them in a box with some shaavings and straw and left some straw in for her to add to it if she wants. there only a few days old and i keep leaving a camera in to record whats going on to see if she is feeding the but i havent spoted anything yet. i bet i keep missing it.

If you think all the females may be pregenant I suggest putting them each in a seperate cage if possible. Place a small box, possibly a shoe box if you cant find/biy a proper nesting box, in the cage and fill it with hay/straw/shavings.
Watch the female sover the next few days. If a female is pregnant and doesnt have a soft fluffy jumper to hide her babies, she'll pull out fur often from around her neck to line a nest. She'll then give birth to her litter.
You did good removing the dead babies, but be very careful. Make sure to stroke the mother rabbit first to get her scent all over you before going anywhere near the nest. If the babies end up smellig wrong the mother can reject or even eat them!

Best solution is to keep everyone seperate for the next month. That will let you find out if any one is pregnant, and allow them to have their litters before being put back together.

em-j