Problems with first litter of babies

My rabbit had an unexpected, accidental litter yesterday morning. She had been acting strange for almost a week and since I thought I was very careful I assumed it was a false pregnancy but gave her a nest box anyway. She pulled fur and had them in the nest box. I took a quick peek right away and they all looked good. Then yesterday around 4 o'clock I checked them good and they were perfect with little plump bellys. I knew she wouldn't feed them until that night so I figured it was normal she was ignoring them. I checked on them this morning at about 8 am, as soon as I touched the nest they started just about screaming thinking I was coming to feed them. Every one of them was skin and bones and on the verge of becoming dehydrated. I tried to coax her in there with no luck and gave her one more hour to feed them and she didn't. I ended up holding her upside down on my lap and letting them eat 2 at a time. I was seriously stressing her out and didn't want her or any of the babies to get hurt so I didn't let them eat as much as I probably should. They weren't weak and were nursing good but it seemed like they were having an awfully hard time getting milk. I'm wondering if maybe she wasn't feeding them cuz she hadn't started producing milk yet? She definitely has milk but it's very thick and seems gooey? Not sure if that's normal. But I checked them when I got home from work around 5 o'clock and they're squeaking and moving around to be fed again. Even with all the noise they have been making she acts like they're not even there. They're not thin but they don't have nice round bellys like they should. Now my dilemma is what to do tonight. I don't want to make matters worse by continuing to try to force them on her but idk if she's ever going to get the hang of this. She's 9 months old and this is her first litter. I read on a website to put them in a pet carrier and close her in with them and she will most likely nurse, I like this idea but she is soo rough stepping around in the nest and doesn't seem to have a care in the world about them. I know they will live until tomorrow morning but I know if I let her try to do it on her own and she doesn't they can become weak and dehydrated and there's really no turning back from that. Has anyone experienced this before and had successful outcomes?! Or had the mother take back over after a couple days? I appreciate any advice, this has me so frazzled!

Also is there any trick to getting them to pee and poo? I get the gist of it but I have an awfully hard time getting them to go!

Did she pluck very much fur and build a good nest? A better way to let them nurse, is to hold her sitting on your lap, and have a helper bring the babies up underneath her to nurse. Less stress on her and less likely the babies will get injured with her kicking out. Hand feeding is also a possibility, but last resort as it often ends in the babies aspirating the milk and dying. Much better if it will work out with mom feeding them, even if you have to help encourage her to do it.

If they haven't eaten sufficiently, there won't really be anything to pee or poop. But when they have, usually it is just something mom takes care of.

Also, rabbits don't necessarily feed their babies twice a day. Sometimes it will only be once a day. If she fed them last night, I would be inclined to believe she will also feed them tonight as well. I would just wait to see if she feeds them on her own tonight. If they haven't been fed by morning, then you will likely need to intervene.

Thanks. She without a doubt did not feed them last night. She hasn't fed them once since they were born early yesterday morning :/ im crossing my fingers that she will tonight.

First time moms don't always do things right, unfortunately. They sometimes feed twice a day but usually it's once a day. The other thing to know is that newborns won't survive much past 48 hours without being fed. At that point they become too weak to suck. Hand feeding is a last resort and often unsuccessful. If you're sure she won't feed them on her own then do what Jbun suggests and put her in your lap and bring them to her from underneath. To get them to pee/poop you need to wipe their butt with a warm rag. Good luck!

Thanks. I left her to do it on her own last night and when I went in earlier she was laying in the box with them, not feeding them just laying in there. So I stuck my finger in the nest quick to make sure they were there and warm and they were and only one let out on little squeak not like the noises before. She's still laying in there so I don't want to pull them out and upset her. So hopefully the quiet is a good sign and she fed them

And I did try to put her on my lap and put them under her but it was impossible.

My rabbit had this same problem with her first litter. Everything that people suggested wouldn't work with her! She wouldn't feed them and if I tried making her feed at all she would kick and go crazy, injuring me and her babies and probably hurting herself. I made a routine, I would feed the kits a formula in the morning and at night I would bring in mother bunny and try getting the kits to feed. I would hold her up with one hand under her front legs and another hand at her bottom and back legs. Someone else would then carry the kits over in pairs and help them feed. I would have to hold her tight at some moments and between pairs I'd put her down and give her a treat.

When the kits got bigger I'd let them feed while mother bun had her night time pellets and I'd pat her. She eventually accepted this and it was much better doing it this way instead of the other way.

To make the babies pee and poop, I would get warm water and cotton balls and rub their tummies and parts. After doing that I'd put them in a box with a heat pack that had been heated hot but not enough I hurt the kits. My kits usually peed after a few seconds on the heat pack. Once they did a pee I wiped them again and put them back in the nest.

All of the kits survived and are now grown up and doing extremely well!

I hope that I was some help