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FriendOfTheBunnies

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Location
, Georgia, USA
Hello! My bunny, Babs, is due forbabies the end of this week. However, I've never taken careof babies before. Is there anything special I shoulddo? Or do I just let the mom take care of them for awhile? ANy advice i appreciated, thanks so much!!
 
Her first litter?? If not, all you should have todo is check to make sure they're alive, warm, and covered. But I'm surethe experts have many other good tips! Good luck--my babies are almosttwo weeks old and I didn't have to do anything, Mom Tank did a greatjob with her third litter.

Rose
 
I have never had kits in my life so i have noclue. I have heard of babies dieing so keep a close check onthem. Erm I think owners are supposed to (when they're born)check the kits have warm round bellies or something. Im no expert so imsure someone else will fill u in!

Luv 4rm loz

xXx
 
Yes as rabbitgirl and L&E said make surethat they are all alive when they are born and make sure that they haveround bellies and they are warm. Don't be worried about handling them.Give Mum a treat to distract her and she wont mind. Do check on themdaily (as I'm sure you would). Ifthey don'tappearwarm and round they may need your help. I have neverhad this problem so I wouldn't be very good to advice you on this. Makesure there is ample hey, food and water for Mum (again another obviousthing). Have you got a nest box? If not you could do with getting oneas this stops the babies getting lost once they start to wonder. Apartfrom that Mum should take care of them herself. Good luck with the newarrivals and keep us posted.

Vickie
 
Thanks so much everyone, I really appreciate theadvice. And yes, it is her first litter, so it is acompletely new experience for the both of us. I will do mybest to take care of them and to keep everone posted! thanksagain!
 
Ummm, one warning--just take it into account with everything else.

Ok, I have a beautiful doe that had a litter 3 1/2 years ago. It wasplanned, but it was her first. There were five babies. Two of them gotincredibly fat, one was medium, and two were very very small. I hadbeen checking on them and discovered that the two were becomingdehydrated. Their skin "tented" badly (did not pop back when gentlypinched). I'd been reading about what to expect, asked experts, andbought some KMR to feed the baby--because apparently mom Izzy wasn't.

Well, unfortunately I discovered that feeding baby was very difficultand it managed to inhale the formula. It died shortly after.

I was devastated, especially when it became apparent that the other"peanut" was also not getting fed. This time I took gentle Izzy inside,held her, andmade the dying baby nurse on her.

The limp little guy suddenly started flailing and sucking madly. Withinminutes, the little belly was round with milk. From that moment on, thebaby became incredibly aggressive and never went hungry again. Althoughnot as large as the others it held its own.

Her name is Pandemonium--she weighs a hefty 5 1/2 lbs (Holland Lop) andis as ferocious and intenseas ever, although stone deaf. BTW,she's much larger than her originally fat brother.

I became very wary of interfering with feeding because of thebaby that died. So with the latest litter (13 days old), by a new(borrowed) doe, I noticed two shriveled-looking"peanuts". Ididn't realize it until the third or fourth day, which is why I didn'tpost for a few days after that. I was having a hard time dealing withthe thought of losing them. I decided, for several difficult reasons,not to intervene. It was a hard choice.

But somehow they survived. They were wrinkled for a few days, but nowthey are healthy and squirmy although small. Their bellies are round,and they are catching up fast. Very aggressive!

So why am I saying this? I've found that the best way to save arejected baby is by making mom feed it, because feeding formula istricky at best. And also, that some babies look bad but survive anyway,so don't lose hope if some seem small.

Just my experience. Hope that gives another small perspective. And best of luck for the litter!

Rose
 
An honest-to-God "peanut" will not survive nomatter what. I think there has been a post here somewhereconcerning peanuts. I've had real "peanuts". Theywill not live.

Thru the years, I have helped quite a few litters along. Iuse a glass medicine dropper. You can control how much liquidcomes out with the pressure of your fingers. I've neverkilled one using the medicine dropper. But, I've found that,in order to do well, they do need some mama rabbit milk. Inever have had only one doe bred at a time. But even then, Iwould sometimes end up with too many kits for places at the dinnertable. So.....I split the babies...taking half of them to thehouse with me and feeding them just plain evaporated milk with themedicine dropper a couple/three times during the day. Thenaround dusk, I would take them back out to the shed and exchange themfor the ones with mama. This way, everyone got some rabbitmilk. And I ended up with some really tame kits as they wereso used to me handling and feeding them.

I've used the trusty old medicine dropper with bunnies, kittens, wildbunnies, tiny runt piglets, and starting skunks. At leastthey are receiving energy.

A friend of mine helps in rescue with cats. She getscondensed goat milk at the HyVee grocery store to use for kittens asshe says it is very high in fat. I thinkthat rabbit milk would be high in fat, also. (So is sheepmilk.)

I've tried doing what you did...holding the doe and putting the kit tothe teat. It worked really well.....until the doe gave a kickwith her hind foot and ripped the kit open. It died.

I want to say to all of you thinking about breeding.....Beprepared. Know what you are doing. Even then,things can go wrong, but not as easily. And know ahead oftime what you are going to do with the kits!
 
what exactly is kmr? i bought a rabbit at ayardsale. she is a rex. i know this sounds a littleselfish but i didntreally want her, i just wanted the cage because i already had tworabbits at home whom i love very much. they didnt want her anymore soobviosly they made me take her too. when i brought her home i had toput her with one of my other bunnies because i didnt have another cageto put one of them in. i tried putting her with my girl bunny but theyfought. so i put her in with my boy bunny and they did just fine.within a week, they were cuddling together and they just fell in lovewith each other. after i saw how fond they were of each other i justcouldnt separate them. i tried once but they seemed very lonely when idid. well needless to say they had a litter of three. i was a littleweary about her having babies as she was already over two years old andhad never been around any other bunnies since they brought her home soi didnt know what to expect from her as a mother. one of the babiesdied and i didnt understand why because it didnt look like there wasanything wrong with it. well i removed that one from the cage. and thenthere were two. im still concerned about one of the two that are left.they are six days old now and the little white one is half the size ofthe little gray one. ive noticed that it is pooping and stuff just likethe gray one is but im worried about how small it is. the day beforeyesterday, i found the poor little thing curled up inside a cleandiaper that was half open and i wasnt sure how it got there. they arein a nest but for some reason the white one can get out of it. inoticed that it is very jumpy and squirmy. then last morning when i gotup at 4 am to make my husbands lunch for work i noticed that the whiteone went missing again.my husband stayed to help me find it. we lookedunder the couches and everything when my husband saw a little pile ofrabbit fur next to the fridge. we found it behind the fridge. i am soworried that it will get hurt or even die. does anyone have anysuggestions for me. they would be greatly appreciated. thankyou.crystal
 
eeesh. I guess what works one time doesn't, othertimes. Izzy is really gentle, but Tank I can see kicking a baby if Itried the same thing.

Re peanuts--those are the ones with the double dwarf gene then, andthey don't live beyond a week or so? It's hard to tell the differenceinitially between a peanut and a runt, then, Isuppose,because there are some babies that look pretty badinitially and then pull out of it. I had those kind.

The eyedropper thing: I used one of those, and he still choked--do you use a really small size or something?

So is there a way to tell the difference between "real" peanuts and just plain runts while they're still alive?

Just curious,

Rose
 
hi rose! i read that a runt is just small but apeanut has a big head and an exceptionally small body. of course i dontknow that this is true. maybe someone can confirm or deny for you

CRYSTAL
 
Goodness, I had no idea it could be so muchtrouble to keep the kits alive. Babs is due in a few days,and I will certainly do my best, although I understand that I simplymay not have a chance. My dad is a vet (he works on cats& dogs), so if I need any medication/droppers/etc , I have easyaccess. Anyways, I'll keep everyone up to date when the kitsarrive.
 
FriendOfTheBunnies wrote:
Hello! My bunny, Babs, is due for babies the endof this week. However, I've never taken care of babiesbefore. Is there anything special I should do? Ordo I just let the mom take care of them for a while? ANyadvice i appreciated, thanks so much!!


Bumping this up asI am curious- FOTB Has Babs hadher babies yet? If so how are they. Just love to hear about babies:)
 
It is not hard to keep kits alive.Pregnant does. house bunnys or not, should be confined to a cage,alone, with a nest box on day 28 of gestation. Hay sould beprovided. Mom will carry the hay into the box and make a nicenest. When she is ready she will pull out her fur and linethe nest. Allowing a house bunny to have a litter that canroam around the house is not a very good idea as they will get lost andmom can't find them to feed them. Mom will not pick them uplike a cat. If they are not where she left them, she will notgo and look for them either. As a responsible owner, who ishaving kits, mom needs to be provided with the proper environment andtools to have and take care of her kits properly. New bornkits, blind as they are, will wander, if given the chance. Imake sure all my litters are born in cages with urine guards all aroundto prevent and accidental escapees from slipping through the cagewire. Provide your doe with the things listed above and yourshould have no problems. After she kindles, check the box,remove any dead kits or any afterbirth she has not cleanedup. Count the kits. Every day check onthem. Bellies should be nice and round. Any breedwith a dwarfing gene can produce "peanuts". These are notrunts, but kits with two dwarfing genes that will prevent them fromgrowing. If you are having any problems with a normal runtnot nursing, take mom out, hold her on your lap and hold the kit up tothe nipples. He will find them and eat.

Most does do a grat job with their kits, some may need a littlehelp. But it is not really hard to do. It is mucheasier to force the doe to feed, than trying to feed them yourself asthey usually will not make it. If you have any questions orfurther concerns or problems, please feel free to email me. Ialways check my email every night. Or post here and some onewith experience will help. Donna
 
Hello everyone! I just wanted everyoneto know about Babs's pregnancy. Or rater, hernon-pregnancy. The vet had previously checked her and told methat she was indeed pregnant. However, it turned out to be afalse pregnancy. She even pulled her hair out to make a nestand everything. Apparently this is pretty common for youngbuns who have never had babies before. Anyways, she is doingfine now, with no babies. I am now debating about whether toget her spayed or to try again... I'll let you know whathappens! ANd thanks again guys!
 
FriendOfTheBunnies wrote:
Hello everyone! I just wanted everyone to knowabout Babs's pregnancy. Or rater, hernon-pregnancy. The vet had previously checked her and told methat she was indeed pregnant. However, it turned out to be afalse pregnancy. She even pulled her hair out to make a nestand everything. Apparently this is pretty common for youngbuns who have never had babies before. Anyways, she is doingfine now, with no babies. I am now debating about whether toget her spayed or to try again... I'll let you know whathappens! ANd thanks again guys!
Oh well, maybe its for the best - At least you can spend time lookingafter your newbunnies

Vickie
 
very true. In fact, if Babs hadn't hada false pregnancy I wouldn't have gotten the new ones... thats wouldjust be too many to feed.. :) Although they are so cute...
 

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