My bunny family :)

Hi all

Ive decided im going to create a blog to logg the journey of my bunny family.

It started off with my love for rabbits. I grew up with my parents breeding lops.
Many years down the line i decided that 2 bucks would be the best pets for my family

My 3 kids love them. None more than my youngest. We got them from a 'reputable' breeder. They had more than one litter together though when we got them so we dont know if they were from the same litter. :/ awkward i know.
They confirmed that our grey lop was definitely a buck. But they werent 100% on our other one.
We confirmed a few days later that the other is also 100% male. My kids named the rabbits beef... and oreo.

Few months down the line... this Monday just been i went to clean out the cage and found one of them had been nesting. They had also pulled out their fur. It was my grey lop... called beef. I instantly knew what was going on and took beef out to gently check her abdomen.

Indeed she was heavily pregnant. Originally i thought she was just chunky!!
We brought a new big hutch and i transfered beef and her nest into the new hutch.
Luckily she took very well to the new hutch she made her nest even bigger and added much more fur over the rest of yesterday.

I was starting to get very concerned that she hadnt given birth yet.... however to my relief and suprise she went into labour this afternoon.
25minutes later she came out of her nest and i gave her alot of fresh veg to munch on.

Checking the nest... we found 5 healthy alive and wriggling newborn kits.
Tucked now into their mother fur in the nest

I will be updating the blog periodically to update their progress. I look forward to having the mother spayed in the future and her being reunited with the buck.
Who bless him has been pining for her. He created her a new nest when she was moved ready for if she came back.

Ive attached some photos ! Any advice is always appreciated as this is my first unexpected litter and hopefully last!

Xxx

So today the kits are 3days old. Them and the mother have been brought inside as we have had a weather drop in my area and the kits were not staying warm enough.
Mum and babies settles in well to their new environment and 4 of the 5 kits are thriving.
The 5th is either a runt or peanut. He is having to be helped to feed off the mummy.
He is half the size of the other kits, still furless and only bare skin whereas the other kits have a sheen to them of fur. He is very weak and i honestly dont think the little guy will make it but i will try my best to give him a good chance. (Dont obviously know gender just saying him for the sake of it) .
The 4 that are thriving are starting to show markings to them. I clearly have one harlequin like the buck. And 1 blue like the doe. 2 are very pale and i look forward to seeing if they will be cream or white etc.
The runt although has no fur has s grey first half of his body and a bare pink end and bum.

Mum is feeding well, she is on a variety of fresh veg, hay and pellets suitable for lactating does.

Ill upload some pictures to accompany

You can also follow these bunnies easier via instagram.

cherrys_rabbits

They are ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE!!! what breed are they? Looks like runt made it yay! My Flemish giant has one more day to go then will have her kits hopefully - I’m VERY excited!
This is photo of her

JimJam said:

They are ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE!!! what breed are they? Looks like runt made it yay! My Flemish giant has one more day to go then will have her kits hopefully - I’m VERY excited!
This is photo of her

Click to expand...

Mum is a holland lop x mini rex.
Dad although from a different litter off the same breeder is also a hopland lop x mini rex.
She had a bit of an issue when her buck mini rex was placed in the same run as the doe lops. By her husband i might add. During hutch cleans at their rabbitry. So 2 accidental litters totalling 9 were born. X

This was also an accidental litter. The breeders husband had sexed the rabbits on arrival because his wife was asleep. He told us both were bucks.

The runt is persevering but i am still latching him on his mum twice a day

Your flemish giant is gorgeous hun xx i hope she has a healthy litter of kits x how exciting is new kits! Xx

Beautiful babies! it is always so fun to have babies jumping around the cage and tormenting mom... my babies are 14 days old now and are learning to hop.. it is soooooo cute... it looks like you have a harlequin in the litter...

Cookiemonster said:

Beautiful babies! it is always so fun to have babies jumping around the cage and tormenting mom... my babies are 14 days old now and are learning to hop.. it is soooooo cute... it looks like you have a harlequin in the litter...

Click to expand...

I actually have 3 of them. One is clearly harlequin and markings are obvious. But both other cream babys are also harlequin but with less blue. Xx
Its funny because we have 3 with the same colour as the dad and 2 same as the mum. No other variations x

I made a guess at the sexes today and i look forward to finding out if im right lol. My guess is i have 2 does and 3 bucks x

Oh wow... I love harlequins and had one my self... have you experienced a harlequin going paralized... supposedly its genetic is what the breeder said... but i have one now who is doing just fine...

Cookiemonster said:

Oh wow... I love harlequins and had one my self... have you experienced a harlequin going paralized... supposedly its genetic is what the breeder said... but i have one now who is doing just fine...

Click to expand...

I havent. Infact id never heard of it before xx

i hadnt either.... the breeded was a good breeder but seemed sketchy after i bought my harlequin..

When something it’s genetic it doesn’t have to do with the rabbits breed or color, it’s something that’s been passing down from the parents. So the breeder most have been breeding on rabbits that have a genetic default/ sickness if the breeder said it was genetic and not because of the rabbit got sick. If you can take away for getting some sickness.

My pregnant female is 32 days today and still no babies... (it’s her second litter) I can feel them kicking around like crazy and her tits are almost bursting with milk so I’m hoping tonight she’ll have them??? I’m guessing she’s going to have a small litter and that’s why it’s taking longer then usual for her to have them as they have more space to grow?? Hopefully her labour will be ok if they are going to be big...

JimJam said:

My pregnant female is 32 days today and still no babies... (it’s her second litter) I can feel them kicking around like crazy and her tits are almost bursting with milk so I’m hoping tonight she’ll have them??? I’m guessing she’s going to have a small litter and that’s why it’s taking longer then usual for her to have them as they have more space to grow?? Hopefully her labour will be ok if they are going to be big...

Click to expand...

Ooo keep us informed x
Im pretty sure my doe went overdue slightly. She made her nest 3days befoee she had them and she is a first time mum.
I was expecting 4 as thats what i could feel but was happily suprised when we greeted 5 to the world

They are 10days old today and 3 of them have opened their eyes. I have made an educated guess on sexes and i believe i have 2 does and 3 bucks.
The runt is still tiny in comparison to the others but is doing really well.
He has been temporarily named binky.
His colouring confuses me. He is blue to his belly and then he is lilac. I didnt know this can happen?? X

One of the kits. Kit D is not thriving. Beef has decided she no longer is willing to feed the kit. We have tried to hold beef down and qttach the kit like we did with the runt. But she will not let it latch. She bucks and kicks it away. She has no issue feeding the others including the runt. Kit D is now skin and bone. I honestly dont know what to do. I dont think it will make it unless i hand rear. But i dont even know how to go about that x

I would hand rear it if it was in my situation...
I have used baby formula powder, but kitten milk powder formula should do the trick. If you don’t have enough time or will to try hand raise the bun, then maybe it would be best to end its misery...? I have tried hand feeding one and it died, even though it was gaining weight...
Could you possibly send a photo of the kit?

If you are considering hand rearing, it should be a last resort due to the high risk of aspiration occurring, but also don't wait too long. If the kit becomes too weak it may not be possible to turn it around.

One thing more you can try before resorting to hand feeding, is try holding mom laying upright on your lap(belly down), then have someone else bring the baby from underneath and between your legs and moms belly to latch on. Make sure to time it when she has milk in her(right before nursing the other babies) or she will resist wanting to nurse as there won't be any milk to give.

This is a good formula recipe from a baby cottontail site. It uses kitten milk replacer, with cream added. Rabbit milk is a lot more nutrient dense, so you have to try and increase the richness by mixing it thicker and adding the cream.
http://www.2ndchance.info/bunnies.htm
1 part heavy whipping cream can be added to 3 parts powdered KMR and 3-4 parts water.

This other link has good instructions for caring for and feeding the baby, though I don't like their formula recipe as well as the one I cited above.
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/orphan.html

You can use a 1cc syringe, but I've also read of people using those makeup sponge wedges and causing less risk of aspiration.

Today is 34 days for my girl...and still no burrow in nest or any babies... I can still feel them kicking around and she has round tummy so I’m starting to get worried that the kits will die if they don’t come out soon??? Could anyone please tell me how long Flemish giants can go before birth? Thanks

I have been trying to encourage mum to feed but she just rejects that one kit. Ive tried holding her and allowing the baby to latch. She will let all latch accept that one. She kicks him away. Tomorrow i will be going out to get some milk formula and see how it goes. Its going to die if i dont intervene and likely die if i do. But i want to give it a fighting chance.
It opened its eyes today and you can see it wants to live but currently its almost skin and bone.

As for jimjam. Flemish still go the standard 32days which i read up. I would rush her to the vets for them to induce xx

Ok thanks. She hasn’t been eating today but drinks all her raspberry tea... also she has been playing around with the hay in nesting box so fingers crossed tonight she’ll get them!!! I really want to take her to the vet to induce her but my partner says it’s too much money... hopefully everything will be ok

I have been researching ALOT on how long a rabbit can be pregnant for and some have gone to 36-38 days!!! But usually only a couple kits make it or there is only one - two babies... but occasionally the kits are all fine! I’m hoping Honey ( my pregnant doe) has hers overnight because I am getting so ANXIOUS