Babies and food

[sarahsop]

Hello

Well my little bundles are now hopping around the hutch...so far so good! One had a sticky eye at first which seemed to not want to open, I bathed it and it opened and is now clear and clean. One had a sore patch on his/her tummy, the scab dropped off and its now fine!

My Question for you all is what do I do about food for the babies? Do I just let them get on with it or do I need to crush some pellets? Do I still give mum the odd Carrot or not? Mum loves the dried corn on a stick too, which she always pulls down, would you remove this too?

At the minute they are munching on hey and looking sooo adorable! They seem to hop around after mum and if she is still, they dive under her to feed, she promptly hops away, normal I am assuming!

Sarah x

 

[Flashy]

They are absolutely adorable

It sounds like you are doing a grand job too, well done you.

As for the food, you don't need to crush the pellets, they will learn to eat them as they go.

As for the carrot, mum can still have it, but the littlies shouldn't really eat anything fresh for a good while yet (as in months in the future) so maybe take mum out to feed her, or hand feed her it. Some people say that it is ok to feed the babies bits of fresh, but my experiences with that have not been great, so I never give the babies anything fresh (but that's personal choice) because the gut is going through a tough time, and is very sensitive.

I don't know about the corn. If it were me I would probably take it out so that the babies could only eat hay and pellets.

 

[clarzoo]

They look great, and so does mom!

The babies don't need the pellets crushed any, they can eat the same one mom eats with no problem.

I'd only give the mom small bits of carrot, that the babies can't get to.

As far as the corn, I'd without a doubt remove it from the cage. It really isn't a great thing to feed any rabbits, adult or babies, but it seems to be particularly hard on babies sensitive systems.

Right now the babies are going through a very fragile stage as they wean onto hard foods. Be sure to check their bottoms to make sure they don't have soft poo. Make sure they have constant access to hay and water.

Good luck!

 

[RAL Rabbitry]

The babies look great!

I would not give them any fresh food either. And never corn even to the adults.

I give my babies all the hay and pellets they will eat and I do give them

dry oatmeal every night.

You might want to give mum a shelf to jump up onto to get away from the

kits. They can be persistent little buggers LOL. I usually turn my wooden

nestboxes on their side and leave them in the hutch until the kits figure out

how to jump up there with mum, then I take it out.

Roger

 

[sarahsop]

Hi

Thanks for the advice! I am really a newbie, Lucy was taken in really for a friend and the rest is history as they say!

Wow corn is Lucys favourite! Non more corn for you then my girl!

I have a plastic igloo the bunns have in their run....that'll do for an escape route I think!

BIG QUESTION! Can Lola have some R&R in the run or does she have to stay with the babies? Its really hot today.....29C in the house!



sarah x

 

[Starlight Rabbitry]

She can have some time alone in the run, but not for too long. An hour is fine. You can also put the babies in the run if there is no grass.

Sharon

 

[sarahsop]

Cool, I can move the run off the grass for them.

I feel sorry for her all stuck in the hutch all day when she is usedto being out all day!



Thanks



sarahx

 

[pigwidgeon]

I agree about no corn and no veggies (except a bit for mom that the babies can't get to). Also like everyone said, pellets don't need to be crushed.

As to letting her out in a run or pen or any form of exercise yard, try covering the bottom with a tarp if there's grass (so the babies can't get to it) and if there isn't grass then they're golden . Mothers can be away from their babies and vice versa.

 

[aurora369]

When I have babies, I always feed them the same as mom. If mom normally gets veggies then so do the babies. While they are still nursing and getting antibodies from mom is a good time to do a slow and careful introduciton to veggies.

I give small amounts and wait a day or so. Then give some more.

I always monitor carefully, but I have yet to have a problem.

Stay away from high carb veggies like carrots and stick to nice leafy greens.

Always have lots of fresh hay available and plain pellets.

--Dawn

 

[pamnock]

As Dawn mentioned, babies can have the same diet mom is used to. If she's on veggies, grass & corn - babies can have the same.

Pam

 

[sarahsop]

Oooh it's all so confusing!

I generally feed the bunny's on rabbit nuggets, with the occasional treat such as corn/carrot or green's such as spring cabbage. They always have fresh hey/water/pellets....every morning with one eye open and the other closed, my boys have milk and then I get the bunnies sorted!

I think tomorrow I will move the run onto the patio and let the babies and Lola have a run around. Charlie is out everyday still, he has started to get a bit grumpy with me? He's bitten me twice when I have been putting him away for the night, and has started to thump in his hutch when he gets in too? Since I seperated them I have held him up to Lola every day for them to nose each other (very sweet) and I am desperatly hoping that they will ggo back together when the babeis are weaned.



Thanks for all your help and advice!



sarah x