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MousQwene

MousQwene

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Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
So today I went into Penny's cage to check on the babies. I did what I read and pet her a lot first before touching the nest. I wanted to take some pictures, so I pulled a lot of the top stuff aside and in the process brushed a baby. I took my pictures and put the nest back as best I could, pet Penny, and walked away. A couple of minutes later I walked back into the room and two of the babies were out of the nest! They are 3 days old and all of them were squeaking to beat the band and Penny wasn't trying to herd them back to the nest. I pet her quickly and tried to put them back myself, but they kept flopping out. Is this normal? Is this ok? Was it my fault?? I've never had baby buns before and I'm having a heart attack.
 
Them flopping about is normal at that age. They are probably hungry. Is the nestbox too low? Are they able to move out of the nest?

Sounds to me like they squirmed right out of the nest. As far as her not herding them back it, they won't. They will not grab the babies and carry them.

Sharon
 
They flop on top of each other and then as they are flopping, they flip out. All but one have made it back into the nest. The last one is just kinda chillin. I think it fell asleep..
 
They will bounce and flop if you touch them and they are hungry. They have to "act quick" if you will once momma is in the nest because she doesnt stay very long for them to feed. Its an instinct....I find it very humerous=)
 
They need a nest box. I commented on your other thread with photos. They shouldn't be able to crawl about the cage yet cause they'll get cold.
 
What are you using as a nestbox?

A proper nestbox will have a 4-5 inch wall in the front. It is just short enough for mom to jump over, but tall enough that when she jumps out, any babies left hanging on will be knocked off into the box. They also can't crawl out of here until their eyes are open and they learn to hop.

Kits flipping out this early is really dangerous because they're blind and don't have a lot of fur. They can be easily chilled, but not be able to find their way back in the nest. Does cannot pick up and carry their kits like dogs or cats can, so unless you have an especially caring doe who tries to herd them back or lays on top of them to keep them warm, their chances of survival out of the nest are slim.

So make sure you're using a proper nestbox, push them back toward the back, and you really shouldn't have any problems at this age.
 
Reach in and save as much of her nest as you can.... first you can put some hay or something in the bottom of the box, then put the original nest in and put the babies in there. Can you put the box where the nest is in the cage?
 
Another n00b question then...:-/ Once I move the babies to a nestbox, can I clean the cage? I read somewhere that you're not supposed to disturb anything for a week or so after the birth...I'm sorry. I've never had babies before.
 
I don't see why not...... I wouldn't use like heavy cleaning stuff..... but getting everything out and even a paper towel with warm water wouldn't hurt if you need to wipe anything.
 
There's no reason you can't clean the cage. Some people will say you can't touch the babies, go near the cage, or hardly even breathe in the same house that a new mother is in...that's just utter stupitidy! lol You've been caring for the mother rabbit since before she even had babies- acting differently around her now will only stress her more than if you just act normally. I clean the cage, feed the rabbits, handle the rabbits, etc. as I normally would. That is not to say that taking the kits away for hours at a time wouldn't stress the mom. But the usual handling, cleaning, and attention she is used to won't make her abandon or cannibalize the babies.
 
To make a nest box, first find a suitable box. I have used a shoe box on several occasions, and it has worked quite well.

You then want to fill the box with some hay or staw. Make a hole in the middle, and deposit the orginal nest (as much as can be salvaged) into the hole. You want to remove any bloodied bits of the nest, and make sure there are not any dead babies or pieces of placenta left in the nest.

Once the nest is in the nestbox, you can give the cage a tidy. Then place the nest box where the orginal nest was.

Mom should be able to figure out that her nest is now in the box. Especially if you are able to salvage much of her orginal nest, as it will smell the same.

The box is very useful to help keep the babies from escaping the nest before they are old enough. If they manage to get out of the nest at this young age, they will freeze to death as they have no fur. You want to make sure the front lip of the nest box is high enough to keep the babies from escaping, but low enough for mom to be able to hop in. I would keep in between 4-6 inches, depending on how big mom is.

You can also use the nest box to transport babies. It is easier to pull the nest box out of the cage to do a daily inspection on the babies. I normally pull the box out, then check over all the babies to make sure all are eating, there are no injuries and that the nest is clean.

--Dawn
 
I went to the pet store around the corner. Their bunny selection is limited but I picked up a small kitty litter box. We put a little bit of hay in the bottom and as much of the nest as we could, then cleaned out the cage.
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That should work well. Good job!

You can fill in more hay around the sides to help keep the babies more to the middle of the bin.

I have also used dish bins, which is very similar to the kitty litter box.

I also wanted to make a note about the food. I see that her pellets have bits of corn and other "stuff" in them. I would advise you to find a more suitable pellet. You want a plain pellet with no "fun" stuff in them. For a nursing doe and growing babies, something with a protien level of 16-18% is needed. For adult rabbits, a 12-14% protien is more than sufficient to maintain body weight. For all foods, the higher the fiber the better.

You can look into finding food a feed store, much cheaper and much better quality that way. I buy a 40 pound bag for $10, and it is much better quality than the petstore brands.

She also needs a supply of fresh hay. The babies and mum can have some alfafa for now. She will need a grass hay like timothy once the babies are weaned, and she can also have that while the babies are nursing.

Hay is normally the first thing the little babies will start nibbling on when their eyes open. You want to make sure there is lots of clean hay in the nest with them so they don't have to go far to find it.

--Dawn

 
Thanks. I had the "fun stuff" food because she's a picky eater and would hardly touch the plain pellet stuff but I suppose she's going to have to get over it ;-) And in those pics she is hoarfing down hay behind the camera, so that's covered. But I really appreciate the tips.
 
Looks good :) and looks like you have spotty in there.

I had babies born just at weekend and I cleaned the cage today we always leave the nests till they come out and just clean round it :)
 
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