Baby Bunnies Dying.. please help.

[BugsBunny19]

My doe had a litter of 5 that should of now been 8 days old. But yesterday and today all but one have died. The first one that died I found him cold away from the nest and weak. I warmed him up to my best ability but he passed away. Today another three have died, this was due to their nest being really wet and of course cold. I read advice not to mess with the nest as it could make mum abandon them (which she did with her last litter).. but now I feel bad because if I felt the bottom I would of knew. One of the deaths happened a moment ago. I’ve got one precious kit left. I’m so sad and I don’t know what I’ve done wrong. I haven’t tried to hand feed them. Mum was okish at feeding them, but I had to gently hold her to give a couple of feeds. Has anyone got tips on keeping a final kit alive? He has fully warmed up but does look wrinkly so I got mum to give him another feed which was successful. Any advice please.

 

[Blue eyes]

Try posting this in the Rabbitry & Showroom section. (sorry, I've not bred rabbits)

 

[JBun]

The nest and kits need to be checked every day to make sure mom is feeding and stimulating them to pee, that mom isn't peeing on them or in the nest, and that none have died. Unfortunately the advice you read was incorrect.

I wouldn't suggest hand feeding as long as you can help it nurse off mom, and unless there's no other choice. Reason being is that it's very difficult to do it successfully. Those little kits are very prone to aspirating the milk, and once that happens they get pneumonia and die. Here's some info on caring for new kits and what you need to keep an eye on.
https://flashsplace.webs.com/accidentallitters.htm

I would suggest checking the mom's nipples very carefully for any signs of mastitis. If that has occurred it would be the likely reason for the kits death.

I'm very sorry you lost the kits and hope this last kit will be ok.

 

[Augustus&HazelGrace]

Rabbits will not abandon their nest if you mess with them. You need not to reuse the nest that the babies were in. The nest needs to be dry and warm. You may even want to keep the nest inside to keep it warm. When you remake the nest, use a warm blanket, singletons have trouble keeping themselves warm. Make sure where you place it, is quiet and there is no draft. Then when it comes feeding time and I would have her feed twice a day flip mom over and let baby nurse. Then after the feeding, take a Q-tip and run it under warm not hot water and gently stimulate the baby to use the bathroom. Careful the pee shoots out fast!

 

[TinysMom]

Something that I don't think has been addressed is that some moms are just lousy moms and don't care for their babies. We "humanize" them by thinking they'll act like a human mom - but they don't.

It has been years since I was breeding but I did keep a final kit alive. It helps that it was a flemish giant...but he thrived and did quite well.

Here is a picture of Dukey at 5 weeks old. According to my comments - I bottlefed him (more like syringe fed him at first) from the time he was 10 days old.

 

[majorv]

Something that I don't think has been addressed is that some moms are just lousy moms and don't care for their babies. We "humanize" them by thinking they'll act like a human mom - but they don't.

It has been years since I was breeding but I did keep a final kit alive. It helps that it was a flemish giant...but he thrived and did quite well.

Here is a picture of Dukey at 5 weeks old. According to my comments - I bottlefed him (more like syringe fed him at first) from the time he was 10 days old.

Agreed, some Mom’s never get it.

Good to see you here again, Peg!

 

[Julie&Bunnies]

I second the advice to use a warm blanket for a single baby, keep the baby indoors, and continue helping it nurse from the mother. I do not advise to flip the mother over. Just let her stand on her feet in a natural position and gently but firmly hold her still and get the baby nursing.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[bunnylove2024]

I'm so sorry! I think you should just keep the kit warm as Julie&Bunnies said, but you should also make sure that the mom is ok. If she is in pain or is exhausted she might have just given up... which is sad, but can happen. I wish you the best of luck and please keep us updated!