baby bunny help

[kmtangelkrystal]

my rabbit had her babies yesterday in between the hours of four and six thirty one. she was hemorrhaging a lot and so i fed the babies and put a towel under them and tended to her. she lived. i had vowed to hand feed the runt to make sure it grew well and got fed well before the baby's had arrived. when i got home from school, the others had been fed and the runt looked like it did when i left but slightly skinnier. so i snatched it and have been taking care of it all day today. it slept in the bed with its own cloth bag and a pair of my flannel pj pants last night. i have handled him or her a lot but the thing is i have to go to school tomorrow.
i was sick today btw. my bf said he'd look after it but i'm worried and... well very protective of it already, so i thought it would be best to put it in with its mom so she would try to feed it and he started crying loud after i let him down with the others. he wouldn't stop and he started rooting around the fur and hay waking the other two up in the process. (oh ya she had three)
anyways he wouldn't stop crying out until i put my hand down to him. he got quiet and worked his way into my hand and calmed down...

now that you know what happened, my question is this.
is this normal behavior for hand fed rabbit kits?
i know that mammals go off of scent, so it knows its mother, and it was surrounded by her hair and oder...
is it possible seance i've handled them after birth that it got my scent confused with hers?

 

[bunnybunbunb]

I have only ever raised babies by keeping them in a nest box. I have had to not let them stay with a doe and simply put one over them to feed once a day. I have never wanted to try bottle feeding again. I did many years back and it was a nightmare for me. I am just not good with it.

I do know the babies have always been the sweetest ever. He probably thinks of you as mommy but should calm down if you left him in there for a few minutes while watching to make sure he does not hurt himself.

This should go in the rabbitry, you will get more replies there. I will move it for you.

 

[tonyshuman]

I know that bottle feeding is very difficult and it is easy to get liquid down the wrong pipe, so feeding off the mom is preferred, even if it means you have to hold the mom down and let the babies that aren't getting as much food have extra time feeding off her. Also, the milk that the mother produces is better than what you can buy or make as formula. I am not a breeder and I don't have experience with babies, but I would worry about aspiration and the nutritional content of formula.

 

[BlueGiants]

The mothers milk has very high colostrum, as well as necessary antibodiesthat the baby really, really needs this. Hand feeding is difficult, and there is nothing wrong with supplimenting, but you really need to let the baby nurse of the mother, preferably twice a day.

If necessary, hold the mom over the baby and help the baby to the nipple. It needs to learn to suckle properly. But for the sake of it's immune system and overall healthy, it really needs mothers milk if it's available.

 

[TinysMom]

I'm seeing several threads by you and trying to catch up ... so here are a couple of questions for you.

WHAT are you feeding the baby? You mention milk at some point...you do know they can't have cow's milk - right?

Secondly - why are you keeping the runt separate from the others? While I will often take out the runt so that it can get an extra feeding - I find that they enjoy snuggling with their littermates and I feel like even that part of their life is educational as they try to get at the bottom of the pile and learn to "get along" with others. (The bottom is the warmest spot). I really think it is also important that the runt learn to nurse with the others so that it develops the strength to fight for what it needs. (I'm probably not saying it right).

In all of my litters - while I have hand-fed runts if needed - I always kept them with their mamas and littermates - had them nurse at the same time (this way - when they catch up - they can nurse with them) and also done supplemental feedings - first with mama - and then - as a last resort - with formula made up for their needs. But the formula includes kitten milk replacement, goat's milk and colostrum.