Does my doe need help?

[lexoli]

Hi!

I recently rehomed a little female bunny - she had been found wandering in a road and the lady who found her couldn't find the owner but also couldn't keep her so she came to me.

With not knowing whether she was neutered and being aware of the fact she had been out for an unknown time, I knew there was a risk she had been caught (there are a lot of wild rabbits in the area where she was found too) so I have been watching out for signs of pregnancy.

Other than a bit of weight gain (which I put down to her eating properly after being lost), there had been no signs - until this morning when there were 6 kits in the corner of the cage :adorable:

I swiftly put together a nesting box and moved them into it, they were all clean and seemed to have nice round tummies apart from the runt who is tiny and had a bit of a wrinkly tummy.

I know that they don't nurse all day and rarely go to the kits, so I'm not concerned about feeding them yet, but when I read up online about the fact she hadn't built a nest, one webpage said that not pulling her fur can mean that her nipples aren't exposed and so the kits will struggle to find nipples.

I have had a look at her and she is very thick underneath - I struggled to locate her nipples and they certainly aren't visible.

Is this going to cause problems for the kits feeding? Is there anything that I can or should do to help her? (hubby suggested an electric razor! :expressionless )

 

[JBun]

You could try seeing if her belly fur is still loose enough to pluck some fur from around the nipples. The fur is easier to pull out right around the birth of the babies. You need some fur in the nest anyways, so the babies can keep warm.

 

[majorv]

Yea, if it's within a day or so I would think you can still pull some fur from her belly and then use it to line the nestbox under the kits with. Within 24 hours after kindling she should feed them, but then she'll pretty much say away from them the rest of the time.

 

[Blaze_Amita]

I've had some not pull a lot of fur that day that they have them, but after that evening's feed sit and pull a crap load of hair, just keep them warm. If she doesn't pull fur, pluck it from her tummy.