HELP Needed for Young Momma and Newborn Babies

[lilbitsmom]

I have just picked up one of our shelter bunnies who gave birth to three babies either this morning or late last night.

She did not build a nest and by the time I got there on my lunch hour the babies are cold. They are alive, but wrinkly.

I have created a nest from towels, hay and toilet paper because I think this mother is so young (5mos.) that she doesn' t know what to do.

I've turning her over and placing the babies on her to nurse, but they either didn't know what to do, or couldn't get anything from the nipples. Maybe her milk is not let go yet?

Does anyone have experience with issues like this and if so, what did you do?

Also, I have another momma that has been done with nursing for about 2 or 3 weeks. Do you think her milk would come back if these new babies tried to suckle on her?

Thanks bunches! What a challenge this is!

Laura

 

[BlueGiants]

It is very common that the mother's milk may not "drop" for 12 to 24 hours after giving birth. It is also typical that a young doe doesn't know what to do with all the new hormones that birthing will bring... The babies will be fine as long as you keep them warm. It helps that there is more than one, they can keep each other warm. They have to be warm or they won't nurse.

Don't turn the mom over to feed them. Place her over them and let them nurse. Gently hold her in place, maybe with petting and a treat. It may only take 2-3 minutes. Listen for soft sucking sounds.Then remove her from them and let her be. Return her to them twice a day, once in the morning, and again at night. That is all the doe would normally nurse.

After a day or two, try putting the nestbox in with the doe. Her hormones will have kicked in by then and she should be able to care for them on her own.

 

[lilbitsmom]

Thank you so much for that insight. I appreciate it more than you will know.

I've had a lot of momma bunnies at my house, but not one so young and one that didn't seem to know what to do.

She seems lost and I don't want to make it worse for her.

My first priority is to warm the babies and then see if I can get her to nurse. Thanks so much!

Laura

 

[Blaze_Amita]

You will have to let us know how it comes out

 

[lilbitsmom]

My teenage daughters just arrived at home about 20 minutes ago and called me to say that one of the three has already died. Sadly, he was already gone and so there was nothing they could do.

She did say that when she opened the cage to check, that the momma was near the nest and she thought the other two babies seemed pretty warm.

While we were talking we decided to get some hair from another rabbit (male fuzzy lop) and try to enhance the nest that I had built for them on my lunch hour. I hope this helps to keep the remaining two babies warm.

Our house is small so it doesn't really get cold in there, but I think the fuzzy lop hair will help keep them warm. Do you think this will cause problems with the momma bunny?

Laura

 

[BlueGiants]

Turn the momma over and pull fur from her belly and inside her thighs. The hormones that initiate delivery also loosens up the fur from her skin. It should pull out fairly easily. It may take two of you to do if she isn't used to being handled.

 

[lilbitsmom]

Thanks so much for that good tip. I called home and my daughter said momma was sitting in the nest over the babies so we will wait until later on to pull some of her hair. Don't want to disturb her while she is in there.

She seems more calm based on what my daughter says. We have placed her in Michelle's room where it is very quiet and they will do good in there I hope.

Thanks!

Laura

 

[slavetoabunny]

It sounds as though she may be getting the "idea". Poor young mama....I hate to see stuff like this.

 

[BlueGiants]

Do you know what breed she is? About what she weighs? 5 months is a good breeding age fora Mini Rex or smaller breed... but not good for a muchlarger breed.

 

[lilbitsmom]

She is definitely a dwarf breed, but not sure which one. She is very small, with small ears. She is white with brown eyes and then she has spots done her back kind of in a row and then has the same brown mark on her lip. Very cute.

 

[BlueGiants]

Awww... cute! (Photo's would be lovely if you have time!) It's typical for theDwarf ane smallerBreedsto breed this young, so she is physically strong enough to care for them... She just isn't sure what to do with the hormones.

She should start caring for them in a day. Have patience with her. Check the babies tonight. See if they have full little bellies. If so, she is doing fine on her own. If not, put her on top of them again, for a few minutes...

 

[lilbitsmom]

Hi there. Good morning!

Mamma bunny (her name is Gillian) has been keeping them warm and we think possibly nursing too.

The babies are warm and that is a positive step. She has been eating better too and drinking. I am going home at lunch and will try to put her on top of the nest to see if the babies are trying to nurse.

Cross your fingers that they are nursing. They still looked a little wrinkly this morning when I checked.

Laura

 

[BlueGiants]

Glad to hear the babies made it through the night. It is not Gillian's job to keep them warm. Rabbit moms are not like cats and dog moms... They don't gather the babies, keep them warm or tend to them during the day. If they crawl off, the mom will let them die, if they don't come back.

Rabbit moms will feed them twice a day, clean up any droppings in the nest and leave them alone for up to 12 hours at a time. (They are not known as the most wonderful mothers in the animal kingdom!)

It's OK if they are still a little bit wrinkled... Gillian's milk will increase over the next 2 days, and they should start looking plumper.

 

[lilbitsmom]

Thanks alot. We have seen her sitting in the nest area where it seems she was sitting over the top of them.

In the beginning when I brought them home they were so cold I was worried about them staying warm, so that has been a huge improvement.

I wish I was more confident about this stuff, but experiences like these will help. Thanks for sharing all of this information with me. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it!

I'll keep you posted on their progress and try to take some pictures.

Laura

 

[BlueGiants]

Gillian may like hanging out in the nestbox because it is soft and warm. And that is OK as long as she isn't "messing" in the box too. That can leave a mess that will jeopardize the babies health. As the babies get bigger and learn to chase afterher for a meal, she'll stay away from them unless she has to nurse!

 

[lilbitsmom]

Yep, I noticed that she went to the bathroom in the box and outside of it too. I am going to clean it and remake it today so the babies stay clean. Thanks!

 

[Starlight Rabbitry]

Do you mean that she pooped in the box or peed too? Leave the poop in the box. Some mothers will poop in the box for the babies to eat it. They are too young to eat it but just leave it in there. If she peed in the box, then clean just the part she did it in.

Sharon

 

[lilbitsmom]

Thanks for asking. She did a little bit of both. We laid a towel down on the bottom of the pan and I noticed that it was a little pee soaked. I removed the towel and we have fortified the nest with some soft hay and fur from momma bunny.

I won't remove the poops right away next time I have to clean.

Laura

 

[lilbitsmom]

Babies made it through another night everyone! We gave them a supplement last night, just a little bit. They were very interested in it and that made me happy.

We fed them very, very slowly with an eye dropper because I had read that you need to feed them slowly at their pace so they don't get overfed or have the liquids go down the wrong tube and they die.

This morning I helped Gillian to nurse the babies by having her sit over the top of them and they were very anxious to nurse from her. They were crawling around like they should and trying really hard. They were crying and she was licking them even a little bit.

They got tired and so we put them back in the nest and covered them up. I am hoping that the little bit that they are getting is enough. I've read that you should only supplement them once a day if you think the mother is nursing.

I'm just not sure that she got her milk in. That is the thing that I'm afraid of. Because she seems to be able to sit there and be gentle and patient.

Big Question: How do I know if her milk let down or not?

Next Big Question: If it hasn't, can the kits live on supplement only?

Thanks for all your help!!!

Laura

 

[wabbitmom12]

Sadly, most kits that are supplement-only don't live. A few do, but their chances are FAR greater if you can keep mama nursing.

Do the kits look like they have swallowed a large gumball or a ping-pong ball? That is what a full belly looks like. If the bellies are slightly rounded, they are probably getting some milk.

When babies aren't thriving and/or they seem too thin, we usually help by placing mama over the kits 3 times a day,in the manner thatBlue Giants suggested. Usually a day or two (maybe 3) of thisadditional feedingis enough to keep the babies satisfied, and the doe's milk supply has increased enough that the babies get full in their 2 feedings a day.

Much like humans, the first mother's milk is highly nutritious, but very thin - colostrum. She will have that until her richer milk comes in within a few days. It's pretty rare that a mama bun doesn't have any "real" milk come in at all if she is showing any interest in them, and you are helping her 2-3 times a day so she gets the idea of what to do. One exception would be if the mama is too frightened to let the milk come down. Since your little mama bun seems to be cooperating, and doesn't seem to get stressed over being handled, you should be turning a corner within another day or two, maybe 3. You're doing great, hang in there!