Help with 5 day old bun

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nikki8jean

nikki8jean

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Hello :) I am new here and can't wait to meet everyone. But, first...I need some help with my baby bunny. He/she is 5 days old today and I rescued him from a family who lets their kid's rabbits breed every month...every month the mother rabbit doesn't care for them (dad rabbit is in the cage and mom is only 8 months old hmmmm..) anyway...so this little one was the last of three (the other two died). I have been feeding him KMR for 3 days now. He is going to the bathroom fine and staying warm. My question....
Does he need night droppings now? I read that you should mix them in the formula...gross but i will do it if its the right thing. I also read somewhere to give it to them at 2-3 weeks. Which is right?? And if it is now...how much do I give? Any help would be appreciated greatly!!! Thank you :)
 
I am moving this to the Rabbitry
As far as I know this is so very young the baby should be returned to the mother for at least 5 weeks more

Just because he is fine now doesn't mean that he will remain fine . This bun is way to young for you to have him. KMR is not the complete diet even if you were to feed him I will give you the correct diet but I STRONGLY urge you to do the responsible thing andget this baby back with the mother or another doe so that it's immune system and GI system can develop normally

This bun will most likely not survive and if so will probably have health issues from not being with mom and getting her milk

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/orphan.html
 
im not sure you understand. the mother rejected all three babies and two of them died. i did not take this bunny from the mother myself. i work at a summer camp and a kid brought it to me in a basket with no warmth or protection...the kid said "here my mom said its going to die so just show the kids at camp before it dies." when i called the mother she said "oh yeah they breed every month and they always die...this one will too so unless you want to take care of it just show the kids then get rid of it." so basically i have this rabbit, it doesnt have access to its mother and i am doing the best i can.

does anyone know what else i can do besides KMR? i have done a lot of research but cant seem to find an answer about feeding the baby the "night droppings". my husband and i are trying to save the little one...i know his/her chances are not good but i have been successful before in hand raising orfaned animals (mice, squirrels, parrots etc.) I am new to bunnies!
 
thank you. is colustrum the same as what they get from night droppings? the site i looked at said to actually get the cecal droppings from another rabbit and feed it to the baby. is that right?
 
no worries...thank you for taking the time...i am sick and trying to finish up a masters class this week and taking care of the kit...so busy...I just can't find this info anywhere!
 
I believe Randy uses Esbalac puppy formula to feed his handfed babies.

Is there anyway you could try to find a breeder or rescue close to you? If you could find someone with a nursing doe, the baby is still young enough to be fostered in with another litter. That would probably be the babies best chance of survival.

--Dawn
 
I would do a google search for rabbit breeders in your area. If there are any close, explain your situation and hopefully they might have a doe to foster the baby to. That would give the baby the best chance of survival.

Other than that, you've been given some good information about the formula. I raised a kit once completely on KMR and she is fine, but that's not a common occurance. Hand-raising baby rabbits is creeping up on the impossible side of things, so if the baby doesn't make it, just know that you have done everything you could to help him along. I am very impressed at the research you've already done and can tell that you're trying your best.

I'm not sure about the cecal droppings in the formula. I am a breeder, but have never had to do that before, so I don't have any advice on that front. Only good wishes to you and the kit. Keep us updated. :)
 
I also believe that he uses the powder formula and starts with not the full strength. Slowly increasing the amount of formula powder until its full strength.

I would focus on hydration right now. You should be able to hydrate using a plain unflavoured pedialyte.

Hand feeding is very difficult in that the babies can inhale/aspirate the liquids so easily. If in doubt, just let the baby lick the end of an eyedropper or syringe. Keep a tissue hand to wipe up their mouth and nose.

Make sure to stimulate to pee/poop after a feeding. Use a warm washclothe or cotton ball and wipe the genitals until it pees or poops.

--Dawn




 
I wish I could help you - but I've never done the cecal thing with babies that were having issues nursing.
 
aurora369 wrote:
I believe Randy uses Esbalac puppy formula to feed his handfed babies.

Is there anyway you could try to find a breeder or rescue close to you? If you could find someone with a nursing doe, the baby is still young enough to be fostered in with another litter. That would probably be the babies best chance of survival.

--Dawn
Click to expand...

Yes Randy uses the Esbalac puppy formula. He has posted it in some of his posts I believe.

I also agree that you, nikki8jean, should find a breeder or rescue near you that has a nursing doe that can nurse this baby that you have.
 
You have gotten some good advice. Finding a local breeder with a lactating doe would give the baby the best chances of survival. It is really, really hard to raise a baby rabbit on the bottle. And a lot of them end up with compromised immune systems.

I have done the cecal feeding for a litter that was being hand raised. Do you have access to a healthy doe's cecal droppings? I don't start mixing the cecals in until they are 2 1/2 - 3 weeks of age (After their eyes are open and they are nibbling on solid food.

If you don't have access to a healthy supply of Cecal Droppings, you can use BeneBac, small animal probiotics in a powder form. Mixing it with unflavored Pedialyte and tiny bit of Critical Care works well.

I have some strong words for the people allowing their rabbit to breed every month. After so many repeated litters, the doe may not have the health or reserves to raise a litter and she knows it, so she rejects them. What a shame... she needs to be spayed, or have the buck neutered.
 
BlueGiants wrote:
I have some strong words for the people allowing their rabbit to breed every month. After so many repeated litters, the doe may not have the health or reserves to raise a litter and she knows it, so she rejects them. What a shame... she needs to be spayed, or have the buck neutered.
Click to expand...
I agree. I don't know why there are people out there who don't have the capacity to understand that litter after litter can kill a doe within months. They say it kindles every month and- oh, by the way, they all die. So just have fun with it till it keels over?!?!:X:X:X:XWhat JERKS (to keep this G rated) for putting an animal through that.:X:X:X:X

 
I agree with you OakRidgeRabbits. How can people be so cruel to rabbits? I think the person who bred the rabbit every month thought that the rabbit was like the energizer bunny, they just keep going and going. When the fact is they don't and they will die.
 
Yes, Randy uses Esbilac puppy powder and recommends Bene-Bac instead of cecal pellets from another rabbit. The very best thing would be to foster the baby to another doe, but puppy powder and Bene-Bac may help. It's very important not to get it in the lungs while you are syringe-feeding. They can aspirate the solution easily which is very dangerous.
 
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