Help with my foster litter!!

[Bunnies_Cavies]

I am fostering a litter of 6 week old lionhead mix bunnies for the local humane society. I have had them since birth and the humane society knows nothing about bunnies!! I have a few questions they can't answer...
1. Mom was a stray but the babies have a crazy amount of fur around their faces so I assume they are lionhead mixes. Mom is about 4lbs and not a lionhead. Any idea how big they will get?
2. There are 7 babies. Most are about a pound now, but one is TiNy, maybe 4oz
He is healthy, eats, drinks and poops fine, but seems to have less muscle tone than the others and loses his balance often. Is he just the runt? Think he might catch up?
3. They seem to be weaned...haven't seen them even attempt to nurse since 4 weeks. Can they be separated from mom? She seems annoyed by them.
4. The humane society wants to spay/neuter them all at 8 weeks old. I am worried about the runt and don't think he could handle anesthesia...what do you think? Also, I know bunnies should live in bonded pairs, but since he is so tiny and gets trampled by his siblings, would it be bad to keep him and send his siblings up for adoption in pairs (there are 7 anyway) and then if he grows into an adult, then get him neutered and paired up?

Thanks for your time!!
Sarah

 

[ladysown]

one pound at six weeks? probably finish around 6 lbs.

The runt.... probably has something wrong with it. Get the humane society to vet it...most likely issue...e.cuniculi, or gut development problems.

yes, they can be weaned at six weeks, particularly if mom is getting annoyed with them.

spay/neuter on the runt.. HIGH likelihood to kill it. On the rest.... my.. they are in a hurry aren't they? will make it easier to keep them bonded, but since they are so little and don't tend to handle anesthetic well.. might kill the whole litter or at least stunt them. I've heard of male bunnies being done that early but female? haven't heard of it done successfully that young.

The one pictured appears to be lionhead cross...or possibly some long haired breed mixed in.

 

[PABunnyMom]

The vets I have asked about spay/neutering will not do it before 6 months.

 

[Watermelons]

Nothing wrong with spaying/neutering animals early. It does NOT stunt their growth. Having seen hundreds of animals go through it at that age and they all grew up just fine....

And bunnies do not have to be kept in pairs.

 

[JBun]

I'm surprised the vet will neuter/spay them that young. Usually the vet will at least want the females to be 2 lbs and males testicles to descend before fixing them. At 8 weeks usually neither of those things has happened yet. If the vet doing the surgeries was a very experienced rabbit vet and was still willing to do it that young, then maybe it would be fine. But if not an experienced rabbit vet, I would have doubts as to whether or not the babies would survive the surgery.

I agree that the runt likely has a health issue and spaying/neutering could very well kill the baby until it is older and the health issue is sorted out. It's hard to know what the health issue is causing the stunted growth and balance problems without additional symptoms and having diagnostics done to better pinpoint a cause. Most common cause associated with those symptoms would be what ladysown mentioned, e. cuniculi. It can cause both of those symptoms, and is a fairly common health problem for rabbits. The vet may want to treat with fenbendazole if no other definite cause is found, to cover this possibility.
http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Parasitic/Encephalitozoonosis.htm
http://www.gwexotics.com/wccms-resources/a/5/0/e/77554b90-a660-11e0-a685-0050568626ea.pdf

Coccidiosis is also a possibility, in particular hepatic coccidiosis. It is a common illness in young rabbits and it can affect growth, though there aren't usually balance issues associated with it. But it may be worth having the vet do a fecal test to check for it just in case. It also may not be either of these and may be a genetic issue or some other health problem.
http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Parasitic/Hepatic_coccidiosis_rabbits.htm