How to properly feed week old bunnies?

[Wee Wabbits]

Hey guys... the litters that I have been having problems with I have an update. It's not to good. I fostered all Tiny's babies to Arowyn because they were slowly dieing one by one..... she just didn't want to feed them no matter what. Arowyn readily accepted them but I've noticed that babies haven't been growing like my other litter (Bee Bee's) they are bout half the size (3 days younger). Today I watched as she nursed them for several mins....... and they couldn't get any milk... she was trying but nothing.... so I have come to the conclusion that she has no milk anymore... So I took them inside, heated up some puppy formula, and tried to feed them with a kitten bottle..... .they would have no part of it. So I grabbed a plastic syringe.... I tried that and man they were hungry. One of them was actually trying to suck the syringe. So my question is... How much should they get. I don't want to give them to much or to little. They are mini lops.... Growing to 6 Pounds.

 

[ra7751]

Hi,

The guideline I use with cottontails is 10% of body weight per feeding. It could be a little more or a little less depending on the rabbit. In reality, you can see the milk line in the gut....I get a jelly belly...so to speak.

I have had some "issues" with the puppy formula. I have had the best success in hand raising rabbits by using Fox Valley Nutrition 32/40. It's not expensive and is appropriate for rabbits, squirrels up to about 4 weeks and opossums up to 45g. It is a great formula. Baby rabbits prefer their formula warm as you already know.

http://foxvalleynutrition.com/main/home.asp

They also carry syringes that we use with the pinkies.

If you have a wildlife rehabber or a skilled vet tech near by....the best way to feed these guys is by "tubing"....inserting a feeding catheter directly into the stomach. Be very careful so that the kits do not aspirate the formula into their lungs....and that can be a challenge. Fluid in the lungs will cause a serious lung infection. Good luck. Rabbits are notoriously difficult to hand raise.....but it can be done.

Randy

 

[Wee Wabbits]

How many times do you feed them per day..... I know some people do it twice and other do it four times....

One weighs 80 grams and the other 85 grams.

They might be a little more then a week now that I think about it. Fully furred so no way to see a milk line... eyes not going to be opening for probably another few days.

 

[Wee Wabbits]

Oh and I'm keeping the babies with Arowyn... just bringing them in to feed them. She is a great mommy and a lot of times in the mornings when I go out she is lying down and they have hopped out their next box and are snuggled up under her chin. She looks so proud.

 

[clarzoo]

I am sorry to hear you are still having trouble with these litters. I was really hoping for you that Arowyn would be able to do the job.

Earlier this year I raised a litter of Checkered Giants (five) on Kitten Milk Replacer plus a bit of Heavy Whipping Cream. The babies grew well and I didn't lose any. I tried to keep close track of how much they ate at each feeding. I wasn't so much concerned with quantity- at first I just wanted them to eat. But I used the amount of cc's they ate per feeding to chart whether they were increasing or decreasing the amount they ate. If they were decreasing, I gave that bunny an extra feeding.

I fed every four hours at first. Mine were younger than yours sound when I first started, though. I was able todo three times a day with no problems once all of them were eating well. Don't even mess with those puppy/kitten bottles. I just used a syringe. Just be very careful when they are sucking the formula down that it doesn't go up their nose. I kept a paper towel handy and would dab any formula that leaked out their mouth as soon as I saw it.



Good luck!

 

[Wee Wabbits]

I'm so worried about the babies...... one of them opened their eyes today... so it must be about 9 days old... it's so small. But he's eating very well. The other one is acting kinda sick and they are both very cold. So I brought them indoors and have them on a heating pad set on low. I don't work tomorrow so I might stay up late trying to nurse them. If one of them is dehydrated is it alright to give them pydialyte at this age? The one that is having problems is 2 or 3 days younger then the other. I'm going nuts...... I'm afraid I'm going to loose them...... :cry1:

 

[Wee Wabbits]

Yay!!!! I was really expecting to loose one of them last night. It was acting listless, ate very little and coughing quite a bit. This morning it is running all over the heating pad trying to find some milk... so I'm sterilizing the syringe and once that is done it's feeding time... again! Not entirely out of the woods but looking hopeful.

 

[clarzoo]

That's great news! Sounds like they might have been getting too cold. That was a great idea to get them on a heating pad. Make sure to have the heating pad under only half of the nest box. If they get too hot, they have a place to move to.

How often are you feeding them? Smaller more frequent feedings are a good idea for rabbits that need a bit of a jump start if you can do it.

 

[Wee Wabbits]

Well today it's only noon and they've had 2 feedings already. One of them is doing great. Starting to hop around and drinking very well of the syringe as of the last feeding, just gulping it down. The other is harder.... chokes very easy but the appetite is starting to pick up a little. I am diluting the mixture a little more then I am suppossed to but that is cause I don't want them to get dehydrated. Yesterday I think they only ate like maybe one quarter of what they are suppossed to eat at each feeding in the whole day..... They wouldn't touch any more... Well today one of them has eaten a whole feeding... the other about half.

 

[grumpybabies]

That is great news, you are doing a good job there, it is a shame you have to do this though, but well done you!

 

[Wee Wabbits]

Ok it's been a while since I've updated......

The littler one that wasn't eating as much died.... :'( but the other one is doing well. Eating solid food, hay, pellets, oats, and still having four feedings of milk a day. He eats half a syringe full at each feeding. He's not growning like the others that are his age but he's doing good. He loves to run around the floor and he loves cuddling. He thinks he's human. He is very very impatient when I feed him and won't hold still till he gets the milk.

Oh on a side note.... I'm trying to think of a name for him.... and I think I know what I want but I can't remember it. On the movie Over the Hedge..... what is the hyperactive squirrels name? Do any of you know?

 

[hopntailrabbitry]

That's good that the one is doing good.