mom barried her babies

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kmtangelkrystal

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she barried them... they have a whole bunch of hair on them, a towel underneith, there is no reason for her to do that, and if it was for warmpth it couldn't have been that eaither.. it was piled high enough the babies were trying to scurry their way out by digging out the sides... i am not going to risk the other two dieing so what do i do to get her to feed them without being in the nest..... already lost the runt today.. this scares me
 
it was NOT fur.. that i know is normal.. this is cedar chips and waste... she basically went where she go's to the bathroom and piled everhting from there on around the nest up on the corner.. thats too much pressure for the babies... i know that can't be normal.. they aren't safe
 
Perhaps she is feeling insecure, like the babies are not safe enough. This could explain why she is putting so much over them, including soiled bedding. If she is -feeding them properly- the best thing for the babies and mom is to keep them with her. I would look into using a different bedding. Cedar Chips are not recommended and are linked to liver problems in small animals due to the Phenols they produce.

I know how worrying all this must be. Is she feeding them well?
 
Yes, cedar chips are very dangrous for baby buns (dangerous for adults too, but not as immediate of a danger). I would change the bedding and take the waste off the babies, but leave them with her if she is feeding them (they should have round bellies that look like they have swallowed a ping pong ball)
 
If there is waste in the nestbox, then you need to be cleaning it out. ;) Otherwise it can be harmful to the babies in the form of diseases, etc. The cedar chips should also be replaced with some other type of bedding - such as kiln dried pine chips. ;)

Do you have to have the towel in the box? I would be worried that that could suffocate the babies if it got on top of them and then there was no way for them to get out. If it's able to be secured to the bottom, then I would leave it in there, otherwise, take it out. It sounds like she's doing her job to keep them warm if there is fur on top of them and they are being covered up.

And I agree - if she is doing her job feeding them, then there is no reason to remove the box. ;)

"Too much pressure" really isn't a problem, and it's not really too much pressure at all. ;)

Emily
 
the big one looks like he's fed well its the little one I'm worried about... not to mention the scratch marks i noticed on both of them... she has been notorious for hurting her kits.. last time she killed them... i left her alone.. she had a box... and she tore everyone of the baby's up.. scratches bite marks..and they were warm too... I'm happy she is feeding them.. but.. still..
 
in addition her first litter was seven .... i don't trust her.. she didn't act right before and we didn't mean for her to get pregnant again.. i know they need their mom but they kinda need to be safe and healthy more..
 
it was an accedent... irregardless i was happy .. and i had hoped she wouldn't of done something stupid like this.. her first litter was protected, safe, no one or nothing was in there with her, she was fine, i seen no reason for her to slaughter her babies...

will setting them under her belly work?
when i was trying to feed the runt, someone said they sit with a towel over their laps and have the baby's feed in natural position....
 
While it's always horrifying when a mother animal kills her babies, it's not done because she is evil or just for heck of it. Please know that and try not to hold it against her. :( We do not know what goes through an animals head when such events occur. Especially with prey animals, some things just set them off. She may have been frightened or did not understand what to do. They may have had something wrong and she could sense it. New mothers often become frightened by their own babies, that may have been what happened with her previous kits.
 
well...i'm warey... what i have decided to do is keep them tonight and see how they take to the formula... i'm sorry.. there are scares on them... like i said scratches..i don't want them to die. if they don't like the formula ill put them in at night so she can feed them and when i get up from school, ill take them out so she can't do any harm... she ignores their exsistance during the day anyways.

oh yya.. fyi to the previous posts (not trying to be rude at all)
i know that its normal for the mom to lay out fur
the towel is under not on top
i saved her from a home that had abused her... i love her.. but i quite honestly think that just because she is feeding them, dosen't mean she's not hurting them...
 
Mother rabbit's will appear to ignore their babies during the day and usually will go to feed them when you are not looking. I wouldn't be concerned about that. Baby rabbit's are notoriously hard to hand-feed. It's not that they do not like the formula, they are just so fragile. So definitely try to keep them with mom if you can. Of course it's totally up to you to decide since you are the one actually seeing them.

:goodluck
 
don't worry.. i'm not ignorant to the nature and behavior of rabbits... for the most part.. i know they ignore them.. instincts because they go really far away to keep animals of prey away from the kits.

i got the hold of hand feeding thouhg.. its like feeding a human.. well same style to me.. i don't know how much i drop so when they suckle too much i suck some up again and wait till they lick my hand.. so i know they want more.. but as i said.. i'm going to try and keep them safe but still have her feed... just wanna see how fond they are of the eye dropper.. the pet ag bottle i have has too big of a nipple for them at this point but the eye dropper is a soft plastic.. gums would rune it.. (curtsy of my teacher.. she had it as a suprise for when the babys came.)
 
I'd like to hear from our experienced breeders how normal burying them in litter like that is, and if its a sign of anything.


sas :?
 
Pipp wrote:
I'd like to hear from our experienced breeders how normal burying them in litter like that is, and if its a sign of anything.


sas :?
I've never had does bury their kits in the shavings at the bottom - unless I don't see them doing it; but it could be that the kits are doing it themselves, and they are just digging up the shavings and going underneath them.

Digging is a natural thing for rabbits, and babies like to dig too. I've seen my babies dig under their shavings and lie underneath the pile of shavings/hay/fur.

Emily

 
they have a towel under them...really they had no bedding on them or near them for the most part.. the plastic tub i have them in is filled about two inches full of chips, the corner itself, had been filled up to where she couln't hit the top anymore and the babyies were struggleing to get out. it wasn't her trying to keep them warm... idk what her problem is
 
To be honest, this is all pretty much normal, give or take on some of the circumstances.

The doe (especially if a first time mother) will usually kill and sometimes devour her young simply because she is inexperienced, senses that perhaps the young are sick or unsafe and will not survive, or feels that she is unable to care for them because she may not be healthy unough. There are many, many contributing factors to this that we as humans may not see, so try not to fret about it and hold it against her.

It's alright if the young are burried deep in their nest. Rabbits will dig, and the deeper they go, the safer they feel. This goes for both adults and young. Some times does will burry their young in unusually deep nests because they may feel that they aren't protected or warm enough. As long as the young are being fed and kept warm, they should be fine. You should replace the cedar shavings (these are lethal to young rabbits because of the phenols) and any excrements in the nest to prevent bacteria and diseases. This is also normal for the doe to deficate in the nest, so just be sure to keep it clean.

Most importantly that you must know, is that does will always appear to be neglecting their young. They only feed them either at night or early morning and they usually only do this once a day for a few minutes.The rest of thetimethey will ignore the young. This is perfectly normal, and this is what a doe should do.

It is also normal to see scratch marks on the young as well. This usually means that the mother simply needs to have her nails trimmed. Unless she is actually shredding her young to pieces, then she isn't doing this intentionally.

If the young have lasted a few days after birth, then the mother is taking care of them. Generally, if the mother has neglected them, they will die within 3 days due to lack of food. It's also normal to have a few runts die. This isn't because they aren't getting enough food or the mother has chosen to neglect only certain kits, it's because they are runt. They aren't physically ment to live a long time.

I very strongly suggest that you put the kits back in the nest with their mother. Taking them away and bottle feeding them will alter their highly sensitive digestive system that was originally adapted to the mother's milk. Giving them bottled milk should only be used in dire situations. Bottled milk does not have all the same nutrients and antibodies found in natural milk whichis extremely essential in a young rabbits first few weeks of development.

So in all, your rabbit is acting normal and doing what comes naturally to her and her young. Please try to refrain from stressing about all the minor issues which are perfectly understandable but again, there is no need tofear.

As long as the babies are being fed by the mother, and you keep the nest clean, everything will be fine.

Hope this helps.

www.inlerabbitry.webs.com
 

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