My 9month female bunny gave birth to babies. What do I do?

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BunnyMom2

BunnyMom2

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Nov 28, 2023
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Location
Henderson NV
Actually, I got a 9month old female bunny about a week ago. But she was suddenly taking out her own fur yesterday suddenly. And making a nest with her fur and the hay, we were very worried. When I woke up this morning, there were babies inside the nest! The problem is that the seller never told me she was pregnant, and I don’t know what I’m supposed to do right now. Do I have to separate the babies and the mother? Do I have to leave her alone? I searched online, but it says they can get sensitive.
 

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I've moved this to the Rabbitry section that deals with kits and breeding. But I'm also linking the back story here:
https://www.rabbitsonline.net/threa...er-bunny’s-fur-violently.106457/#post-1209259
As I mentioned, the seller dumped this pregnant rabbit on you without letting you know. I'd pack up the momma and the kits and bring them back to the seller. (I would not even call first.) I'd insist she take them all back.

It isn't fair for her to expect you to deal with caring for kits, rehoming them, housing them all separately after they are weaned, etc.
I'm angry at the seller for your sake.
 
If you keep them and her, I would transfer them to some sort of nest box. The basket, I would be concerned about the kits getting a foot stuck in the weave and getting injured.

Next is checking them all. Distract the mom with food or something if you need to while you check her kits.
Clean hands with an unscented soap first, or use medical exam gloves if you have them. Check for any deceased kits and remove from the nest.

I check the kits morning and evening minimum. By 36 hours after birth, the kits should have been fed by mom or you'll need to intervene before they become too weak.

Mom will usually only be in the nest to nurse and will otherwise ignore the kits for the most part. Make sure mom isn't digging at or injuring the kits or you may need to remove the nest.

Mom's food amount will increase while nursing. She'll need usually 3x the normal amount of pellets or more, gradually increased over the first few days. She needs unlimited grass hay, and close to unlimited good quality pellets, preferably alfalfa based. Though if you have to change pellet types, that's best done gradually when possible.

Here's more info on caring for the mom and kits.

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Pregnant_rabbits
https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Baby_rabbits_(domestic)
 
Thank you for your responses. The seller said that she didn’t know that the bunny was pregnant. She said a male might’ve gotten loose while they were in the backyard. So I don’t want to make any further issues with the seller. I would have returned them too, but my family thinks highly of education for my younger siblings. And we decided to keep them, but now I don’t know how to nurse the bunnies. But thank you for the information JBun, I think that’ll be a lot of help.
 
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But the mother bunny isn’t really going near the nest all day, is that a problem? Can I separate the mother and the babies for a while? And I was also wondering how many pellets I would have to feed the mother each day
 
And how should I move them to the nest box? Do I transfer the nest that the mom made or make a new one?
 
If keeping the basket maybe add hay or a paper lining or cardboard floor if there is the risk that little feet get stuck in the weave. Looks like there might be the risk of tipping if the doe steps on the rim (stuffing hay around on the outside could fix that if it's an issue), and it looks like it will be too easy for kits to get out or get draged out on the teat, which can become a problem.

If using a nestbox just move the whole nest, hay, fur, kits, into the nestbox, you can put some hay as bedding in there first. Place the nestbox where the basket was. Be sure the kits are well covered with fur.
When I had to move nests to a different location (from a tunnel in the garden to the hutch) I showed it to the does by stuffing her nose into it, limiting her space around the nest for a day, and leaving her alone. But that shouldn't be an issue if it stays in the same spot.

Does go to the nest about twice per day, for just a few minutes to nurse, Some does do not go near the nest when someone is around (to not lead predators to the nest), so give her some privacy, especially around dusk and dawn. When there is no problem, don't seperate them, you can lock the doe away when your'e checking or cleaning around the nest though, shouldn't be a problem.

Let her do her thing, don't meddle too much - that little voice in their heads, their instincts, can be droned out too easily. Seems she is doing a good job.

I initially check the nest for soiled stuff or dead kits, then leave them pretty much alone for the first week or so, just putting the hand on it once a day to feel if everything is ok.

Feed the doe well, you can tripple her pellets, and give her unlimited hay. Never had a nursing doe get fat, they need a lot of energy.
 
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Preitler said:
Feed the doe well, you can tripple her pellets, and give her unlimited hay. Never had a nursing doe get fat, they need a lot of energy.
Click to expand...

Triple, minimum. If she is only being fed a small amount of pellets normally, you may need to give more than triple the amount. If she's eating a pile of hay the size of her body, per day, you can pretty much start free feeding pellets.

And like I said previously, preferably alfalfa based pellets, as it's higher in calcium. Or if the pellets are grass based, add a little alfalfa hay into her diet to boost calcium and protein levels.
 
Thank you for the tips, it was very helpful. But there is one issue I’m concerned about, I have to find her and the babies a house. I wasn’t able to buy one yet so I put them in a play tent. And I put some box covers so that it’ll be easier to clean things and with spills. But she suddenly rips and chews on the cardboard box. She doesn’t do it often but once in a while, I have to stop her from doing that. Do you think that’ll cause any major health problems?
 
It depends, if she's just ripping it apart it doesn't matter, if she's actually eating a lot of it that can become a problem.

My approach is to distract them, give them something to satisfy that urge to go to work with their teeth. I give them fresh branches to gnaw on, - willow, forsithia, ash, hasel, fruit trees, fir,...
If they ignore those I put it across their path, or in front of the opening of a cardboard hidey box.

In my outside hutches I paint those pieces of wood that they are not supposed to destroy with diluted rabbit urine.
 
If you get an ex-pen, you may need to wrap it with something with smaller holes. You can see an example of this at the link Jenny provided. The first photo on that page shows this. Otherwise, the kits may be able to squeeze through the openings.

Also bear in mind that you won't just need one enclosure. Once the kits reach 9-10 weeks of age, you'll need to separate the males from the females. By 12 weeks of age, each baby will need its own separate cage.
 
Well, at least the bucklings might need seperate cages when they hit puberty, I normally keep the girls with their moms for up to 5 months, they need some space though.
 
Your Mum Bun should look after her babies pretty well, you shouldn't worry if she isn't at the nest during the day, as rabbits don't go near their young during the day, due to their instinct to protect their babies from predators. The doe will usually feed them when no one is around, either early in the morning or at night, just make sure their tummies are full.

I would suggest at the moment finding a good solution for their nest so that you don't have to keep changing where the nest is, as some Mum's will get stressed and not feed their babies if you move the nest too much.

I suggest even getting one of those little pet tents, as they are private and dark and good for hiding in.




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