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Blueboy13

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WE have two rabbits, and untill this morning weassumed they were both female... but in the middle of the lawn i workup to find a little blackish brown squirming thing, i looked online ansquickly realized it was a newborn rabbit. my first instinct was to lookfor more!

Just some backround info... the two rabbits live comfortably outisde inthe backyard we're in southern california so it dosent get overly hotor cold for them, they seem to be extremly happy!
we have a hutch for them that we can lock them in if need be, they bothknwo this is where they find food and water, but other than that theyroam free in our bunnie proofed back yard. WE also have a trampolinethat they both like to play underneath and we havefoudna few tunnels underneath...

At first i went to a tunnel under the the trampoline that i thought wasabandoned, i stuck my arm down to see if there was anything andproceded to find nothing. i assumed the rabbit just ahd the baby andlost intrest in it. forgive me but this is my first time with rabbitnewborns and wasnt ever a plan of mine to raise rabbits. but then laterin the day, with the newborn in a box with some towles, i noticed theobvious mother pulling fur form ehr chest and then she dashed under thetrampoline and into a hole i had missed
i saw he run back out and then i proceded to see if there were morepossible babies at the end of the tunnel, i could not reach so iwidened the hole for my shouder to fit in and found an obvious nest,with fur and other random things, so i proceded to put the baby rabbitin the nest and then let it be, thinking the mother will take care ofit. Now later in the evening i go to check on things and see the holeplugged up!!
i dig out the hole and find most of the tunnel not flled in , and theone baby rabbit still alive. i figured this was some mechanism used bythe mother to keep the baby warm or whatnot, but i dont want the babyto die form lack of air.

Please help !
thanks
 
First off, its very important to separate momand dad. Get dad in the house or somewhere where they cannot mateagain. She may actually be pregnant with another litter right now ifthey have been together all day.

I dont know enough about kits to be of much help. Im going to move thisto the rabbitry section. more breeders check that area and maybe theycan offer more help.

If I were you, I would probably have another good look around for morebabies. I would take mom and the baby and put them in their hutch.build a nest like the one mom had in the hole (with her fur and such).I honestly dont know much, but Im just guessing you should get the babysomewhere safe where mom can get at it to feed. And again, take anothergood look around for babies.

Hopefully someone will be on soon to help out.

-Haley
 
thanks for the help. But im just in a rut! idont know what to do, the babie bunny is in a plugged up hole! shoudl iget it out or let the mother do its thing? i mean she knew it was intehre and she proceded to plug up the entrance to her tunnel .
 
I would get it out.

I would try to move the nest into the hutch. Do you have an extralitter box you could put the nest in with the baby? Line it with atowel and some hay and put her nest in there with the baby. Make sureshe sees it and knows where it is.

Just my two cents, but I dont think the baby is safe where it is now.
 
well i left the baby in the hole and i checkedon in this morning, with much protest from the mother i cautiously dugout the begining of the tunne and felt the baby squiriming, stillalive. I then just got back from work and did the same thing, with moregrunting and close proximity form the motehr and felt the baby stillalive. i suppose that the mothers interest in the nesti cantake as a good sign, i have been asking around and ppl have said i didright by putting the baby in the nest at the end of the tunnel, so imgonan assume the mother filling up the entrance is a defense mechanismof some sort .
 
Does the mother trust you and will she let you handle her?

Everything I have read has said to try and pick up the baby and thenest and move them into a nesting box in the cage, then put mom inthere with it. You could wear gloves if you're worried about her nottrusting your smell.

Were you able to have a good look around to make sure there are nomore? And were you able to get dad out of there where theycant mate?

I would definitely suggest getting him neutered asap. Also, I think youshould probably rethink the living situation you have for the buns.Could you just let them out during the day when they're supervised? Ifthey can dig holes like that, whats to stop them from digging out ofthe yard? Not to mention that predators can still get in.

Anyway, I think it would be easier if the baby and mom where somewhereyou could monitor them. You need to be making sure that the baby isbeing fed and such.

I hope this helps a bit. I wish I could do more :)

-Haley
 
Mom sounds like a smart bunny.

Do youthinkthere's any chancemore babiesare in that hole? If so, don't think you should move thebaby.

But if you're very sure there's just the one (which is unusual), itwillbe safer in the long run, although maybe notimmediately (maybe somebody who knows more will chime in here)to move it where you can monitor (as noted)it andwhere it's not going to be able to wiggle off somewhere when its a bitolder.

How predator-proof is your yard?The baby may attract them.

Mom willprobably feel better if she had both ahidey box and a nest box in her hutch.

As per the link from Haley, can you see if the baby's tummy is fat likea ping pong ball after the mom has been there? Mom won'tabandon the baby if you keep checking on it, but she's probablyconcerned that you're removing her 'door'.

sas
 
Wow....what a situation to be in. I am trying to figure out what to recommend as the best course of action.

First of all - I didn't notice if you answered...have you separated mom & dad?

Secondly, I can't tell from your post - do your rabbits have a hutch or do they just run free in your back yard?

Finally - how easily can you catch mama if you have to?

Here are my thoughts as a breeder and just as a bunny mama in general....

a. Rabbits have some basic instincts and usually know how to care fortheir young. Your rabbit did a good thing by making the nest andblocking the tunnel so predators can't get to her babies. It means shewants to be a good mama and it sounds like she is taking care of herbaby (babies?). My concern is that if you take the baby out of the nest- you might miss others that could be just a bit lower. Likeperhaps mama had one baby early and it was a surprise (and the one youfound) but mama then went and made a nest and had more babies. Thiscould especially be true I think with a first litter. So I wouldn'ttake the baby out of the nest unless you could make sure that you getall of the babies that might be in there.

b. You could make a nestbox and put the babies in it and then put thatin mama's cage - but it sounds like mama doesn't have a cage and thatshe runs freely in the yard. Or does she only run free during certaintimes? I'm not sure I understand that.

If mama has a cage - I think I'd make a nestbox and put the baby in itand put that in her cage. She may tip it over or something if she isupset...but I doubt she'd hurt the young.

However, I'm always concerned about messing with babies and if it willmake the mama reject them. I've had that happen a couple of times withflighty moms and I had to force mama to feed them. If you have a hardtime catching mama - then catching her to feed them every day will NOTbe fun...

So I guess my questions are:

a. What breed is mama? What breed is dad? (I'm asking because different breeds have different temperments..).

b. How could or hot is it there right now?

c. Do you live in the city - or in the country where there might be more predators like snakes and such?

d. Does mama have a cage or can you get her a cage in the next day or so?

Based on your answers, I can share my thoughts better..

Peg
 
ok to answer some questiong... im unsure of thebreeds of both mom and dad, we got them at local pet stores whoidentified them as dutch rabbits but they look slightly different fromeach other. and YES mom and dad are seperated, dad is locked in thehutch that we do have in the back yard. recently the temerature hasbeen extremly moderate with nice days and a cool evening, nothingextreme is what i mean to say. we live in the city, CostaMesa to be exact and our yard is very small with trees lining the fenceso any areial predator could not dive in. and all the gaps in the fenceand the bottom of the fence are lined with cement and pluged up, so thebunnies cannot get out. And i think this was a question, yes tehre wasonly one baby that we found on the lawn in the back, cleaned of anyafterbirth but in no nest whatsoever. mom is getting slightly moreagressive, grunting and with ears back when we get close to even putfood in her dish, so maybe she is ready to have the rest of her litter?im not sure. anyway , i dont want to move the baby or interfere anymore than checking on the baby as to not upset mom, maybe my thinkingis a little togentle but i dont think mom would hurt herbaby.

thankyou for your continual support, around three im going to check onthe baby again, make sure its kicking, and if i can catch mom to keepher from assulting me i want to weigh the kit and get a better look atit to see if there is any progresion or regression.

thanks again!
 
oh and yes there was only one , we searchedevery rock in our backyard. its been 12 hours since ive been able tostick my arm in the tunnel, so i might find more but as of NOW , onlyone... and when we offered it to mom she sniffed it and walked away,when we first found it that is.
 
THERE ARE MORE!!!! THERE ARE MORE! i felt and there were at least 4 babies!!!!!

I feel bad for not trusting mom but we did find one in the middle of the lawn, seemingly abandoned

NOW my concern is if ive disrupted it to much and mom wont go back, but from my reading they dont abandon them i think.

ahh this is so fun i feel like a proud parent!
 
ooh how did you find them? did you reach down far in the hole?

I thought it was very odd to just have one! so are they all in thehole? any chance you can get a look at them to make sure she's feeding?

another idea, what about putting a pen around the hole, so mom iscontained in one area with access to her babies? this might be saferfor all of them.

keep up the good work!
 
I just stuck my hand down there and felt morethan one head pop up and hit my hand! i took one out and it looked liekthe same black one, and i took another out ad it was white with alittle black and brown. They were pretty squirmy and they were makingsome noises. The hole is actually UNDERNEATH our trapoline which isalready in the ground, so the hole is a horizontal tunnelcovered by a trampoline mat so its safe! hehe

oh when i was looking i onyl saw two rabbits, but the ping pong ball tummy was something i looked for and kinda found!
 
Awww, congrats! :stork:

The world may already have plenty ofpet bunnies needinghomes, but now that they're here, they're certainlyenjoyable.:)

You are going to have to check on them every day ... if it turns outyou have a peanut (a genetic issue that makes it impossible for them tosurvive)or a sick one, they'll have to be removed right awayor they might make the rest of the kits sick.

So far she sounds like a great mom (except for having the one on thelawn).The mom knows you so she won't view you as apredator, but it's possible she'llkill herbabies bystomping them if shesenses danger.Shewill visit and feed them daily (or at least she should) but she won'tlike hanging around the nest, her presence will draw the attention ofpredators, so fencing around the hole will probably make her reallynervous unless maybeshe has a hidey box inthere.

They don't move their kits, at least not easily, but they startwiggling out of the nest pretty soon, so that's something to watchfor.


Keep us updated!

sas
 
Oh wow - four babies! Congrats. Isuspected that she had more than one if she built a nest separate fromthe one on the ground. What I suspect is that the first one surprisedher (it does happen - especially with first time mamas).

The best thing I can suggest is to check them daily to make surethey're all ok....as long as mama will let you. It sounds like she'sgoing to be a good mama though.

Peg
P.S. I had been going to suggest that if you thought she wasn't goingto take care of them - that you put them in a nestbox and then take herto them once a day and have her stand over them and let themnurse....but if she takes care of them on her own - let her feed themthe way she wants.
 
ok heres an update!

i was able to get a look at all EIGHT babies today !!

i locked mom in teh cage and then took each baby, 1 by one, from thenest, i was suppried when i kept pulling them out! all of them lookedplump and healthy with the exception of one little guy who was abouthalf the size of the other babied, but he was still jumping andsquirmin and makin noises just as much as the rest of them!

thanks again for al your help, now i have to find homes for all eight of these guys
 
Pipp....I just had a litter of lionheads....NINE of them.

This is highly unusual for lionheads - but I've had this many before too.....so I'm not TOO surprised..

So I guess I'm really not surprised there were 8 babies....

Peg
 
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