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LeelowsBunnies

LeelowsBunnies

LeelowsBunnies
Joined
Dec 11, 2012
Messages
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Location
South Australia
Hey guys I was wondering how often do you have to feed a baby bunny if the mother doesnt feed them, I know you use Kitten Milk Replacer (KMR) but how much per time and how many times a day.

My friend was asking me so I thought Ill ask you guys :)
 
good sites on raising orphans:
http://www.mybunny.org/info/newborn.htm
http://www3.telus.net/raisinghouserabbits/orphans.htm
http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/orphan.html
http://www.2ndchance.info/bunnies.htm

that said, a newborn or nearly newborn bunny has a VERY low chance of actually surviving without their mother's milk, so KMR should be a last resort - if at all possible, your friend should go with one of the following options:
~ hold the mother on her back and place the kit on her tummy to nurse (this only needs to be done 1-2x a day for a few minutes at a time). sometimes after doing this for a while, the doe will get the idea and start to nurse them on her own.
~ if your friend has another doe that is currently nursing (or knows someone who has one), get her to foster the kit(s) that the other doe won't feed. easiest way is to remove the foster-mom-to-be from the cage (she probably won't mind some exercise time anyway), add the new babies to the nest, give 'em like an hour to roll around together so that the new kits' smell gets on her own kits and vice versa, then add mom back to the cage. rabbits are particularly good about accepting fosters (even if there's an age difference of a couple weeks or something).
 
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aww, so sorry to hear that :(. the links I gave do have info on feeding with KMR... best of luck to the little kit (and the mom)!
 
When I had an orphan, I fed 1 oz KMR, 1 oz whole goat milk, 1/4 oz cream. I fed this twice a day warm from a syringe. I fed this amount until 1 week, then I obviously gave more. If the mom is dying, TAKE THE KITS OUT. Put them in a separate box with hay and any nest they had. Make sure to put a drop on their lips and let them lick it of and do not let them inhale it. I've had luck with this method. If you're sure she isn't feeding, I highly recommend trying this as I've had 75% survivors.
 
Oh no :( Are the kits outside or inside? Kat gave some good advice; at this point, you'll want to start using KMR. i hope the kits and mom get better! :pray:
 
Did I say oz? Lol I meant ml. That was a stupid mistake.
 
My doe had her kits spread out by days, and then it took a few more days before her milk actually dropped. I mixed up 5 cc of goat milk with 1 cc of heavy cream (rabbit milk is the highest caloric milk of all mammals, that's why the heavy cream). I used a slanted eyedropper and put a drop of milk at their mouth. After every attempt, make sure to wipe off any excess milk from them....paying particular attention to their upper lip/nose! Out of 6 in the litter, I had 2 that wanted NO parts of the milk. The others quickly figured out they'd get milk faster if they sucked on the dropper. And make sure to wipe their little bottoms, to stimulate them going to the bathroom. I'm so sorry to hear about the mamma....hope the kits make it. :-(
 
they are now getting bottle fed all 3 of them and getting fatter hehe
the mum getting better but still showing no interests in the kits
 
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