Newborn not peeing/pooping after eating

[Kristen]

So long story short, I have 2 holland lops, kept in separate rooms, male got out and got female pregnant, I didn't know until I stepped on the nest (rip 4 bun buns- 1 was clearly lost before that). I have 1 still fighting.
Now to my problem. I took baby and mommy to the vet yesterday and they both looked good. I was told to supliment with kmr and how to stimulate after feeding. I should mention that while they moved the baby's legs around it peeing on the vet. The last 2 feedings the baby ate all if not most of the milk, but I've failed to get it to pee or poop. I just spent about 10 minutes trying, but the baby was more interested in burrowing to sleep. Any tips? It's my first time caring for a baby.

 

[JBun]

If it's still with mom, it could be mom has already stimulated it and cleaned it off. If it's not with mom, maybe try stimulating it a little later after the feeding. If might just not be ready to yet.

This link also has some good tips for caring for baby buns and what to expect.
http://flashsplace.webs.com/accidentallitters.htm

 

[Kristen]

If it's still with mom, it could be mom has already stimulated it and cleaned it off. If it's not with mom, maybe try stimulating it a little later after the feeding. If might just not be ready to yet.

This link also has some good tips for caring for baby buns and what to expect.
http://flashsplace.webs.com/accidentallitters.htm

Thank you! The vet encouraged us to monitor when the baby is with mom, as it's her first litter and she's already caused an injury. So I've been watching like a hawk, momma bun has had little to no interaction with the baby since our vet visit. She's more interested in trying to get out to the other room where my male is.

 

[JBun]

Keep in mind that the only time a mother rabbit usually has contact with the babies while they are still confined to the nest, is when she goes in to nurse them, once or twice a day. She'll hop in for the few minutes it takes to nurse and clean the babies, then she is out until it's time to nurse again. Have you noticed if she is nursing the baby at all, or are you doing all of the feeding?

 

[Kristen]

She has only nursed the baby twice since birth, I stayed up until about 1am, and then woke up at about 5am just to see if momma would do something but she wouldn't go near the nest even when the baby cried. After feeding I put the baby down and leave the room in hopes that she will clean it, but again she doesn't go near it. The vet thinks she's being that first time mom who doesn't know what to do or simply doesn't want to. Also looking 4 of her 5 babies could have affected her. Good news tho! Baby did poop after I ready your reply earlier.

 

[squidpop]

Mother rabbits stay away from the nest. In the wild they wait and wait until they feel its safe and sneak to go feed the babies for maybe two-three minutes once a day. And then they run away from the nest so as not to attract predators. Everyone who has babies for the first time always thinks the mother is neglecting the babies and not feeding.

When my doe had babies she seemed like she was always trying to get as far away as she could.

With your doe it is probably hard to tell if she is feeding because since only one baby was left her body may have stopped producing milk. Also since you have supplemented the baby might not want her milk, so that would make her dry up. Having milk is one of the things that makes them want to nurse their babies because if they are producing milk its painful if they don't nurse.

 

[Kristen]

I know that, the vet told me to supplement because she said it's clear that mom hasn't fed it enough. Also after checking mom, she said that there's not much mammary development. We gave mom and baby a quiet place, made sure no one went in the room but that we still had a way to watch from a distance over the covered gate. We watched as the baby cried out and mom continued to eat her food and then later down. I found the baby out of the nest at 3 am crying (I have since put the nest in a taller box that it can not get out of). I spoke with my vet today just to update her and she said to treat the baby as orphaned entirely. So I am communicating with my vet to ensure the best care is given to the baby to help it's chances of survival.