Pregnant and pulling fur

[LV426]

I got two rabbits about a week ago. They were left behind at a foreclosure and a friend of mine called me to come rescue them. They are holland lops. They were kept in the same cage and I separated them when I got them because they are a male and female even though I was told they were two males. I didn't feel babies when I palpated the female but I'm not an expert as I don't breed rabbits. Of course today I go out to clean their litter boxes and Camilla has turned hers into a nest and pulled fur, a lot of fur.

So I put together a cage for her, gave her a clean box for nesting and put her pulled fur in it and then cleaned out her litter box and put it on the other end. It's not ideal but I don't want to risk her dropping babies under one of my chairs or couch out on the patio.

Again I have never bred rabbits and wasn't expecting babies, any advice for what to watch her for?
Thanks.

 

[JBun]

Once she's had them, after you've washed your hands with unscented soap, check the nest for any dead kits and remove. Do checks morning and evening to make sure they are doing well and have been fed. If mom hasn't fed them within 24-36 hours, you may need to assist. Once she's had them, make sure they are nicely nestled in a hollow in the hay with fur over the top to keep warm.

If mom is on a limited pellet diet, start to gradually increase the amounts each day. She should be on close to unlimited pellets by a week after giving birth. As long as she is eating a pile of hay the size of her body each day and doesn't have mushy poop, I would work up to free fed pellets, preferably an alfalfa based 15-16% protein pellet. Nursing does tend to eat 3-4 times the amount of food they normally would eat.

https://flashsplace.webs.com/accidentallitters.htm

 

[LV426]

She's on unlimited pellets now, she's got a dog feeder that holds 10lbs of pellets and she's got half a bale of Timothy/orchard/alfalfa mix. I'll switch her to higher protein pellets though.
Thanks

 

[JBun]

What pellets is she on now and what protein % are they? It may be fine to stick with her current pellets, with the hay having some alfalfa in it to help boost protein levels. It would certainly be easier than having to switch pellet types at this point.

 

[LV426]

What pellets is she on now and what protein % are they? It may be fine to stick with her current pellets, with the hay having some alfalfa in it to help boost protein levels. It would certainly be easier than having to switch pellet types at this point.

She's on Mazuri Rabbit pellets which only has 14% protein. The Hay is an alfalfa/orchard grass mix and then I add timothy hay into it so it's a mixture of hays.

 

[JBun]

I think you're probably fine with the pellets then, since she's getting alfalfa in the hay. That will provide the extra protein and calcium she needs for nursing. Unless you want to switch pellets. I personally don't like to unless necessary, as it's a pain to have to go through the transition process. But if you do it, just make sure the change is gradual over a couple of weeks so you give the gut time to adapt to the change and minimize the chances of digestive upset occurring.

 

[LV426]

She's only been on the mazuri for a week, I don't know what they had before as there was no food in their cage, just old yucky hay. They are both underweight. I had to bathe them they were so filthy. Her fur was dark yellow almost brown and the male wasn't much better. I'll just stick with what I have and just add more alfalfa to her diet I guess.

 

[LV426]

Any idea how long I should wait for babies before it's a potential crisis? She's pretty young, I think about 8/9 months and I have no idea when the buck mated with her as they were kept together when I got them.