Rabbit mom not nursing(?) -- possible sore teats

[thumpingBerry]

My baby rabbits are 10 days old and have been doing well, and still are doing ok, but seem to be on the thin side and possibly dehydrated. I'm not sure if their mom has been feeding them much in the last couple of days. Yesterday after I got home, she did jump in the nestbox and stayed there a couple of minutes.

An hour or so ago, I saw her jump in the nestbox, situated herself for feeding them, but then within seconds turned around and jumped out.

I have one baby who has gotten out of the nestbox three times. This morning, I thought it was perhaps because when the (presumably) mom fed them she was holding on to a teat. But then I witnessed the baby digging around in the nestbox, seemingly searching for something to eat ... and then she climbed over the top of the nestbox and jumped/fell down. Since then (after returning her to the nestbox), I found her out again.

I tried to give her some time with mom but when the baby tried to nurse the mom jumped a bit and moved away, so I am thinking maybe she has sore teats and the babies teeth are bothering her? I see a couple of tiny red spots on top of at least one teat. Most of her other teats look ok.

What can I do to help the mom, if anything? Do I need to get formula to start feeding the babies? Any advice/comments are greatly appreciated.

 

[majorv]

At 10 days I would expect them to be trying to get out, though they may not be big enough to get back in. Do they have access to hay and mom's pellets? They'll be starting on those pretty soon. You could supplement with some KMR...you could put a little in a bowl and see if they will lick it up. That's preferable to syringing it.