URGENT HELP PLEASE

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FascinaRabbits

FascinaRabbits

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2010
Messages
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Location
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
I have 2 female rabbits living together at 7 months old. I guess I didnt seperate them earlier from their brothers and one of the girls had babies D: (Please no critcism) They all appear to be healthy and non deformed. I want to try and see if they can live. What I need helpo with is
Can I keep the 2 girls together untill the babies are old enough to be adopted or will the mother fight with the other girl and things turn out badly. I dont have another cage, but need be I can build one. And will I have to re intorduce the sister again fi I have to seperate them, please answer the main one. CAN I KEEP THE TWO SISTERS TOGETHER IF ONE HAD BABIES!!

Uggggggh I hate this
 
I have known of a few instances where two sisters (or two does) were kept together in a case like this. The results of those cases were always positive that I know of.

I would say you'd have to keep an eye on them and be willing to risk losing the babies (and hopefully not lose them).

Just make sure that they are both does! If not - then your mama is probably already pregnant again as a doe will give birth and then go right back out and get pregnant shortly afterwards..
 
I ust really don't like that idea. I was thinking about putting a piece of glass inbetwwen teh cage (its big enouh to be two caged) and sepereate the mom from the moms siter, and leave it bare for about an hour or 2 a day and put a pieve of wood to cover it so they cant see eachother night. Sounds good??

I checked to make sure which one was the mom, and I found which one (she ahs a bloody vagina, and pulled fur around her nipples) I felt her nipples to see if sh ewas lactating and I didnt see any milk cmoe out. SHould I be worried?
 
Make sure she has lots of water and extra food, she will start lactacing shortly if not already. Her nipples should look larger than the other rabbit. My daughter discovered her bunnies were not 2 males when there were 4 small rabbits running around the cage. The mom had hid them so well in the hay ( winter time ) in the outside cage she didn't see them. Dad was around the whole time and didn't hurt the babies. Before she had them given away, mommy rabbit had another set.
We all get surprised at times.
 
It's not even like I haven't raised a litter before. I get these nervous jitters EVERY time. There's always some element that kicks my suspense into overdrive. She' only 7 months old and this is her fisrt litter :( honestly do you guys think she'll be okay? I didn;t notice any milk coming from her teets, but they were largers and bare from pulling fur.
 
First how long ago did she have the babies? If its less than 24 hours, her milk probably hasn't come in yet. Check to make sure the other doe is not lactating just to make sure.

Now depending on what breed of rabbit she is, 7 months is the normal age for Dwarf and small rabbits to have their first litter (they are adults at 6 months).

If you are worried about something happening to the babies if they are together, then keep them separate. :)As long as they cannot knock down the barrier, then it should be fine.

Dont be shocked if some or all of the babies die, it is pretty normal for first time moms (though not all and she might do well :) )because they are unsure of what to do or what is going on. Also dont stress over mom not being with them all day, or even seeing her feed them. They are prey animals and do not like to draw attention to their nest. Just check the babies each day for nice full bellies.
 
First of all, take a deep breath and calm down, mother rabbits do all the work with the babies and they are born (pretty much) with the instinct to know what to do.

1) you need to make sure that she has all the feed she wants to eat, this helps her increase lactation as the kits(baby bunnies)get bigger and put more demands on her. Also make sure she has water at all times.

2)Check the nest daily for dead kits and look to see if the babies bellies are nicely rounded. It is not unusual for a first time mom to lose part of or all of her litter. Make sure you talk to mom and reassure her that you are not hurting her babies and pay some extra attention to her too. If you find dead kits remove them and dispose of them (we can burn trash where we live so we just put them in the burn barrel, you may have to bury them where you live)

3)In spite of what you have heard in the past (and I know we have all heard this) you can touch the babies and it is unlikely that the mother will kill them. She is used to your scent and if you have been good to her, she will associate your scent with safety.

4) In 10 to 14 days their eyes should open on their own, if any don't post so we can help you.

You took the right first step in asking here, we are here to help.

You may keep the sisters together IF they are not growling at each other and the sister is leaving the babies alone. It is usually safer to separate. Don't worry none of us condemn you for having a brother sister breeding, I know breeders that purposely do that to try and improve their stock.

If you need any more help please ask! and we would love to see some photos of your brood!


 
If you are worried about it, I would separate them. On the other hand, I currently have 3 does in the same kennel, with a litter of kits, but their enclosure is 8foot by 8foot, and we feed them several times a day. I know of some people getting away with even leaving bucks in with the family, but that I probably wouldn't suggest, personally. Just keep an eye on the kits. Make sure momma has lots to eat/drink. And try not to freak out if momma loses all her babies. A few months back, I had two that were about the same age, sisters, they gave birth within 24 hours of each other, and all the kits died. But one of those mommas, had kits 8 days ago, and this litter is doing just great!
 
I must ask being as you haven't posted,FascinaRabbits, is everything going ok? Do you have a second litter to contend with? Please update us!
 
Sorry everyone, between the rabbits, and my dog having to get immediate surgery because of a bowel pbstruction I haven't even been on the computer once. So I opened the enst she made and I counted 9 kits, all alive, we're going on day 4. All are alive and look like they swallowed ping pong balls. I separated the 2 does on the first day by splitting their cage in half, now their cages are probably only 2.5'x2.5' but it will have to do. These babies don't look deformed, they're jumpy, and squeak like regular baby bunnies. The mother HATES me looking in the nest though, I tired to check today and she lunged at me, so I only check once a day around 5-7pm-ish. Something's working with me on this one here. I've had so many blocks here. First time mom, young mom, in-bred, two does per cage. Thanks for the help everyone. I'll try and upload pics asap... granted mother will let me hahaha.
 
It is not unusual for the mother to be protective, give her a treat to turn her attention away for a few minutes and you might be ok.
Glad to hear all is well!!
 
I've never had a mother this protective before. Bugs (these new kits grandma) couldn't care less when I poked in her nest. I typically give her food and water to distract and it works for about 2 minutes.

Now as for re-bonding Hazel and Ruby (Hzaels the mom and Ruby's the doe she was sharing a cage with) how should I do that? I was thinking I should build a divider wiht like shopping cart or grate between the cage so they can see each other but not reach each other. Or maybe a peice of glass as a divider. Thanks for the help everyone! You guys are great

... omg I feel so horrible, when they were first born I said to my dad to shovel them into the garbage, or dispose of them somehow because they wouldn't last. Thanks God he convinced me not to.
 
Do you have them in a nestbox? One of my does can get angry at me whenever I check on her babies so I just pull the nestbox completely out when I check on them.After I put them back, Mama will stick her head in and sniff them and then go about her business as usual. :) Dont worry about the babies being deformed just from mom and dad being brother and sister..some breeders do this once they establish their lines...its a form of line breeding. As long as it is not done over and over and over with offspring's offspring then you are fine. :)
 
I would just put some wire in between the two bunnies. I have 2 does taking care of litters right now and they were "roommates" before the first litters, only thing separating them is wire and they are fine. I could probably recolonize them if I wanted too after they wean these babies. They are getting bred again instead.
 
It's like the commotion never stops -_-
I just checked on the babies and when I checked on them, they started popping around liek crazy. Keep in mind I dont have a nest box for them either -_- they popped out and started crawling towards the other side of the cage. Now they seem to know how to squirm back to the nest but I'm worried if one pops put of the nest and doesn't go back. They were like on the oppsite side of teh cage from the enst too. How do I fix this? Build/buy a nest box? What are good dimensions? Where can I buy one? The mother doesn't seem too phased by it. But she hates it when I'm even in her cage to change the food/water. I don't want her snapping at one of the babies, or neglecting to feed it because it didn't get back to the nest. If I put the babies in a nest box will mom know what to do with them? How do I put them in there? Do I put the fur she pulled in there with the hay they were in? or new hay and fur?
... never a dull moment with my rabbits -_-
 
Yes, she will know what to do, you may have to put her in to show her where they are. pick up hay and fur and put it around the babies like a nest. Today it is hot enough my mommas have the babies uncovered.
I had one rabbit recently I just used a shoe box as a nest box but she was a dwarf.
 
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