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Baby bunnies ... any help? New Pics!! Day 10 already!

post #1 of 14
4/9/12 at 10:15am
Thread Starter 

Well, after a disastrous first attempt to have babies, we tried again and yesterday our girl had nine babies. She did a lot of things right this time that she didn't do last time. She built her nest only a couple of days before and she built it where it was out of the way of where she hopped around a lot. Last time she built it right in front of her water and food and then she kept unbuilding it over and over. But ... she didn't pull any fur until after the babies were born. Because it was cold we took them inside and have brought her in to them several times. We can't tell if she's feeding them or not. I remember someone telling me she would only feed them once a day but how do we know when she's fed them or what time of day she's likely to? Is nine babies too many for her to care for? So far they are all still pink, warm, and squirming around in a group. I brought in as much of momma's fur as I could so that they would smell like her. Any suggestions?

 

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Edited by erinszoo - 4/18/12 at 4:42pm

Barred rocks, red sex link, silver wyandotte, white leghorns, mottled cochin banty, silkie, blue swedish and khaki campbell ducks, meat rabbits, white holland turkeys, turtles, cats, and as much garden space as one can cram into a small urban yard half given over to the chickens

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Barred rocks, red sex link, silver wyandotte, white leghorns, mottled cochin banty, silkie, blue swedish and khaki campbell ducks, meat rabbits, white holland turkeys, turtles, cats, and as much garden space as one can cram into a small urban yard half given over to the chickens

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post #2 of 14
4/9/12 at 10:23am

You are supposed to give rabbits a nest box. I don't know what size of rabbits you have, but you need a nest box that is somewhat larger than your doe. It should have a partial top on it. A simple wooden box that you make yourself is fine. She makes a nest in there and then the babies are safe and she goes in the box when she needs to. I don't think taking them away from her is going to work very well, rabbits are very touchy about babies and when you bring them back to her, if she gets too scared or upset, she may kill them.

2 Buff Orpingtons, , 2 Australorps, 2 Bantam EE, 2 Delawares, 2 Barnevelders, 2 blue mixed something, 1 "Orpicana",1 Polish mix that looks like a roadrunner! A black Bantam Faverolles rooster named Henry. And 2 Australian Spotted ducks.

2 horses, 4 dogs, 2 cats.

 

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2 Buff Orpingtons, , 2 Australorps, 2 Bantam EE, 2 Delawares, 2 Barnevelders, 2 blue mixed something, 1 "Orpicana",1 Polish mix that looks like a roadrunner! A black Bantam Faverolles rooster named Henry. And 2 Australian Spotted ducks.

2 horses, 4 dogs, 2 cats.

 

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post #3 of 14
4/9/12 at 10:33am
Thread Starter 

She refuses to use a nest box. We gave her one the first time around and she wouldn't get in it. We tried again this time and she built her nest on the opposite end of the pen. We were talking about just putting the babies in the nest box and then putting it in the pen with her and seeing what she does but it's still in the 40's at night here and we were worried about the cold. She's pretty calm as long as I feed her a treat. She hasn't tried to hurt the babies at all this time. Last time she crushed one trying to dig. She's a meat breed California X although we aren't sure what the other part is.

Barred rocks, red sex link, silver wyandotte, white leghorns, mottled cochin banty, silkie, blue swedish and khaki campbell ducks, meat rabbits, white holland turkeys, turtles, cats, and as much garden space as one can cram into a small urban yard half given over to the chickens

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Barred rocks, red sex link, silver wyandotte, white leghorns, mottled cochin banty, silkie, blue swedish and khaki campbell ducks, meat rabbits, white holland turkeys, turtles, cats, and as much garden space as one can cram into a small urban yard half given over to the chickens

Reply
post #4 of 14
4/9/12 at 10:47am

Well that is odd she won't use the box. I don't know, the babies in the picture look like their bellies are pretty full. If she is a calm rabbit, what you are doing may work. That is pretty cold for them, especially if she didn't pull much fur. So I guess if you look at their bellies before and after you put the doe with them you can tell if they are getting fed.Good luck smile.png

2 Buff Orpingtons, , 2 Australorps, 2 Bantam EE, 2 Delawares, 2 Barnevelders, 2 blue mixed something, 1 "Orpicana",1 Polish mix that looks like a roadrunner! A black Bantam Faverolles rooster named Henry. And 2 Australian Spotted ducks.

2 horses, 4 dogs, 2 cats.

 

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2 Buff Orpingtons, , 2 Australorps, 2 Bantam EE, 2 Delawares, 2 Barnevelders, 2 blue mixed something, 1 "Orpicana",1 Polish mix that looks like a roadrunner! A black Bantam Faverolles rooster named Henry. And 2 Australian Spotted ducks.

2 horses, 4 dogs, 2 cats.

 

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post #5 of 14
4/9/12 at 10:55am

If the babies get a round budda belly they're being fed. Those ones look fed. When their stomachs are thin and wrinkled it means they haven't been fed yet, or at all. You'll know for sure. You should be able to move them all into a box and the doe will just go in it. If you leave them on the wire eventually they'll wiggle out.

 

What breed is the rabbit? Different breeds can handle more babies than others. Nine babies for a netherland dwarf is a whole lot different than nine babies for a new zealand. They all look like Ruby Eyed white kits so I'm guessing some sort of meat breed?

~2 Golden Comets, 3 Production Reds, 6 Speckled Sussex ~
~Active Rabbit Shower and Raiser for 10 years, currently specializing in Mini Rex~
~Proud best friend of American Eskimo Dog, Westley & Pit Bull Rescue, Luna~
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~2 Golden Comets, 3 Production Reds, 6 Speckled Sussex ~
~Active Rabbit Shower and Raiser for 10 years, currently specializing in Mini Rex~
~Proud best friend of American Eskimo Dog, Westley & Pit Bull Rescue, Luna~
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post #6 of 14
4/9/12 at 4:41pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks for the answers. They are a meat breed. We think they are a cross between a California and a New Zealand. They're pretty hefty rabbits. We're having some big storms around here tonight so I think I'll leave them inside for tonight and then tomorrow I'll get them into a nest box and back in her cage outside and see what she does. The night temps are supposed to be back up in the mid to upper 50's starting tomorrow for the next ten days so they should be okay as long as she keeps feeding them. They do all seem to be nice and fat right now and we've been bringing mom in a couple of times just to give her a chance to feed at her own pace since we don't know when she does it. Hope this litter makes it.

Barred rocks, red sex link, silver wyandotte, white leghorns, mottled cochin banty, silkie, blue swedish and khaki campbell ducks, meat rabbits, white holland turkeys, turtles, cats, and as much garden space as one can cram into a small urban yard half given over to the chickens

Reply

Barred rocks, red sex link, silver wyandotte, white leghorns, mottled cochin banty, silkie, blue swedish and khaki campbell ducks, meat rabbits, white holland turkeys, turtles, cats, and as much garden space as one can cram into a small urban yard half given over to the chickens

Reply
post #7 of 14
4/10/12 at 9:12am
Thread Starter 

Well, mamma bunny is feeding the babies! ya.gif We brought her in yesterday evening for about a half hour and when we checked on her the babies were all fat fat fat. We brought her in again this morning and she fed them too. We noticed today that at least one of them was still skinny while the others fattened up well so we aren't sure if it just missed out or if she can't really handle all nine of them or if something is wrong with that one. If it doesn't eat again this evening we'll have to make a decision whether we're going to help it out or let nature take it's course. sigh.

Barred rocks, red sex link, silver wyandotte, white leghorns, mottled cochin banty, silkie, blue swedish and khaki campbell ducks, meat rabbits, white holland turkeys, turtles, cats, and as much garden space as one can cram into a small urban yard half given over to the chickens

Reply

Barred rocks, red sex link, silver wyandotte, white leghorns, mottled cochin banty, silkie, blue swedish and khaki campbell ducks, meat rabbits, white holland turkeys, turtles, cats, and as much garden space as one can cram into a small urban yard half given over to the chickens

Reply
post #8 of 14
4/12/12 at 11:01am
Thread Starter 

Babies are now 4 days old and doing great. Some of them look like they are going to be champagne colored or dark. We're finding them scattered sometimes after mom has fed them. Could they be latching on to her and not letting go or something? One of them was way the heck across the box.

Barred rocks, red sex link, silver wyandotte, white leghorns, mottled cochin banty, silkie, blue swedish and khaki campbell ducks, meat rabbits, white holland turkeys, turtles, cats, and as much garden space as one can cram into a small urban yard half given over to the chickens

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Barred rocks, red sex link, silver wyandotte, white leghorns, mottled cochin banty, silkie, blue swedish and khaki campbell ducks, meat rabbits, white holland turkeys, turtles, cats, and as much garden space as one can cram into a small urban yard half given over to the chickens

Reply
post #9 of 14
4/13/12 at 7:03am

Baby rabbits are highly mobile, which is why most people use a nest box (or something similar) to keep them together. Yes, they do get pulled around when momma decides she is done nursing, and the kits don't agree! Rabbits don't pick up and carry babies like cats and dogs will do, so a displaced kit is kinda on it's own. It will crawl around, trying to find the other kits, and can crawl right out of the cage (which is why they make "baby saver" wire). The kits need to huddle together for warmth during cool weather; during hot weather, they will spread out to get cooler.

 

You said the doe is a Cali x. I take it she has the typical Cali pattern of red eyes, a white body and dark "points?" That color is called Himilayan (named after the breed) or Himi for short. The Himi pattern is temperature-dependent; where the skin is cool, dark pigment appears in the fur, warmer areas get white fur. A Himi baby that got chilled will get dark pigment deposited in the part of the hair that was growing at the time that the chilling took place. Sometimes, those rings of dark pigment on the hairs can be dark enough, the bunny almost gives the impression of being a Chinchilla - though Chins don't have red eyes, of course. If your babies have red eyes when they open them at 10 - 12 days old, you'll know they are Himi in color. The dark pigment on their bodies will shed out when the Junior coat comes in, leaving them with the typical white body of a Cali.

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post #10 of 14
4/13/12 at 12:32pm
Thread Starter 

Here's some new pics from today. Babies are now 5 days old (we lost one this morning but thought that was going to happen ... sad.png) so now there's just eight of them. Then there's a pic of mom and another of the dad.

 

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Barred rocks, red sex link, silver wyandotte, white leghorns, mottled cochin banty, silkie, blue swedish and khaki campbell ducks, meat rabbits, white holland turkeys, turtles, cats, and as much garden space as one can cram into a small urban yard half given over to the chickens

Reply

Barred rocks, red sex link, silver wyandotte, white leghorns, mottled cochin banty, silkie, blue swedish and khaki campbell ducks, meat rabbits, white holland turkeys, turtles, cats, and as much garden space as one can cram into a small urban yard half given over to the chickens

Reply
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BackYard Chickens › BYC Forum › Miscellaneous › Other Pets & Livestock › Baby bunnies ... any help? New Pics!! Day 10 already!