so my rabbit had babies.... now what?

[Josh45640]

Im not very experienced with rabbits at all so sorry for the ignorance. My rabbit had a litter of 6 naked babies today sometime. She had them outside of her box and I put them back in it. She has been making a nest inside the box for the past week or so. What is she (or me) supposed to do now? She isnt acting like she is very interested in them. Ive been out there three times now to check on them and all three times the babies have been in the nest and she has been laying outside of it as she normally does. Shouldnt she be in the box and trying to nurse them like a good momma? Ive never had a rabbit that has had a litter before.

 

[saddina]

hmm, mine are all fixed, pet bunnies, but i know several dozen rabbit people are also on here.

 

[Fay at Frizzled Feathers]

Is she a first time mommy ? Actually they have them on the outside of the box more often than you would think.
If she built a nest chances are shes probably gonna take care of them.
The momma dont always stay in the nesting box so thats also normal. If its hot she isnt in the box much only to feed .
On hot days though ,if shes a good momma ,she will uncover them some so that they dont over heat.
I would just check on her here and there but try not to disturb her or pick up the lil ones unless you really have to for awhile.
Good luck with the new babies !

Fay

 

[Josh45640]

Well I may have already screwed up. I picked them up and put them back in the box earlier today and then I handled them again a little bit ago to see if they were all still alive. She didnt seem to mind much. I think that this is her first litter. It has been extrememly hot here latley so that ,ight be why she isnt really staying in the box with them. However, she hasnt uncovered them to cool them, although I did the last time i was out there.They are an accidental cross, so im planning on giving them away once theyre old enough.

 

[Dutchgirl]

Mother rabbits only nurse their babies twice a day. Otherwise they will stay outside of the nest.

With our litter, handling them was absolutely fine. They were picked up from the first day they were born and today our one remaining rabbit from that litter is perfectly healthy.

 

[dewey]

I handle mine briefly from birth on without issues.

Nursing 1x a day for a few minutes is normal and usually plenty since rabbit milk is extremely rich. That's usually the only time the does are in the box. If their bellies are round they're being fed enough. The kits will scatter in the box when it's warm, and the doe may keep them uncovered during the day so they don't overheat. Sometimes I've uncovered them for the same reason. A fan can help.

 

[debilorrah]

I too handle them from day 2 on, quite a bit actually. I need them to be family ready when they get new homes. Mama will only feed them once or twice a day, but you can tell if they are fed because you can see the milk through their skin in their bellies.

 

[EnglishSpot2003]

My Spots get handled every day. Some of the moms even look in the box while I do, almost saying "Lookit what I did!"

 

[Sachasmom]

If she made a nest chances are good she knows what she's doing, I'd check them tomorrow or the next day to be sure they are being fed.

Make sure she has plenty of food and water, since she'll need more to make enough milk to feed them.

I handle mine all the time too, some does can be snarky about messing with their litters, so I just peek in on those and leave the doe be, by the time they're hoping around the nest she's usually over her snit.

 

[Fay at Frizzled Feathers]

Quote:
No,you deffinetaly did the right thing by putting them in the box for sure.We handle our kits all the time from birth on but some mommas are a lil picky about that.
So if you need to handle them please do so,I just wouldnt much within the first 5 days unless need be.
Since she seemed not to mind much ,I would say its fine though.
sometimes momma only makes a lil circle around the edges of the fur covering the kids and other times moves it more,they usually know what they are doing.
Nothing wrong with cross bunny ,somebody will love them for sure !

Fay