Baby bunny emergency

[MatthewsHomestead]

They have offered you some great advice! I raise rabbits myself but have never had to tend to an abandoned kit. The kitten milk is a fantastic idea that you can find at most specialty pet stores. Good luck!

 

[HuskerHens18]

Thanks everyone! God bless you guys, I'm so happy you all gave me the advice and suggestions. I am going to do everything in my power to save this little guy thanks to all you

 

[cassie]

First of all, it is very hard for one kit to survive because it relies on the body heat of its siblings. Breeders have a difficult time keeping the body temperature regulated for a single kit even when brought indoors. Putting it back in the nest would be ideal IF there were siblings, but it probably would not survive current temperatures at night.

Second, if you plan to foster it, kitten replacement milk is far better than evaporated milk, but raw goat milk would be even better.

I agree with your post except for the statement about goat milk. Goat milk is great for a lot of things because it is so digestible. However, in this case it would not be. On an average, goat milk is about the same as cow milk as far as butterfat percentages, solids not fat, and the number of calories per ounce. Small mammals such as baby rabbits and orphan puppies need milk that is much more calorie dense than straight goat or cow milk. In these cases if you decided to use goat milk, which is not a bad idea by the way, you would need to use evaporated goat milk, not fresh milk. Your suggestion about kitten milk replacer is a very good one.

 

[Wyandottes7]

I have hand-raised/supplemented domestic rabbit kits before, using the following formula:

1 egg yolk
1/2 cup evaporated goat milk (undiluted)
1/2 tablespoon corn syrup

This provides the rich, concentrated nutrients that baby rabbits need. I suspect it would work for wild species of rabbit as well.

Good luck with your baby rabbit and please keep us updated!

 

[Tale of Tails Rabbitry]

I agree with your post except for the statement about goat milk.

My cousin raised rabbits and had a couple of really bad mothers. My aunt, her mother, raised Nubian goats for milk. All the kits of both kindles survived on Nubian raw goat's milk from birth. In fact, it was just a few months later that there was an article in Mother Earth News that goat milk was one of the best replacement milks for baby rabbits. Of course, that is in the late 1970's, but the goat's milk worked for us. However, I do have to say that my aunt's goats produced a very high quality milk.

 

[cassie]

My cousin raised rabbits and had a couple of really bad mothers. My aunt, her mother, raised Nubian goats for milk. All the kits of both kindles survived on Nubian raw goat's milk from birth. In fact, it was just a few months later that there was an article in Mother Earth News that goat milk was one of the best replacement milks for baby rabbits. Of course, that is in the late 1970's, but the goat's milk worked for us. However, I do have to say that my aunt's goats produced a very high quality milk.

You have to do what works for you. In other words, you pays your money and you takes your choice. Just for the record, not all goat milk, or any milk, is created equal. Nubians and mini goats can produce very rich milk but not all goats do. To put things in perspective, at least in California, to be legal cow milk has to be a minimum of 3.5% butterfat but goat milk only needs to be 3.1%. I have no quarrel with what you said about raising baby rabbits on Nubian goat milk but if you tried it with say, a Saanen or Toggenburg in the summertime, it might not work out so well. I do have friend that raised a baby rabbit on Nubian milk. He kept the bunny in one of the pockets of his overalls and fed it frequently. I am curious how often you fed your baby rabbits and how often Mother Earth News said to do so. That could make a big difference.

 

[Tale of Tails Rabbitry]

@cassie That was 40 years ago, dear! I have no idea how often my cousin fed them. I just remember that all the bunnies lived and my aunt told me about the article because she was a subscriber and it validated what they had done. (And we did not have the Internet back then to debate it.) People still often discovered what worked by accident back in those days.

 

[OF65]

We had goats at the time and maybe a cow..that was more 55 years ago for me. As one said...no internet then... and all babies both two and four legs did fine with fresh farm milk. The rabbit we raised grew just fine...without commercial rabbit feed too.

 

[cassie]

@cassie That was 40 years ago, dear! I have no idea how often my cousin fed them. I just remember that all the bunnies lived and my aunt told me about the article because she was a subscriber and it validated what they had done. (And we did not have the Internet back then to debate it.) People still often discovered what worked by accident back in those days.

True. And what the books say should happen and what actually does happen is not always the same. I am sorry you do not know how often the babies were fed. I really wanted to know that for my own information and for future reference. I have dogs and there are a LOT of wild bunnies around my place. I hope not, but it is very possible that I may someday find myself in the same situation as the OP. Knowing exactly what your cousin did would be very helpful if I ended up with some orphan bunnies.

 

[HuskerHens18]

Baby update! He is now 100% covered in fur. Last night was the first night he accepted the milk easily, this morning he did wonderful as well. I hope from now on he will put some weight on, he began looking thin and I could count his vertebrae. Today I CANT! My chicks love him as you can see in that first image (sorry it's so red).
THANK YOU ALL for your input and info! Without all of YOU he would have died Easter Sunday. Please pat yourselves on the back, he's only alive because of you! God bless you all.