baby bunnys

[Mother of All]

what do I need to know and do. my rabbit surprised me this morning with 6 babies

 

[debilorrah]

Oops!!! Did she make them a nest? Handle them as much as you can after the first couple days so they aren't skittish.

 

[Mother of All]

sounds great i m looking for advice for the first day I think that I have lost 3 of the 6 is that normal of what do i need to do

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
You shouldn't need to do anything. Three have already died? You need to make sure she is feeding them. Once a day is normal, you can tell by checking to see if they have fat bellies. You can see the milk through their skin.

 

[Duckchick2011]

Does she have a nest box or are they sitting on the wire?

 

[Mother of All]

yes the remaining three are now in a nest box with small pices of cotton balls in the center of and on top of the three babies. I don't know what being on the wire is?

 

[BarefootMom]

Quote:
on the wire as in the bottom of the cage..usually rabbit cages are all wire.

Has the mama pulled any fur? She should have pulled fur by now and have them covered up. How is the weather where you are? I won't breed rabbits in the months of May-August because of the temps. It can be so hard on the kits before they get any fur.

Is she a first time mama? It is normal for first litters not to survive- sometimes the mamas eat their young, so be sure she isn't showing agression towards them.

You might want to check out the rabbit section on backyardherds.com (sister site to BYC)

 

[Mother of All]

this is a first time mom and no she has not pulled fur that is why I did the cotton balls. and she is not aggressive to them at all. she is leaving them alone.

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
I mama only feeds her kits once a day, sometimes two but not usually.

 

[dewey]

Do you have any hay or straw? It's not unusual for first timers not to pull fur until later. You can easily pull fur from her stomach/between the hind legs area. It should come right out. It won't hurt her. If you have hay, I'd stuff the nest box (cardboard box if nothing else, can google it) full with hay then push down a fist size hole in the hay towards the back of the box and put the babies there. Any fur you pull can be placed over the babies. Babies are active and can get tangled/choked by cotton and other materials. Better just hay and fur if possible. Several babies in a hay nest large enough to barely fit your fit doe in to feed them will keep each other warm with even light fur covering them. If it's really warm there, fur may not even be needed but it makes a nice bed for them placed on top of the hay. Hoping the best for your buns.