Baby Rabbit formula recipe needed now

[JestersEye]

I had a doe that killed and/or neglected her first litter. I tried to save the last few, but sadly they all died. I also attempted to inervene, by holding the mom over them and through the use of a small pet nurser... but it was very difficult. It's very hard to bottle feed them without accidentally causing them to aspirate the formula. I had better luck with some wild bunnies that were a bit older, using canned goat's milk. Domestic rabbits have different nutritional needs, however. I've heard that most breeders use KMR kitten replacer in cases like yours. The stuff you got from the vet sounds good to me. I hope you have better luck than I did with babies that young.

 

[JestersEye]

By the way, if they do survive to the point where they begin to eat solid food, then you may have an issue with their proper intestinal development. Probiotics will be very important at that time, because baby bunnies typically ingest some of their mother's cecotropes (sometimes called "night droppings"), which help to nourish the bunnies as well as introduce beneficial bacteria into their own digestive tracts. Just thought you should know.

Here's a link to explain further:

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/exploring-a-rabbits-unique-digestive-system.html

 

[denasfarm]

Well we lost the larger one that looked blue.
I went back to change the hot water bottle and it has left us.
I still think they are premature. The skin is tacky/sticky to the touch and not smooth like a done baby bunny.
Just dont feel quite right to me. Maybe it has to do with the fact that they were almost frozen...IDK

 

[Overeasyplz]

well, good luck with them..I'd eat that mean doe if I were you. They have the best flavour

 

[denasfarm]

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Thanks, Thats a very interesting and informative article.

 

[denasfarm]

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LOL thats what my husband keeps saying. We do eat the ones we raise that I dont sell and they are yummy!
I just figured she was to old and tough to be worth eating.

 

[Cornychick]

Those babies look extra bald to me.

 

[JestersEye]

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Np, glad it could help (either now or in the future). I'm so sorry you lost the blue kit! They look very much like the ones I attempted to foster. I think perhaps the stage of development might depend on how many kits were born in the litter. My doe had a very large litter, and her kits all seemed small and under-developed like yours. Alternately, I've seen some kits from small litters that already had very fine fur so the skin didn't feel as "sticky" or raw as you describe. Unfortunately, that makes their survival that much more tenuous.

 

[Kittymomma]

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LOL thats what my husband keeps saying. We do eat the ones we raise that I dont sell and they are yummy!
I just figured she was to old and tough to be worth eating.

A crock pot is a wonderful thing.

Sorry about the little one. When they kennel in really cold weather I put a small (shoulder/hip size) thermacare pad on the outside bottom of the nest box to keep them warm. It gets too hot if you put it on the inside and I worry about mom eating it. I made our nest boxes out of leftover 2x6x8 so they're pretty thick, might need modify if you're using thinner wood or metal boxes.

 

[JestersEye]

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I think you might've meant to type "kindle" (i.e. when rabbits give birth)... Is that what you meant?