Help! found rabbit in yard. She's having babies now, what to do???

[Louise's Country Closet]

Quote:
That might be a good idea for a little while considering it's a wild rabbit.. but if it had been a rabbit that was already use to you, you could touch them right away. We have 9 does and I've always been right in the nest box when they're done having babies and they've never minded lol

 

[oesdog]

Your babies look really lovely.
I think they would get cold without your heat lamp though looking at the way she is. I would not turn it off unless you can offer her an other way to keep babies warm.
When our rabbit had young she was in a rabbit cage with news paper and loads of hay. Our girl made a nest out of the paper and hay and then had her own fur pulled out in clumps around the babies. We never saw them after the first wee look. We just got a quick glimp and counted then left her to it. After a few weeks the little ones started to come out of the nest and explore. Our girl was outside but as its winter right now I don;t recomend your girl being outside at all. MAybe you could give her some shredded paper or hay to cover the young with. Let her do the nest making but she does need more material than her own fuff if your going to turn off the heat lamp. Babies who are pre - fur cannot maintain their own body temps.

Oesdog

 

[oesdog]

Louise's Country Closet :

Quote:
That might be a good idea for a little while considering it's a wild rabbit.. but if it had been a rabbit that was already use to you, you could touch them right away. We have 9 does and I've always been right in the nest box when they're done having babies and they've never minded lol

Your very lucky - there are a lot of folk I know who have touched babies and lost the lot - so as a general rule we wouldn't recomend interfearing with very young babies for that reason. Its just an Opinion based on experience so its really up to others how they want to approach this, really as you say you know your own rabbit. All are different and respond in different ways. So if you know your Rabbit and want to take the risk of touching then that is up to the individual

Oesdog​

 

[babymakes6]

My sister and I had rabbits as teens. They were friendly pets that were played with often. When my sister's rabbit had her babies, she ate two litters-and we never touched the babies! We didn't breed her after that-she was NOT a good momma, so we didn't let her have any more. Sometimes, they just are that way-just like broodies don't always make good momma hens.
She is a pretty rabbit, and the babies all look to be the same color-which makes me think purebred, but not sure what. We had Lops, and the one we have now is a Dutch. I would put pictures up at the feed store and grocery store-she looks to be well cared for, and may have accidentally escaped somebody's pen.

 

[Louise's Country Closet]

Some momma's just eat their young with no explanation at all. We breed our rabbits for meat so if a momma would eat her babies we'd get rid of her, it's not a trait we'd want to breed. If we didn't touch them, we'd lose a lot of babies with how many litters we have every year. Big breeders and little breeders are completely different so I totally get that, we each have our own set of rules.

 

[brahmakid11]

They look like blue Americans to me there is a site called a r b a about rabbit

 

[mama24]

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I think that must have been someone else. He has not posted any pictures of rabbits in this forum.

Oh! Ha ha! I didn't even look at usernames, I just assumed it was the same person! I mean, how many people turn up with pregnant bunnies in their yards randomly? And then post pics on BYC? So I assumed it was the same person. Oops! But OP is the other person's spouse, so I made the right assumption! Whew! ROFL

Good luck! And I am so jealous! I have been trying to get my dh to let me get some meat/pet bunnies for months now! I wish one would just show up in MY yard! Some people just have all the luck!

 

[oesdog]

Louise's Country Closet :

Some momma's just eat their young with no explanation at all. We breed our rabbits for meat so if a momma would eat her babies we'd get rid of her, it's not a trait we'd want to breed. If we didn't touch them, we'd lose a lot of babies with how many litters we have every year. Big breeders and little breeders are completely different so I totally get that, we each have our own set of rules.

You meat breed - I sooo want to do that with Rabbits. I had giant dutch whites while growing up and all I can remember is my grandmother saying "why don;t you kill that thing its fur would make you a lovely bonnet and muff this winter!!!!!!!( She of course had loads of Meat rabbits - legacy of the war years!) As a 6yr old girl I was indeed horrified!!!!!!! Needless to say my Suzy Q and Bobby bob tail lasted a good while. Then I got a little dutch rabbit not sure the breed and it was sold to me as a boy who I called Bugs. Turned out to be a pregnant doe and had 5 babies! - I sold them to the pet store! So we had to call her Bugsly instead. Now we got our adult brain injured son a big white Rabbit and it is georgious. But I always wanted to breed some for meat. I am trying to get my head round filling the freezer with all things home grown!!!!!!

Oesdog​

 

[mama24]

Rabbits are supposed to be the cheapest meat in regards to feed cost per lb of meat, b/c they are ready to eat in like 2 mos! I am worried I would have a harder time killing them than I do chickens, though, b/c they so warm and fuzzy! But I have hunted rabbits with a gun before and I do know that skinning and cleaning them is MUCH easier than plucking, etc, a chicken!

 

[oesdog]

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I watched a programme on rabbit killing. It was to do with the armed forces and they just hold them by the back legs and hit them across the back of the neck with one good blow. Apparently it is very fast and affective. - But I do understand about the killing thing. I couldn;t kill my beautiful roos last year so re-homed them. Now I have to try all over again. I am not a natural killer - though have been known to run down a pheasent and process it!!!!!!!!!

I always think there is something sad about breeding and then taking the young and well doing them in? Odd really. We are all so caught up with rescuing fluffy things it is sometimes hard to think of it all as a food sorce!

Oesdog