My rabbit just had 7babies...HELP! update 6 died :(

[PuppyBantamCochin]

My rabbit just had 7babies this afternoon without making a nest. I knew she was pregnant, but I had no idea when she was due. I knew I should've put in a nest box..

I found them all crawling around on the wire.
She didn't pull any fur or anything.
I put them in a cardboard box in her cage with straw&hay...but will she take care of them?
I'm tempted to bring them in, but I don't know if that'll work.
Is it safe to move her and her babies, or will she totally freak out?

I've had rabbits give birth before, but this never happened...

Please help, I don't want to loose the litter!

Thank you,

F.V.

 

[annie3001]

hello.
where do you live? if your concerned, do bring mom and her babies in right away!
i think its safe to move her and the babies, but bring her in with a baby at the same time, as not to freak her. i am sure she will manage fine. just have to watch closely thats all. have fun. what kind of rabbit is she?

 

[Widget]

She should be fine if you move her and the kits. Once you do just let her be. The more you disturb her the more upset she may get. This is especially true if this is her first litter. Unfortunately first time mothers often have no idea what they are doing and may kill their babies. If she does it won't be because of anything you did so don't panic. If all goes well she will raise them up with no issues. And keep in mind she won't spend a great deal of time in the box even if she is being a good mother. She will go in the box to nurse and not much else. As long as the kits are warm and squeaking with full milk bellies they are doing fine.

 

[PuppyBantamCochin]

i'm in No.VA and it's gonna be in the low 20s tonight + it's gonna snow, so I think I will go ahead and bring 'em in. I think this is the momma's first, but I'm not sure; I just got her a month ago. She's a little brown mixed rabbit, about a dutch size...maybe with a little lion-head influence? (and, of course, I'm 90% sure the dad's her brother. not a good thing)
Anyhow...now I've got to keep an eye on the other female rabbit I have--she was housed w/lots of male rabbits before (and shortly after) I took her in...so I may have another litter on the way...hopefully she won't have them tonight...

BTW, thanks so much!

 

[SillyChicken]

They'll be fine... I've left my rabbit outside with her 9 bunnies and it's been in the single digits! Just make sure they aren't exposed to any drafts!!! She'll only feed them once or twice a day (morning -evening) If they're active and pop up when you touch them, and feel warm, they'll be fine.

 

[Akane]

If there is no fur I'd probably bring them in. Some does don't pull fur until after the kits are born though so she may still decide to build a nest if you can leave her alone a little longer. If you move both doe and kits add the doe to the new cage first and let her chill for a little while before adding the nestbox with kits. I had to do similar recently because it suddenly dropped to below 0F for a few days and the doe was so upset she ran around digging at everything including the nestbox. A couple hours later when she'd calmed down I put the nestbox back in and everything went fine from then on. I've also been told several times you can take just the kits inside and put them back out with the doe long enough for her to feed them. We did the opposite for a little while bringing a very laid back doe in to feed her kits in a pen and then returning her outside during those few really cold days but for several reasons it would be best not to try bringing the doe in and out. It can make an animal ill moving from cold to hot to cold and many does would probably be too upset by it to feed the kits.

 

[PuppyBantamCochin]

they were fine last night...I woke up this morning and found 6 dead (they look ''bruised'' so I think she sat on them)

and she used the box as a bathroom...
The last one is fat & glossy and is squiggling around...
I'm afraid the reason she sat on them is cuz the cage is kind of small, and the box took up 1/2 the cage...*sigh* I should've thought about that...
What do I do now? I'm gonna change the box, and hopefully find something bigger I can keep momma in...but will the baby survive alone?
I'm afraid to keep them together...but I know bottlefeeding doesn't work all that well...

I'm trying not to get affected by it...they were supposed to be meat rabbits in the end...but I can't stand it when baby animals die

Edited: the last one's gone..

Hopefully we'll have better luck next time.