rabbit breeders advice needed!!!

[bufforp89]

recently I had a single rabbit kit born from a first time mother.....it went well for the first few days but now I am afraid she has rejected the kit....is there a good replacement milk other then something from the pet store that I can hand feed it with? I have hand fed a chipmunk, squirrel and a few other various other rodents on a lactose-free cat milk found in the pet section of my local grocery store....would that work? or does someone have a mix they would like to share?

 

[dandelionheart]

Rabbits only nurse 1-2 times a day... left over from pre-domestication when they needed to stay seperate from their babies due to predators. Maybe stick a motion activated thing between them and see if she goes in there to be with her baby? Oh, and when they nurse it is usually dusk or dawn. Baby buns to not take well to hand feeding... if she truly has rejected - best to find someone in your area that can sneak your baby bunny in with theirs. Good Luck!

 

[bufforp89]

this baby is truly rejected......I have had a few litters before and have never had a female act like this....she appears frightened of the kit when ever it moves and went as far as stomping on it this morning....I know they dont mother their young like other animals but being teritorial towards its own young was suprising to me.....no one else Is due to kit either...

 

[txcarl1258]

I had a dutch doe that abandoned her litter as soon as it was born. I took the three surviving babies in the house and twice per day I would take the doe and hold her down and force her to nurse the babies. It wasn't pleasant for her, but it worked! All three of them survived. You may have to do this until it is old enough to eat on its own.

 

[bufforp89]

I have held the mom down for force feedings twice already

not going well.....mom was not very friendly when I got her and dosnt care to be handled....I have only had her a week and a half....the baby was a big suprise....I may just have to continue with the force feeding although I hate to stress the already stressed mom...

 

[mtcookie]

I have had this problem before. I took the mom inside with the baby and held mama in my lap with her tummy facing up. Then placed baby on the nipple and let it suck while I made sure mama was good.

 

[mom2jedi]

Quote:
This is a good idea. It might take two people at first, but rabbits will go into a trance when they are on their backs. If your bun is very skittish, wrap her in a towel after you pick her up swaddled like a baby almost. Once she's secure, take her inside with her kit. Sit on a couch or chair and gently turn her over onto her back. You will have to hold her very firmly to do this, once she's over keep her swaddled and stroke her head from nose to ears. After a minute or so, she'll look like she's going to sleep (hopefully). Very slowly and carefully unwrap her stomach while still stroking her head. If you're successful up to this point, very gently have your helper place the kit on her belly near a nipple. Be prepared to grab the kit if she wakes up, which can happen if a leg gets jostled or her body starts to turn right side up. After the baby nurses, try to lay the towel back over her before you turn her over to prevent getting scratched.

Good Luck!

 

[therealsilkiechick]

i just lost a litter of 6 hollands to a new 10mth old mom today.

she never made a nest, never pulled hair, and never finished cleaning them cuz they was sticky and wet and cold. they all died cuz she didn't keep them warm, never fed and just abandonded them. she killed one and was working on another one.

i found 3 just barely alive but they died too i couldn't get them to nurse or syringe feed or get body temps up and keep it up. i'm so heartbroken, the poor things.

she wasn't due till fri either. they would have been my first pure holland lop babies and i was so excited and looking forward to haveing them and some were even harlaquins like mom is.

i feel for ya i wish ya the best of luck, i've had mom's abandon them before and syringe fed till they was 2.5 weeks old but still lost them. wish i had some advice to offer ya but i can't think of anything else other than what has been posted. my last litter of mixed lops r 5 weeks old i did the nurseing thing on my lap for the runts and they made it so there is a chance ya never know. once they caught up i left mom to finish the job and they r still alive and fine. before i helped them nurse they was just skin and bones i didn't think the 3 would make it but they did and r wonderful little darlings.

good luck!!!

 

[Chickanmanfromarkansas]

Do you have anymore does with babies near the same age as this loner? We use to adopt ours out to other does if they didn't have very many babies of their own. Most does will raise other babies.

 

[Becky89*]

I was once given three baby bunnies that were only 2weeks old and they did not enjoy being fed by an eye dropper....... I talked to a friend who has raised more kits than me and he said that it was the way I was holding them......once I put them in a cloth that felt like mommy's fur they started drinking more of the replacement milk and they grew rapidly........Sadly I couldn't keep them in the house and didn't have enough cages in the barn at the time so I gave them to my friend and they are still living happily in hutches behind his feed store.