Suprise suprise...I need guidence!

[Heathero617]

I was out feeding and cleaning for the day putzin around the chicken pen i smell something dead...I take a nice close look around counting heads looking for dead wildlidfe and there is nothing to be found. I take a peek into the bunny pen through a crack and behold, i see 2 baby bunny butts...ugggggg....Well.....apparently my bunnies are NOT both girlies >first off<!!! So I prepare myself, I gather a plastic bag, i undo the entire side of the pen. There they are....9 babies! 7 of which were dead. The 2 live ones I removed right away and put them in the crate i use as a brooder for very small chicks. I then proceed to remove the bodies of these 7 little bunnies. I add them to the fire pit and light everything ablaze. I hose out the pen and scrub it well then I put mama in the crate with the babies. One of them was still wet and it died about 20 minutes later. So here I am, with a huge mama rabbit and 1 little round, rolly polly kit in a crate in my bathroom. I have no other place to house them, she's not looking to be a super mom although this little guy/girl is fat and sassy, Mama just flops on her belly and baby cant get under. What I want to know is this...can i hand feed it? If so, what do i need? I've never had baby bunnies this little in my life. They cant be more than a day old because i just had the pen opened 2 days ago cleaning. Also, the mama and dady were brother and sister...are we looking at a hugely contaminated gene pool here?

Enclosed are some pics of the little chubinski.

 

[SueSteeves]

1st) don't worry about the gene pool thing, breeding brother sister is no big deal for rabbits. I know lots of people who do it with meat rabbits, even with show rabbits if they are trying to exagerate a really good trait, but it can enhance bad traits too so it is a roll of the dice.

2nd) you can try to hand raise it, but it is best with mama. mother rabbits are very aloof and don't pay much mind to the kits other than nursing once or twice a day. The thing to worry about with a solo kit is it getting chilled. But, with it being summer I would not worry about that too much. Did mom pull fur for a nest? If so, I would just put baby back in the nest and keep and eye on it to make sure it looks like mom is nursing it. If it's belly does not look full and you get the feeling mom is not nursing, you can hold mom on her side and let the kit nurse for about 10 minutes twice a day.

3rd) if you decide you want to hand raise it go to the webite Rabbitalk and do a search there. They have a great instructions.

Good luck!!!!!

First time moms can be kind of daft.

 

[Heathero617]

Quote:
She was pulling fur, i wrote it off as it's been hovering around the triple digits for so long. All the fur went through the bottom of the pen and is dirty and nasty underneath. I've got warm fuzzies for the baby in the crate, perhaps a dog crate would serve better although the crate i have them in is wire bottom so most of mama's "stuff" can fall out. The baby is cute as anything sleeping belly up and looking quite full and content.

 

[SueSteeves]

I would leave it be if mom is nursing. When I have needed more nesting material in the winter I have used pillow stuffing

The kit will burrow deeper in it or push it off as needed to self regulate it temp. Just make sure mama rabbit has enough room to move around without stomping baby. I think a crate should be fine for awhile

 

[Heathero617]

well since the bottom is wire, i put down a pillow case and my son gave up his wool stocking cap LOL

 

[SueSteeves]

Awwww, how sweet!

 

[Heathero617]

LOL my daughter just took some apple in for mama and fraked out she couldnt find the baby....i gently reached in and sorta barely patted the hat..there is cubinski inside the hat! I guess he was searching for the hot spot.

 

[codymax2]

looks cute and chubby! Mama's only nurse 1-2 times a day, and that baby looks like its getting plenty

 

[dutchhollow]

He looks in the picture to be full, you won't see her nursing him. He also looks to be more then a day old (day olds are pink,no fur and in a litter of 9 would be smaller). Make sure he can get out of the hat to nurse.

 

[Heathero617]

Quote:
Ohh he can get out, i was out for a bit to come home and find him >dunno why i'm calling it him< out and looking full so i'm assuming he came out to nurse. I understand they wouldnt have hair but i just had the cage open 2 days ago to clean it. The adults were out in the run area and they werent in there. The adults are HUGE, I've never had a rabbit so large. I had a French Lop as a kid and I dont ever remember him being as big as these 2. I have no clue, maybe it was 3 days ago instead of 2. All I know is i'm now the proud bunny gramma of a bunny that wasnt planed for. Teach me to get sisters huh?