Can two litters of rabbits, 1 day old and 4 weeks old, stay with the mother ?

Question

I was sold two male rabbits by the petstore, however, one went on to become pregnant. She had her first litter 4 weeks ago and we had the male snipped by the vet. Even though we spperated them as soon as we found the litter, they must of found some time during the night of the first birth as she has just given birth to a second litter. Can both sets stay with the mother or do we move the 4 week old babies (3) to a new hutch ?. I think they should still be getting their mothers milk, but am scared they will bully the babies and steal all her milk. Please help !!
Thanks

Answer 1

I would remove the older babies from the mother as soon as possible if you want the younger litter to survive. At four weeks the babies should be eating solid food. Keep an eye on them to make sure they are getting enough water as the major problem will be dehydration if they are not drinking from a bottle yet.
Make sure Dad is nowhere near Mum or the babies, Mum will try and dominate Dad even though he has been neutered & he may try to mate with the babies if he is allowed even though he is neutered.
Mom will need to be speyed if she and the male are to live together in harmony.

Answer 2

Not wise to keep them together. The oldier clutch will bully the younger ones and the mother may neglect the younger ones. You should move the oldier ones if they are eating on there own. If there not you may either want to bottle feed them or keep a really good eye on them to make sure there all eating. The baby's have to recieve there mother milk for the first couple of weeks due to a bacteria that is in the mothers milk. If they don't recieve it then they could die because they are prone to sickness. The 4 week old ones are more apt to take a bottle now that they are oldier were the younger ones would be more of a battle to try to tech them to take a hard nipple. Not to mention you'd have to get up every couple of hours to feed the younger one's. Check your local pet store most of the petstores do carry a bottle formula designed for infant rabbits that need to be bottle fed.

Answer 3

First make sure the four week ould bunnies are eating and drinking on their own ( they should be by now ) and yes, move them to a different hutch. If you don't they will hog all the milk and may even smother the little ones when trying to nurse. If you want the little ones to have a chance then you should move the older ones to their own hutch like you were thinking. Good luck.

Answer 4

Blood probably normal, Leave them until they are 2-3 weeks + old. They wont die if you touch them but it does them no good at all. dont worry and hope it is a positive experience for you. She could have between 1 and 22 but 6-8 are average.