New born baby rabbits?

Question

Oh no!!! Just got new born baby rabbits but when we put the mother rabbit with them she just ignores them or even sits on them!
(steps on them) is this normal?

Answer 1

You shouldn't listen to people on here that don't know what they are talking about. Rabbits only feed their babies once or twice in a 24 hour period. They only do so when it is quiet, generally at night. You will NOT see her feeding them, ignoring the babies is what mothers do to protect them in the wild. They are fine. If you're really worried pinch the skin on the back of their neck, if it doesn't spring back right away then they are dehrydated. If it does, then the mom is feeding them and there is no reason for you to mess with them. Good luck, any questions e-mail me.

Answer 2

Mom will only feed them once a day, please read the article below,



Although rabbits build nests, they are not chickens and, after initial preparation, will not sit on their nests. They also do not stay on or by the nests after the babies are born. This would attract the attention of predators. The babies burrow to the bottom of the nest where they remain hidden until Mamma Rabbit wakes them up at mealtime.

Only rarely does a mother rabbit nurse her young right after giving birth. Most often the first nursing will occur the night after the kindling. The rabbit's rich milk sustains the babies for 24 hours at a time. The preferred mealtime is between midnight and 5:00 a.m.

A mother rabbit does not lie down in the nest, as a cat would do, but stands over the babies to nurse them. She does, however, clean them and lick their bellies and bottoms to stimulate elimination in much the same way as a cat.

If you want definite proof that the babies are being cared for, check them early each morning. They should be warm and round-bellied. The best way to know for sure is to weigh them on a small postage scale or kitchen scale. Write down a description and the weight. If they're gaining weight (1/4 oz. or so), they're being fed.

You can handle the babies even if the mother doesn't know you. Domestic rabbits are not that concerned over human smells.

Rabbits are not prone to cannibalism, as many people think. Cannibalism is an occasional result of a stillborn litter, and this is nature's way of cleaning up the "mistake." The activity and noisy squeaking of healthy babies trigger the "maternal instincts."
Only rarely does a mother rabbit truly abandon or ignore her babies. This may occur when a very Immature rabbit gives birth, In which case, she usually does not build a nest or make any preparations. Her milk production Is also delayed. Sometimes the babies can be hand fed for short time until the mother rabbit can take over the job. Again, their daily weight gain is the test of adequate nourishment. (If you must hand feed, refer to page 81 of the House Rabbit Handbook
.


Generally a male rabbit is tolerant of young rabbits and, if neutered, can remain with his new family. The father will begin to nip and play roughly with the sons as they begin to reach puberty and start acting feisty. Then It's time for separation. A male rabbit must be neutered before being put back with the mother because she can conceive again immediately after giving birth. They should be kept separate for a minimum of two weeks after neutering.

http://www.pleasebekind.com/rabbit.html

http://www.rabbit.org/

Answer 3

The doe sitting on the babies is bad if she's not feeding them. When I have a doe do this, I will move the nestbox to another corner or take it out completely, bringing it back to her once a day for her to feed the babies. Does can smoosh their babies, a lot aren't very good mothers and need a little help now and then.

Answer 4

These sites will give you a lot of very helpful info -

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/surpriselitter.html

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/orphan.html

I quote - "If mama rabbit seems to be "ignoring" her litter, check their condition before you interfere. If the babies' tummies are round and full-looking (you sometimes can see a whitish patch where the milk-filled stomach shows through the thin skin of the belly), they are warm, their skin is a healthy, dark pink, and not overly wrinkled, and they are sleeping calmly in the nest, then mama is feeding them."

See the above two links for more info :-)

Answer 5

Aww! Congratulations!

This is normal, unless she's "completely" ignored them, then you're the new rabbit mommy.
I have a couple links here with excellent information on caring for baby rabbits and their mothers, wild or domesticated.

1.) http://www.mybunny.org/info/newborn.htm
2.) http://www.kindplanet.org/rabbitbabies.html

I hope this helps. Good luck! :)

Answer 6

She should stand over them to allow them to nurse and to keep them warm. How did you go about putting the mother with them? Am I to understand that you separated them at some point? That was a bad idea...you might have caused her to abandon them...in which case they will die if you don't take over. If she's not letting them nurse, then make plans to call a vet for some advice. If they're more than a few weeks old and have their eyes open they should be alright if they're eating actual food...if they are really newborns, then you're going to be in trouble if the mother rejects them.

Answer 7

ok for the 1st week you shouldnt make any attempt to envision the infants with the aid of fact the mummy would be very shielding of her clutter. After the 1st week you may verify the clutter to verify that they are all doing ok, any ones that have been nevertheless born the mummy could of eaten besides. till now touching the infants rub ur palms in the bedding so as that in case you do %. up any of the infants ur fragrance wont be on them, your probable locate the mummy will are available in to envision what is going on, merely merely confirm you mostly crawl stroke her and allow her be attentive to your not doing something incorrect and he or she could be effective. As for whilst there eyes open it is going to be approx 2 weeks or so, whilst they're 8 weeks previous they're sufficiently old and could be eating the comparable foodstuff as there mom so that they could be weaned from her. be certain you dont bypass away it too lots after that as they could be waiting to mate. in case you havent moved the male rabbit from the feamle then you certainly could gain this. wish this enables

Answer 8

That happened to me once. If you go to a pet store they would say to leave the mother and the baby's alone in a dark room for a long time.But what we did was bought milk for the baby's and tried to feed them ourselves. You can try either on or both.Hope that helped.