why wont my rabbit take care of her babies???

Question

She had them 2 days ago, one has already died, and the other four look like they arent doing too good, and no vets around here take care of rabbits

Answer 1

There could be several reasons your doe is not caring for her newborns...
If you have touched the newborns, the mother may have rejected them. It's best not to touch them until their eyes open so don't touch them again with your hands, use a stick or similar to gently push back the fur "nest", check the babies and then re-cover them.
She may have rejected them if she did not receive the right care during her pregnancy. A doe needs to be fed all she will eat of a good quality rabbit "pellet" feed, plus a little dry hay and very little "treats". She also should have a salt block or spool and plenty of fresh water. A doe needs to have a nest box placed in her cage on the 27 day of pregnancy with nest making materials in it.
A doe's cage needs to be in a quiet out of the way spot where she wont be disturbed or stressed by activity, other rabbits, pets, or people.
Lastly, you may have done all of these things and she still wont care for her newborns. If she's a first time mother, sometimes they don't know what to do. Also know that a mother rabbit will not move her babies like a cat. If a baby crawls out of the nest, it will die from cold. If you find it in time, you should put it back in with the other babies. The doe will not put it back. A doe will only enter the nest to nurse her babies a couple times a day and never if she know's you're watching....
Hope some of this helps.... you can email me with any other questions at [e-mail]
Good luck!

Answer 2

Pinch the backs of their necks. If the skin springs back, they are most likely fine. If the skin stays up and takes a while to go back they are probably dehydrated and need supplementation. You can do this with a special bottle and formula from the pet store. The one who died may have had genetic deformities, or was perhaps the runt. The mom will only feed them once or twice at night when it's quiet and no one else is around, so be sure to give mom and babies lots of alone time. I hope this helps.

Answer 3

It's not true that touching the babies will make the mother kill them. A good breeder will go through the nestbox from day one to make sure all the kits are doing good and remove any dead ones.

I've taken the nextbox out for the day and put it back in with her at night if I think she's not taking care of them or has been sitting on them. Usually this works as the doe will jump right in to feed. Just make sure that she's actually feeding them and hops out when she's done. You can take the nestbox out and leave it in the house, bringing it out to her every night if you want. When the babies are about a week to 10 days, it's safe to leave them in with her.

Answer 4

There are two usual reasons why rabbits don't take care of their babies: odor and inability to produce enough milk.

Odor can be from several causes.

1. Odor from dead babies - check daily and remove
2. Odor from urine/ammonia - use a nestbox with holes in the floor to allow the urine to drain out. Pegboard works really good.
3. Odor from nestbox bedding - avoid using wood shavings, hay, or moldy straw. Non-moldy straw is the best beddig to use.

A rabbit's inability to milk properly can be due to the rabbit getting old, bad genetics, the feed, too large of a litter, or possibly from her first time having a litter. Don't use poor milking does to raise babies. They will pass this characteristic on to their young. To help aid in milk production, add a tablespoon of Calf Manna to the doe's feed. This will boost the amount of protein she receives, allowing her to milk better. Feed milking does a feed of at least 16% protein. I normally recommend 17% protein. Show formula rabbit feeds normally reduce the amount of protein to help the rabbit hold its coat of fur and contain around 15% protein. This is too little protein however for a milking doe.

Don't worry about touching the babies. Most experienced rabbit breeders handle the babies right after they're born, sometimes even minutes after they're born. I've never lost a litter due to handling the babies in 24 years. It is somewhat important to handle the babies in some regards in order to remove dead babies and check that the babies are being milked properly. Sometimes its best to get rid of the runts that aren't getting milked properly so the rest of the litter does better. I've seen many rabbits have litters as large as 16 when I know they can handle at most around 10. After a doe has a litter or two you can get an idea of how many she can handle. As she reaches about 2-2.5 years old the number she can raise will slowly dwindle.

If you really want to, you can bottle feed just the runts. I'd recommend leaving them in with the mother. They'd need fed once to twice a day. You can get a milk formula from your local vet or local university with a veterinarian program or possibly even your local 4-H office.

Answer 5

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Answer 6

maybe she is too stressed. Some rabbits aren't good moms I suggest you go to this website and find a rabbit vet and get her spayed. Unspayed females have an 80% cancer rate. http://www.rabbit.org

Answer 7

she's a bad mother. its not all that uncommon for domesticated animals to not parent well. you need to take matters into your own hands and feed those babies, otherwise their future doesn't seem too bright. go buy some formula from the pet store

Answer 8

If you touch them too soon, the mother won't care for them.In fact the mother will often times kill them.