My rabbit gave birth. People tell me not to touch it because the stench of human scent will kill it. I read that, that was true. How long does it take before we can touch the baby rabbit?
2006-12-31 07:42:20 · 8 answers · asked by noimus13 1 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
wait till after the bunnies are able to hop around on there own
2007-01-02 10:55:04 · answer #1 · answered by frogyspond 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The stench of human scent won't kill them. That is ridiculous. Don't go on that website/ book or whatever again. If anything the mom will kill them if she doesn't trust you.
You can touch them but not too much as they are fragile. Don't hold them a lot for the first couple of days. But check to see if they are warm,alive and huddled together. If there are any dead ones, YOU HAVE TO REMOVE THEM! The mother might kill the others if there is a dead one in the nest. Make sure you check with the mommy bunny before you touch them. Pet her first. Also pay a lot of attention to the mommy (hold her a lot). You don't want her to get jealous. DON'T touch them if she lunges at your hand. Rabbits will kill their babies if they feel threatened. Make sure the mommy has enough food and water and some treats. She needs the energy to feed them. And if she doesn't, she might eat the babies.Don't let daddy bunny near the babies until their eyes are opened. You can also play with them during this time!
Email me if you have any additional questions!
2006-12-31 07:49:11 · answer #2 · answered by hellopeople13 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
If your rabbit is a pet and used to being handled, I wouldnt think you would have any problem with her raising her babies, unless something else is wrong. When a mother animal abandons or kills a baby it usually is because the baby is sick or abnormal and doesn't act normal. Normal behaviors in a baby animal are what stimulate the mother to take care of it, and if a baby doesn't show the normal behaviors or acts abnormal, the mothers maternal care instincts aren't given the right stimulation. Mother animals often eat babies after the babies die from other causes, as a nest cleaning instinct. Its rare for a mother to kill normal healthy babies for any reason. I've raised rabbits, birds, gerbils, mice, hamsters as well as other species and handled newborns with all those species and never had a mother kill or abandon her babies because of my handling them. If a baby wild bird fell out of a nest and the parents still had other babies in the nest, I've replaced the baby that fell and if the baby was healthy, the parents went ahead and continued to take care of it even though I'd handled the baby. Chances are, the idea that human scent will kill a baby has come from people handling a baby that was abnormal or ill and that was going to die anyway, or else the baby did die and the person came back and saw the mother eating the dead baby to clean the nest up. The most important thing you can do with normal babies is to make sure they have a nest thats well sheltered and warm enough and that you give the mother plenty to eat and drink so she continues to make adequate milk for her babies. Even then, babies sometimes just die for no apparent reason. I've only seen a couple of animals(a cat and a dog)out of thousands of animal mothers of many species, that were true baby killers, and they would murder their litters as soon as the babies were born.
2006-12-31 07:54:25 · answer #3 · answered by TheSnakeWhisperer 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can start handling them the very minute after they are born. Human scent won't hurt the babies and the mother won't stop milking them if she smells your scent on them. There are only a couple of reasons a mother won't milk her babies properly.
1. There's a dead baby in the nestbox and the smell of it is keeping her from milking them.
2. There is a build up of urine in the nestbox and the ammonia smell is keeping her from milking them. Make sure the nestbox floor has a few holes in it to allow the urine to drain out. Pegboard makes great nestbox flooring.
3. Smelly bedding such as wood chips, hay, or moldy bedding is used. Straw is normally the best to use. Just make sure it isn't moldy. Normally choosing the wrong bedding won't cause the mother to quit milking the babies, but it many times will increase the likelihood of her scattering the litter around the pen instead of having them in the nestbox like she should.
4. She is a poor mother (first litter).
5. She can't handle that many babies (old doe - normally over 2.5 years old).
Just be careful when reaching in to handle the babies. The mothers can often be very protective, so watch that you don't get bitten.
It is very importan to check on the litter once every couple of days to make sure that none of the babies have died. Dead babies need to be removed as soon as you find them.
2007-01-02 06:02:39 · answer #4 · answered by devilishblueyes 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can touch them from birth. In fact, it's better because they get used to humans. More information about baby rabbits at the source below.
2006-12-31 07:49:05 · answer #5 · answered by Jewel 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The stench of human will not kill but the mother rabbit may get mad if she is protective
2006-12-31 08:24:20 · answer #6 · answered by ~Bunny~ 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
look on the Internet and see how long you have to wait
2006-12-31 07:49:39 · answer #7 · answered by Sarah M 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I'd wait till there eyes open, and congrats :).
2006-12-31 10:08:07 · answer #8 · answered by Dog Lover 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋