rabbit destroyed her babies nest?

Question

ok my bunny babies are now 6 days old. one bunny has fur already is this normal?
-the 2 other bunnies have very little fur
-eyes still closed
-this morning when i saw in the cage there was no nest the mother mixed the fur that she made the nest with in the pine bedding and the babies are getting everywhere why did she do this
- 2 times i had to put pine bedding around the babies to keep them together and warm
but one one them seems to be getting out of it
i saw there tummies and they seem round and pink
but why did she destroy the nest
will they be warm is this normal.

thanks checto they do seem to be getting fed they just dont have a nest and when i try to put them in a corner note i dont touch them with my hand there is small batroom towel in the cage which has there sent on it i just push them to the corner with that towel but after like 2 hours one of them gets out why cant she build another nest

Answer 1

By now you should know if the bunnies are acting lethargic and not being fed. If so, you can feed them with an eye dropper, or follow guidelines on this site. >http://www.wbvc.bc.ca/orphaned.htm
My daughter was able to hand-raise 3 out of five orphaned bunnies successfully, but we had fresh goat milk..
A well-fed baby will have a very distended tummy, looking like the "Pillsbury Dough Boy." If the babies' tummies are full, the mother is feeding them and you can rest assured. The babies can be examined every day. Always wash and rinse hands well before any handling. Then stroke the mom so your scent is as hers.

If the babies have not been fed, they will have sunken tummies, their skin will be wrinkled from dehydration and they will be weak (their response to being handled will be weak or non-existent, although they will hopefully be breathing.) Scattered babies are more likely not to have been fed, so make sure that they are warm first.

If the babies are weak or dehydrated, veterinary intervention is advised. Placing a drop of honey or fruit jam into their mouths sometimes helps elevate their blood sugar level until veterinary help and/or mother's milk is available.

If she is feeding them, you can offer cotton balls or sheet cotton fluff (not polyester) to keep the bunnies warm. Wash and rinse hands well before touching the cotton.
Keep them in a warm, draft free area, until they are moving in and out of the nest.

Examine the mother for signs of lactation. By gently holding the mother upright, or gently turning her upside down in a lap, the nipples can be examined. They should feel slightly swollen and it is likely that the mother pulled a great deal of fur from her chest and stomach to not only make her nest, but also to better expose the teats for the babies.

Slight pressure in a milking motion should release either small amount of milk or clear fluid. If the mother is lactating, return her to the babies and allow her to calm down and become familiar with her new nest. Examine the babies the next day to make sure that they are being fed.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

They should be OK as long as their skin doesn't start looking loose and limp. If you see nice full pudgy little bellies, then they are eating good.

I think the main reason your doe is destroying the nest is due to the bedding you are using. Don't use pine shavings anymore. Pine shavings are ok to use for pen bedding, but not for a nestbox. Rabbits are very particular when it comes to their nestbox. Next time use straw instead. Pine shavings give off a scent. You don't want to use any bedding that gives off a good bit of scent in the nestbox. That means don't use hay or any kind of wood shavings. Straw works the best. Just make sure the straw isn't moldy smelling.

In 25 years, I've never had trouble using straw for nestbox bedding. I've heard many people have trouble using any kind of wood shavings.

As far as handling the bunnies, handle them all you want. Your scent getting on the babies won't bother the mother at all. Many rabbit breeders will handle the babies just minutes after they are born. I handle our baby rabbits in the nestbox all the time with no problem. Your hand scent is not nearly as strong as the scent of that pine bedding.

Another thing you may want to do is to make sure you have some holes in the bottom of the nestbox floor. My dad and I normally use pegboard as the bottom for our nestboxes. The holes allow the urine to drain out of the nestbox. If urine builds up in the nestbox it can cause a build up of ammonia and smell in the nestbox, causing the mother to quit milking them.

It sounds like your baby rabbits are getting fed well, so I wouldn't worry too awful much. Plus it is not the worst of winter and it's getting warm weather. So even if they aren't covered the best they should probably be ok to an extent.

And what the one person mentioned about playing the music. That is a good idea. I don't think that will have an affect on her messing up the nestbox, but it does help keep them calm when they hear strange noises. If it is totally silent and they all of a sudden hear sounds, rabbits will tend to get jumpy, then run around their cage and sometimes run into the wall of the cage and break their spinal chord. Keeping a radio out by the rabbits and keeping it on all the time gets them used to sound so they aren't so jittery.

Answer 4

They sound like normal kits to me. They should start getting fur, and at 6 days there eyes should not be opened yet.
You should have researched before breeding your rabbit. Then, you would have known to have placed a nesting box in her cage before she was due. Do some research. Also, if you're not breeding for show, or to benifit your own personal rabbitry(which it doesn't sound like you have), you shouldn't be breeding. There are far too many abandoned rabbits throughout the shelter. You're just adding to the problem. If you wanted more rabbits for pets, you should have adopted.

Also, believe it or not, you should be able to handle the kits, though on your part it may be better to leave them alone. It all depends on the doe, and if she's so aggressive she wont let you handle her kits, she really really shouldn't have been bred.

Answer 5

when i bred my rabbits many breeders told me to mke a nesting box and put it in there. so u could try that.
small carboard box cut to make a tray but make the sides so they cant climb out. (it will need cleaning) put beding in it and put in where the babies are and put them in it.

some rabbits dont make nests. this is usualy on there first litters so if she is inexperanced this could be why.

alos make sure that any bedding u r useing is not sented as this will put a forin smell in.
wheni cleaned i just took out soind stuff under babies and put old wood chaveings from another part of the hutch.

alos only check on them once a day no more than this and when you do remove the mum so she dont see u.

as for the fur thing this is normal the one with more fur is the strongest and feeding more so grows quicker. (weening that one will be harded my one still tried to feed at 8weeks) weening a 5 weeks remove from mum(just in case u wernt sure)
and the plump bellies is a sign that they are benig fed.

Answer 6

Many does don't keep their first litter because they are easily stressed. Another possibility is the mother may fear that predators are attracted to her babies. If there are barking dogs or lurking wild animals within hearing distance she may attempt to abandon or kill her babies. Turn on soft music that's just loud enough to drown out the rest of the sounds. As long as the mother is properly cared for and kept safe she should raise her litters without problem.

I've bred mini lop rabbits for three years, and i have experienced some of the same problems.

Answer 7

It is normal for a mother to move around everything until she gets it the way she wants it. When my 1 rabbits had babies she pushed them around everywhere. Is the cage outside in inside?