My rabbit had babies on saturday and . . .?

Question

I'd like to know if they are still alive. I don't know how many there are bcause I didn't want to disturb them. I can see some moving but they stop after awhile and the mum dosen't seem to be going over to check on her babies. How do I know if they are being fed? Please give me as much information as possible please. x

Answer 1

Hello,

If mum is used to you and used to your smell, she will be fine. I'm sorry to go against everyone else but you DO need to check the nest. If one or more of the kits has been still born they need removing before they rot, attracting flies, disease, and eventually losing the whole litter.

Spend a few minutes stroking mum, getting her scent on your hands, then take mum out of the hutch (be very careful as her teats will be tender and you don't want to hurt her) and put her into a box with some of her favourite veggies to keep her busy. Take another box and put some clean hay in the bottom, carefully uncover the nest and gently pick up the kits one at a time, checking legs feet and ears are present on each and placing it into the box, do this until you reach the bottom of the nest and you are certain you haven't missed anyone. If there are any dead kits remove them and the bedding they were directly on. Put the kits back and cover them over.

When you put mum back in the hutch, she should have a sniff around, she may go over and check the nest but keep an eye on her for a few minutes just to be sure.

You won't see mum tend to her babies as she will do this at night when she feels safe, check daily that the kits are warm and wriggly by uncovering the nest and having a peek. You don't need to pick them all out again, and by 10 -12 days the kits will start to venture out of the nest themselves.

Answer 2

You need to get into the nest ASAP and look around.

The old wives tale that a doe will abandon or kill her litter if you touch the kits is not true. She won't do anything.

It's best to remove the nest box from the cage and take it to a table where you can examine the nest and the kits. Remove all of the hair and set it aside. Then remove the kits, one at a time and examine them for any injuries (sometimes a doe will accidentally bite off a limb, ear or tail during kindling. Or she may bite the kits and they will require some treatment)

Remove any dead kits, bloody shavings or afterbirth that is laying in the nestbox. This will draw flies and in turn, maggots, which could infest the live, healthy kits.

I'm telling you all of this with 20 years experience of breeding and raising rabbits for show and pets. I am a member of the American Rabbit Breeders Assn, a licensed rabbit Registrar, and a 4-H advisor.

Best of luck with your litter. I hope they all do well for you.

Answer 3

It looks like you are getting answers from a lot of unexperienced people. Mindy is right about the smell thing being an old untrue wive's tale. Here's the correct answer from a person that's been raising them for 25 years.

Go and check on them. Getting your scent on them is NOT going to cause the mother to abandon them or kill them or whatever. Most experienced rabbit breeders have no problems going in an checking on the babies whenever. Heck, I've gone an handled baby rabbits as the mother was just finished having them. NEVER, in 25 years have I lost a single baby rabbit due to my scent causing the mother to abandon them. The reknowned breeder that taught me had been raising them since like the 1920's to 1940's and he handled his all the time in the nestbox too. In fact it is very important that you check on them about once a day. You want to get rid of any dead ones. The stench of a dead baby in the nestbox could possilby keep the mother from milking the babies. Also, that stench could attract bot flies which could lay eggs on the litter, causing problems later. On top of both of those two, you need to check that the rabbits don't get directly down on the nestbox floor and get it slick. If so, they could develop sproddled leg where one of the back legs jut out from not being able to get their feet under them like they should. And finally, the last really good reason is to check that they all open their eyes at the same time. If you see the rest of them opening their eyes, and one doesn't have its open. You need to pull the eyes of that rabbit open. If the eyes are left closed for too long, the baby rabbit could go blind. If the baby rabbit has a mucas-like substance over the eye, pull the eye open and place a drop of regular Visine (active ingredient: 2% boric acid solution) in the eye to cure it. It may take 2-3 days of repeat treatments to cure it.

Answer 4

I've read that you shouldn't disturb the nest or get your smell on any of the nest bedding. If the mum smells that you've been near them, she'll probably kill the babies. I would leave mum to it and give it at least a couple of weeks before you check the babies.

Answer 5

i'm with carla on this one you need to check for still born etc.. theres no need to take the mum out though just give her a carrot or some parsley at the other end of her hutch i'm sure she is feeding them as rabbits only feed their young 2 times a day so unless you watch her 24 hours a day you may never see her feed them
here is a link that may answer all those questions you need answers too
http://www.rabbit.org/care/babies.html#First_Things_First
shelly
xx

Answer 6

you must check the nest, to make sure they are alive, mom's only bother there baies when being fed, which is once a day. a fed baby will have a pot like belly

Answer 7

Maybe you should go and check on them because they may be dead and sometimes the mother won't feed them because she dosent want them and you should put her back with them and observe if she's going to feed them and if not you may have to do it yourself.

Answer 8

I am sure they are still alive but please don`t disturb the nest. They are very tiny and pink right now but they grow quickly.

Answer 9

Please do not touch them. I am sure the mother is taking very well care of them. Just keep doing your normal routines with the mother, except DO NOT TAKE THE MOTHER OUT OF THE CAGE PLEASE! Do not even touch any of the rabbits. Thank you.

Answer 10

they will be fine but try to have a look your rabbit might be abit not sure what to do