New Bunny Babies in the Fortress of Bunnitude

[Roberta]

 

New Mummy Bunny and other questions… I am so confused, my rescue bunnies are now both 7 months old, my buck was desexed on Monday by my local vet who is not an expert but does routinely desex rabbits. Piglet seems fine and is eating well and active though he was quiet for a night and a day after I brought him home. So much conflicting information has since come my way and I am becoming paranoid. Additionally my doe, Pepper, Finally had her litter yesterday (Tuesday ) after starting her nest on Friday morning. This nest has taken on monolithic proportions and is now called the fortress of bunnitude. I was unable to locate a nesting box so she has lined the entire sleeping box with straw newspaper and a selection of plush cat toys. I have been unable to view the litter as the nest is so well fortifide however I have gently reached into the fur mound at the very back and could feel atleast 3 warm wriggling bodies. Pepper has been very attentive possibly due to the loss of her first litter. My concern is I know I should check for dead babies and placentas, though there is no evidence of any outside the nest, but I risk disturbing the whole thing greatly just to get a look which will more than likely upset Pepper but also ruin what appears to be a wonderfully insulated structure that not only provides warmth but will also shield from the incredibly hot weather we are expecting. Once again, so much conflicting information on line from “leave them be” to “look immediately and kill (gasp) any that look like runts” etc. Even foods so many people praise one food whilst others describe the same as deadly poison. I am new to bunny companions and I want to give my bunnies the best possible life. They are 100% indoor house rabbits with a large hutch and supervised access the the sunroom and furniture. If someone could set me straight starting with the babies I.E. how long is it safe to leave the nest undisturbed if Mother and Babies seem to be fine without intervention. Also though Piglet looks fine following his op is there anything particular I should watch for even several days after the event ? I am absoluetly frantic now as someone has even told me the Pepper will eat her babies if I do not give her a salt block.

[Kafrn]

Thanks for posting Roberta, the people on here were such a help when we had our accidental litter

[Monkeybun]

I would look for any dead babies. Mama bun will fix the nest again, don’t worry You’ll want to give her clean nesting materials and clean out the dirty now and then anyway.

Salt blocks are not important if the bunnies have a proper diet. In Pepper and babies case, unlimited pellets (PLAIN pellets, no added veggie bits, seeds, etc) unlimited hay, fresh veggies, plenty of clean water.

Piglet will have to be separated from Pepper, as even neutered buns still have viable sperm for a month or so after being neutered, and females can become pregnant immediately after birth. Which is hard on mamas.

Are you planning on spaying Pepper? I hope so, as females have a sky-high chance of getting uterine cancer at an early age, which is never fun to see

Pepper shouldn’t eat her babies. It rarely happens, and usually if the mama is highly stressed, or if the baby is dead. Just keep an eye on the bunnies

Last thing: As much as we all adore baby bun pics, be sure to not post any of the new litter. We do not advocate breeding at all, so having new babies posted will get people here to just squee over babies and want some.

Welcome to BB!

[Roberta]

Hi Monkey Bun,

Pepper is definitely off to be spayed the minute all kits are weened.

Pepper and Piglet have a varied diet consisting of unlimited hay and Peter’s Pellets (nice plain ones with what they need and no frilly treats) several large servings daily of assorted greens with grass, fennel, parsley, coriander, nasturtium, celery (mainly leaves some chopped stems) sometimes baby broccoli leaves or black cale (in small amounts) The occasional dark lettuce leaf (no iceberg) carrot tops and a shared baby carrot. The odd strawberry or slice of apple.

Know what you mean about everyone wanting baby bunnies, I have already been approached by friends and workmates wanting Bunnies for their children or grandchildren. First I tell them that Bunnies are high maintenance and then I let them know that even an adult unless they can prove that they are capable of caring for my rabbits, will not be likely to take one home. I certainly will not be sending them off in the arms of a 2-7 year old that will lose interest when it becomes hard work or who is likely to handle them roughly. They won’t be going via a pet shop either, I’m not risking my grandbuns being sold for snake food.

I will be checking the nest when I get home, she has managed to almost weave the papper and straw together so in some places it is as dense as soil. Not to mention the insulating walls made from the plush cat toys and one strategically placed hooded bunny bed. I really don’t want to risk and dead or sick bun being left in there.

[Roberta]

Checked the nest….. can’t stop smiling. 7 babies all perfect, none dead or scrawny. 5 white, 1 black, 1 black and white (bold white shoulder stripe) I know they were an accident that should not have happened and I grieve for all the little ones born into unwanted litters. But they are beautiful and I am going to make sure that heaven and earth is moved to make sure they get good homes as companion bunnies. I already have one good home lined up, the prospective bunny owners are already building a custom bungalow and they have experience with raising rabbits.

[jerseygirl]

Welcome : )

This nest sounds pretty intricate! I’m glad to read you were able to check the bubs and all is well. Generally the mothers only attend the babies just for feeding so there should be some opportunities for you to check them over. You don’t have to worry about scent transfers. The can be picked up for a quick check.

Itll be a bit of work for you but it sounds like they are in good hands for their future welfare.

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

         http://www.rabbit.org/care/newborn.html         

[Sam and Lady's Human]

I’ve seen other people post photos of baby bunnies here, I’d love to see photos if you post them on a blog or something

[Elrohwen]

You should check and handle the babies a bit every day. It’s a complete myth that momma will ignore them if you touch them and it’s definitely important to be checking them every day to make sure they’re getting enough to eat. Full babies will have bellies that look like ping pong balls. If momma eats her babies, it will be because something is wrong with them – it’s nature’s way. She won’t eat them because of anything you do or do not give her. Also, momma buns mostly ignore their babies and only feed once or twice a day, so don’t be nervous if you never see her near the nest – they do this to avoid predators finding the babies in the wild.

Make sure mom is getting unlimited pellets now – she’ll need the extra calories. At some point the babies will start nibbling on the pellets too and that’s perfectly ok – they’ll wean themselves (or mom will wean them) when they’re ready (often by 6 weeks they’re getting by mostly on solid food, so they’ll start eating it long before it’s ok to separate them from mom)

Thank you for taking them in! I’m sure it’s really stressful, but I’m glad they have someone looking after them who wants to take the best care of them.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Welcome!!

We had a couple of litters at the shelter. I just kind of went by what felt right-a week was the very longest we could keep them undistrubed and at that time we cleaned up the next and cage, and kept as much fur as we could and put the babies and fur back. It’s a total myth that any animals abandon their young if they smell like humans-so avoiding touching them is not needed. However you don’t want to stress mom -as stressed animals can have issues lactating etc. So keep mom as quiet as possible and keep lights low.

Give her unlimited food-veggies, pellets and hay. You can give alfalafa at this time. She should be drinking twice as much so check and refill water at least twice a day.

I would go right ahead and get in there to count babies and check the nest. Let mom out for a romp-she doesn’t need to see you in there, she can but if you can avoid that may help. Pull babies otu gently and put them into a shoebox liined with a small towel -and check the whole nest. Then you can replace babies, taking great care that you don’t lose one in the towel and ensure they are all put together. I’d then observe them to ensure one doesn’t wriggle out now that they are disturbed-they will wiggle and cry and try to get back into a warm pile. Help them if needed (so one doesn’t wander off) and then you can let mom back in

Good Luck!!

Since your new-I just wanted to post the section of our rules that pertain to litters in rescue buns or oopsy litters just FYI

D. Discussions of Accidental Litters, Breeding, Meat Rabbits: Discussions involving intentional breeding (of any animal) and meat rabbits are not allowed: IF your bunny is unexpectedly pregnant, then we are more than happy to help out and/or refer you to experts that can. Though we promote rescue, we are not an anti-breeder site. To find out why breeding discussions are not allowed see our FAQ section https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/FAQ/tabid/81/Default.aspx (scroll to question 3).

• Accidental Litter: Sometimes this happens and we will do our best to help the pregnant doe and/or babies by providing advice to the best of our knowledge. However, posting future baby photos will be prohibited unless it is in regards to a health or behavior question. Posting photos of the babies just to share the cute faces will not be allowed. The reason for this is it draws people in to our site , via the search engines, to the subject of babies and breeding. (even though it was accidental). We are focused on the individual rabbit and do not wish to encourage this subject for several reasons. Again, please review FAQ .

• Posts that imply intentional breeding are not allowed: Posts that mention pregnancy, new litters, kits, or babies may be considered as “intentional” breeding, if it is not clarified as accidental. *NOTE: Repeat accidental litters from the same person will fall into this implied category as well.(regardless if it was truly accidental over and over) . Again, a surprise litter that someone needs help with, and they continue to mention their kits’ progress is OKAY, but mentioning brand new kits in a way that implies new litters over and over is NOT OKAY.

• Repeat Litter Exceptions: Certified Rescues can post about repeat litters. Rescues many times are subject to getting rabbits in that are already pregnant. They are allowed to use our forum to post about it in the RESCUE SECTION and use the forum as a resource for adoption.

[Roberta]

Hi K,

Thanks for the heads up. After going through this experience I can definitely understand the sorts of posts you mentioned. My oopses came about due to my own ignorance. I didn’t find out until too late how quickly things can happen. One of my missions will be to insure that those who take my liitle ones are not ignorant of the facts.

The nest, oh my the nest… It’s an architectural marvel, thats why I am concerned about disturbing it to much. She has it packed solid into a very large sleeping box and its woven together with a small well at the back. She has used the fluffy cat toys and bunny bed as columns and walls. Pepper has also been unusually attentive to it. She doesn’t seem to mind me looking but she goes in and does a check afterwards. I am terrified that if I move it to much I will never get it back to the standard and the little ones will get cold.

[Roberta]

Update: Well, Pepper seems to be breaking every rule in the Bunny Mummy books. She is sitting guard on the nest and checking in regularly. Piglet and I decided to have another peek yesterday when Pepper was preoccupied. Well, we didn’t see her coming and the next thing she’s there at the door of the sleeping box giving us the “evils” I told Piglet to run and save himself whilst I distracted her. We are both in the Poo and Pepper is not going to let us forget it. A regular foot thump accompanied by a dirty look was issued every 20 minutes. Pepper has been feeding several times a day and the little ones are now so fat they don’t wriggle they roll and they are growing like little weeds. I know this is not normal for them but I don’t feel I should be concerned. I am allowed short visits providing Pepper is there to keep me in line. Would this be because she has always been the Alpha Bunny ?

[Roberta]

Hi SLH,

I will find somewhere off site to post some pics when I can get them. The pics will captioned with a stern warning about what a traumatic experience this is for all concerned, Bunny and Hooman alike!!!!! Lovely to look at a delight to cuddle but extremely stressful and heartbreaking if it goes wrong.

[Author]

Messages