New owner, rabbit had babies! Advice?

[CupcakeSweet]

My daughter’s 9th birthday is this weekend so last week my sister took her to the petstore and picked out a bunny. We specifically asked the attendant to confirm Oreo was a boy. She flipped him over and played with the bottom and said “yes! he’s definitely a boy” And then proceeds to tell us that she takes this rabbit to schools and he gets along with children etc. etc… she honestly looked like she knew rabbits. So Oreo comes home with us and is nothing like my sister’s rabbit (who is very loving and playful) Oreo mainly stayed in the cage (or a close proximity) he didn’t hop much – more of walked. I read this could be normal as he has been in a cage and is probably just nervous to be in our new home. Well a week later Oreo scratches at his cage all night, then builds a nest, then plucks out all his fur and just as we’re thinking he’s gone mad……. HE’S a SHE and has had baby bunnies!!!!!! 

 

I’ve done a lot of reading and a lot of sites seem to assume I would be the one breeding so the basics usually aren’t covered. it seems mom knows what she’s doing. I havenn’t seen her nurse but i MAY have walked in on it this morning. She had the nest opened. By the time i came back from the bathroom they were covered up though.. I have read I should go in and look for dead ones. Frankly, I’m scared. She is new to our family already and i’d rather her not abandon the bunnies because I’ve invaded her space. I’d rather her not mad at me either! 

Is it ok for me to move the cage (where she had the bunnies) into a different, quieter room? (As i mentioned, my daughters birthday is this weekend.. we will be having a house full of giggly girls) What signs should I look for that mom is ok? (my sister read that a lot of bunnies will pass after giving birth) I’m so freaked out!!! I want to do everything I can for her!!  Is a visit to the vet worth it? The babies and the nest going for a car ride!? 

 

[Sarita]

You probably won’t see her nurse them. She won’t abandon her babies. but if you are concerned you can rub them with their nesting…they do need to stay warm to digest their milk too. I don’t think they need to go to the vet because I agree, they would be stressed out.

Momma may be protective so you may check when she is out of the enclosure and just feel the babies to make sure they are warm and wiggly.

[LBJ10]

You can check the babies and it should be fine. It probably won’t hurt to move the cage to a quieter location. A car ride probably isn’t a good idea and I wouldn’t think it would be necessary to have them examined until they are older. Obviously she was pregnant already when you took her home. That also means she must have been housed with other bunnies at the store for quite some time since she was old enough to have reached sexual maturity. Having a bunny missexed happens quite a bit, so don’t feel too bad. It’s just sad that she was kept with males at the pet store and it resulted in this. Her behavior sounds normal so don’t worry. She was obviously feeling protective and territorial because she knew the babies would be there soon. I suppose it makes sense to you now as you look back on it.

[Sarita]

Here’s a good article:

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

[jerseygirl]

It’s probably the last thing on your mind at the moment but I’d think about reporting that pet store.

Giving them a quiet area is a good idea. As long as the mum isn’t overly stressed, you can be fairly confident everything will go along normally. Make sure she gets unlimited pellets to eat.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Welcome and whooo!

Just as an FYI I’ll post the forum rule about litters for you

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.

Phew! Anyways-make sure mom has plenty of water (check and fill twice a day) and all the hay, pellets and veggies she wants. Keep her quiet. If that means you need to move her into a better room than that can be done. Go ahead and check the nest -slowly and gently-use a shoebox with a small towel and pull out each baby (you can count them, photograph, and weigh if you are so inclined-a food scale works great-and if you weigh each day you can track progress and ensure they are eating) then put them back in the next and cover back up. Check the box carefully to ensure you don’t lose one, and observe once you put them back in the nest-they’ll be squeaking and squirming and one could squirm away-so watch until they settle and ensure they stay in a pile together. Then let mom do her thing.

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