RABBIT GAVE BIRTH?! – SUPRISE !

[PaaigeyBearr]

A while back ago I slept in, and I woke up to my neice letting both rabbits out at the same time and she knew she wasn’t allowed…. now I have babies?! I’m shocked, I’m so shocked I’m shaking. What do I do? They’re all in the cage?

[PaaigeyBearr]

I’m so happy I’m in no hurry to rehome… do I fill a cage with bedding, water, and pellets and move them?

[Eepster]

Leave them with their mom, she will take care of them.

[BinkyBunny]

Go to our resources page and scroll down to pregnacy Oops surprise litter links. I’m on a tablet right now and it’s just easier for me to refer you then cut and paste because it captures the background color and makes it hard to read.

 

[Roberta]

Hi Paaigey,
I’ve been where you are now… Has Mummy bun built a nest ? If so leave them there undisturbed… Go check out the links BB directed you too.
Mum will probably ignore them for a while now as she will need to rest up and bubs are only fed once or twice a day… Just make sure they are safe and sheltered and all the nest for now. If you can see in make sure there are no dead ones or after birth that needs to be lifted out.

[Roberta]

Unlimited food is also going to be required… Not just pellets, Mum is going to need hay, pellets and greens for milk production and her own health.

[PaaigeyBearr]

I feel so bad.. I cleaned her cage today & had no idea, and found the fur, I thought it was weird (Shedding even) and threw away the nest.. like I said I had NO IDEA she was even pregnant or around the male. How do I make the nest?

[PaaigeyBearr]

hahahah, I was so so scared when I looked in her cage… I was like “What are those small things that got in there?!” and poking my head around the doorway… my first thought was baby bats even xD

[Roberta]

OK… Is it possible to retrieve any of the nest..? It is essential they stay warm and snug.. If not find a tray with sides about two inches high and fill it with shredded newspaper and soft hay… Put some fleece fabric in the bottom. Make sure there aren’t any loose threads or loops they can get legs or necks stuck in. The nest usually has a hollow in the middle where the fur is concentrated so that the babies stay together and can’t roll out, If you have a fleece baby blanket you could cut it into pieces and put that in.

[Roberta]

Don’t be concerned about handling the babies. Buns generally won’t reject kits if they have been handled and it’s important to get them into a warm nest. If the bubs get cold they cannot feed and they will die… So box, fill with hay and newspaper. make a well in the middle, cover with soft fleece blanket and place babies in well. Use salvage nest material (fur) to lightly cover them.

[PaaigeyBearr]

She had seven also, this may be dumb, but can she take care of that many? & can I put regular bedding in the middle too?

[PaaigeyBearr]

Yeah, I have to move them, she put them in her litter box

[Roberta]

She probably thought it the next safe warm place with the nest gone… Don’t feel bad… You could not have known…Make sure she knows where you have moved them… If possible move the litter tray and keep them where they are.

[Roberta]

What have you got in the litter box ? Maybe you could use some of that in the nest as a base.

[Roberta]

Yes… Seven is normal and she can feed that many just fine… Feeding is a very fast paced event as they are prey animals. Mummy will stand over the nest whilst every bunny latches on for a power feed. She won’t stay for more than a few minutes, then she will take off again. Sometimes the bubs won’t let go fast enough and get lifted out of the nest so you will need to put them back in. Not sure what your set up is like but move any water crocks up so the bubs can’t wriggle into them, even if they look to have high sides they can still fall in. If your cage sides are exposed you will need to install Baby savers. I took the rectangular bottoms out of all my eco shopping bags and cut them into strips about 6 inches thick. 3 Strips per panel. Then I threaded them all the way around the bungalow where there was bars so the bubs could not fall through and get lost or worse, eaten by the cats.
Check the babies out in the morning and evening. You will be looking for nice fat tummies and firm skin. If the skin is overly wrinkly and their bellies aren’t full they aren’t eating properly. I use to monitor the feeding and if any one was missing out I would lend a hand by lifting them under Mum during the feed. She may or may not let you do this.

[Roberta]

What sort of bedding are you using ?

[PaaigeyBearr]

We also have a chinchilla, so I was wondering about its Pine bedding? & They seem to squeak a lot, is that normal or is something wrong?

[Roberta]

No, I wouldn’t use pine… If they are squeaking they are calling their Mother. Has she been in to them yet ?

[Roberta]

If not put out some of the lights and cover the end of the cage with a towel for some privacy and move away from them for a while. They should have had a psot birth feed… Are their little tummies full ?

[Beka27]

Keeping them stable is definitely the first step right now.

Did you find a home for the male yet? I would double your efforts with that.

Regarding the mother and babies… you may want to try contacting some rescues in your area. They might have a foster home that can take them (mother and babies) once they’re a bit older, around a month old or so. The rescue will have better resources to get all of the babies placed in homes.

[PaaigeyBearr]

Right now I’m just focused on making sure “Baby” is doing her motherly thing, I just went in there and some babies where out of the nest, so I’m assuming that meant she fed them and they got moved around when she climbed out?

[Roberta]

Their little tummies will be nice and plump if they have had a feed. The squeaking should also have stopped if they have been fed… But you are right, if they are out of the nest they probably have been lifted out via the Milkbar Express. Hang in there, I was like a deer in headlights when I was “oopsed”
Binky Bunny and Jersey Girl got me through. I went from Zero knowledge to almost expert in a very small space of time… Don’t forget the baby savers round the cage.

[PaaigeyBearr]

Also, I know it’s a bit of time away(at least five weeks). but just in case Jack (Daddy) isn’t rehomed by the time they’re weaned… I have three decent sized cages, and nine bunnies now lol. Could I put three in one cage, two with momma, and two with Jack? And have shifts in which each cage gets opened and out? I’m just so worried about them feeding now and up to the time that they’re kinda cramped.

[MoveDiagonally]

Babies should be with mom until 8 weeks.

I would not house any of the babies with Jack because he will likely not recognize them as “his babies”. They could fight and he could hurt them or vice versa. I would also not keep the babies with their mom or together for any longer than 12 weeks. At 12 weeks any males could possibly impregnate their mother or perhaps even their sisters. Separating based on gender is a possible option but risky. Remember, you thought Baby was a male about a month ago and attempted to bond them (which could possibly be when Baby conceived). So you’re own experiances have shown you how tricky determining gender can be. I think Beka’s idea of contacting a rescue is a really good one. You’re up to your ears, no pun intended, in bunnies. 

If you end up having them with you until they’re old enough to be re homed. Do you have an X-Pen or a way to make a larger enclosure so they can stay with mama until they can go or are too old to be together?

Best of luck!

[Sarita]

!. Make finding a home for Jack a top priority at this point – you need his cage and he needs to find a new home.

2. Those cages are too small for one rabbit much less 8 rabbits – you may need to invest in another cage at least. And you do not want to put any of the babies with Jack.

3. At 8 weeks they need to be correctly sexed by a vet and you can separate the males and the females. You don’t want another “surprise” litter because this can easily escalate and get more out of control than it is.

4. You need to make it a priority to get help with this or continue to look for homes for the babies – you don’t want to wait until they are old enough go ahead and start thinking ahead and trying to find homes for them when they are of age so that homes are already lined up.

[Roberta]

Sarita is right on all points… Maybe you could contact a Rescue… They can put out advanced info advising an adoption date…

[Roberta]

How are the bubs today… Nice fat little tummies I hope….

[PaaigeyBearr]

Roberta: The sixth and third rabbits in your pictures, what kind are they? My cousin has one identical and asked me oneday and I had no idea.

They are doing very well, I’m checking up at least every three hours. I already found potential homes for two and they’re only a day old! (I guess it might be a bit easier when you know a bunch of highschoolers like I do, lol) And who knows I could explain that taking two siblings now would be easier then bonding nonsiblings later. And explain getting them fixed — of course! I’m holding off on a rescue until they’re about ready to be weaned to avoid any unnecessary stress and to see if I could find anymore homes with people I know personally.

Anyways my mom was discussing MAYBE the option of keeping “Mama”(It’s funny how three days ago she was “Baby” lol) and Jack. Right now I do have two things from a rabbit rescue to get two bunnies fixed for 90/120. And I was considering whether I’d want to keep Jack or a female baby(Sexing from a vet will determine that — I trusted my mothers judgement lasttime sense she was raised on a farm/: ). I’m only a tiny bit considering that sense Jack has is large dog crate set up that I’ll need for room and I’m overly worried about bonding. Anyways my mom isn’t set in stone on the idea, so who knows.

ALSO; I’m sorry for my ignorance, just trying to learn /: lol. & I was a little offended over a cage comment however, so I just wanted to explain, I have one cage that works just fine for babies (No rabbit is housed in there right now), and my other two that’s housing my bunnies exceed the minimum measurements. & They each have hours and hours of playtime in the kitchen/my room/their room. I feel that they’re very privileged happy rabbits, lol. Just wanted to make that clear.

[Roberta]

Hi Paaigey, Rabbit number 3 is Pascal and he is a Silver Fox, a medium sized breed.. Rabbit number 6 is my Queen/Alpha Bun Pepper and she is a Silver Marten. Very similar markings to Pascal but a much smaller bunny (I think there might be some sneaky dutch in there too given theone white paw)
Fingers corssed you can get all of them homes and educate the new owners as things go along.. It would be lovely if you could keep Baby, even without Jack there you will still need to get her spayed…

[Author]

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