Baby Died. Should I Move Mother and Babies Indoors?

[Johny O]

Hi,

I live in New Zealand where it is the middle of Winter. Iour rabbit gave birth to 5 babies approx 2 weeks ago. One baby died within a few days but after that all seemed to be okay. Their eyes opened a couple days ago, they have fir on them and they look like little rabbits now. Yesterday I even found a few exploring the cage. Not sure if they rolled out of the next box by accident or not.

However this morning I found a dead baby in the nest box and I’m not sure what I should do. As I say, it’s the middle of Winter here and it gets down to about 40F on a cold night right now. Should I attempt to relocate the family into a smaller indoor cage for a few weeks, or might the disruption cause more problems than it helps? The cage is too far from any power points so a heater is not really an option. Is this just part of nature, or is it too cold for them?

I’m also curious when it’s safe to return the father (who has now been fixed) to the cage with the mother and babies?

Thanks for any help.

[Benthebunny]

I think you should move them inside, you don’t want to risk hypothermia for the babies and the mother.

[Johny O]

Posted By Benthebunny on 8/13/2016 5:58 PM
I think you should move them inside, you don’t want to risk hypothermia for the babies and the mother.

Is there a risk of the mother abandoning the babies and the nursing process if I attempt to relocate the entire nest? The owner of the shop said the winter temps here were absolutely fine for adult rabbits, but I hadn’t envisioned babies when I asked him.

[tobyluv]

I also think that they should all be moved inside. A male can still impregnate a female for a month (maybe even a little longer) after being neutered, so he should stay away from the mother for at least a month.  And some rabbits go into a post neuter craze due to fluctuating hormone levels, so that’s another reason why he shouldn’t be housed with any other rabbits now.  You also don’t want him injuring the babies, so I’m not sure when it will be safe for them to all be together. Someone with more knowledge of babies will hopefully have an answer for that question.

[jerseygirl]

Moving them shouldn’t be an issue. Also, handling the babies shouldn’t. 

Make sure the mother has an unlimited supply of food. Lucerne hay also if you can get it but a good pellet and other hay should be fine.   
Here is some really informative articles one dealing with a mother and babies.

http://rabbit.org/domestic-baby-bunnies-and-their-mom/

http://rabbit.org/newborn-baby-bunny-facts/

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

Was the male removed once you discovered the babies?

[Johny O]

Ok, thanks. Sounds like we should bring them inside. We’ll do that.

Yes, we weren’t certain she was pregnant until babies were born. As soon as the babies were born we seperated the male and got him neutered.

[jerseygirl]

Good move. Hopefully you are in the clear. The males can mate with the female straight after she has given birth….Im sorry to say. This happened with a friend of mine who thought they had 2 female rabbits. She ended up dealing with back to back litters. Fingers crossed this won’t be the case for you!

[Johny O]

Thanks. I’ve moved her and the babies inside and will give her some time outside in a movable run each day to give her more space. All good so far.

When should I expect the babies to start venturing out of the nest and start behaving more like “normal” rabbits?

Thanks again.

[jerseygirl]

If they are 2wks old and eyes open, you should see them moving about a bit more now. You can give hay, pellets and water so they can sample them. They will probably start eating more solid food around 3wks of age, but will still take feeds from the Mum also.
It is good you had the nest to make the transition. Once they are settled in a day or two, you could probably get rid of that altogether.

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