Baby bunny

[Carolyn]

Today when I was at the pet shop, buying food and looking for new toys for my bunnies and rats. I had decided to take a look to see what bunnies they had in the store, I know I shouldn’t look because just like most of you I want to take them all home.

Anyways, at this store the rabbits are in a cage that anyone can reach in, pick up and pet the bunnies.  My boyfriend and I noticed some really really small bunnies… we actually questioned their age cause they are so small.  And to top it off everyone was mauling these little guys.  So we left the pet store and did the rest of our shopping.  Then my boyfriend was taking me back to the pet store, he was like I want one of the small bunnies, so we took a look at them all and found a cute little black and white female, well they think she female, and we brought her home.

The pet store told us they think she is about 4 1/2 weeks old and told us she’d be ok because they had her for 4 days and she was eating pellets.  The one girl told us that they probably shouldn’t be on the floor for sale but someone just dropped them off saying they were already weaned from mommy.  Since we brought her home (less than 12hrs ago) we have seen her eat pellets and hay, both are primarily Timothy…  I read she should have alfalfa based pellets and hay due to age… since I have some should they be the primary, or is mixing okay ???

Is there anything else I should do to make sure she is getting everything she needs???? Can I give her some veggies at this young of an age and if so what would you recommend is easiest for them to digest???

I’ll post pics as soon as I can sneak her out of her cage without listening to my boyfriend complain about litter training….lol…..

[Carolyn]

Here are two pic’s of my new baby…..

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[Beka27]

i am going to cry.  she is so cute.  i don’t know about the special dietary reqs for that age.  i’ll let a pro answer them… but yeah.  she’s adorable.

[Thumpers_Mom]

OMG!!! She is sooo adorable! Sorry I don’t have any advise as I am new to this bunny thing myself but just had to say that she is a gorgeous bun!

[osprey]

What a sweet little face!  At 4 1/2 weeks, she is really really young to be on an all solid diet.  As she grows, she will needs lots of calories, so please try to find some alfalfa hay and alfalfa pellets for her.  The Timothy is good for adults, but may not have enough nutrition for a growing baby.  Give her unlimited alfalfa hay and pellets until she is about 6 months old.  If you have access to it, you can also supplement her solid foods with KMR for a couple of weeks (Kiiten Milk Replacer, a kind of baby formula for animals).

[Sarita]

She is cute! They really shouldn’t be selling rabbits that young – makes me mad, but I am glad you got her. I agree with Osprey about the diet.

[Beka27]

this little girl is so lucky that you’re gonna be able to give her a proper home. 

[MooBunnay]

o wow – 4 and a half weeks IS really young. I would definitely get her som alfalfa pellets and hay ASAP because she will need the calories, and also, as Osprey mentioned, some KMR if you can. The poor thing…its awful how young they separate them from their mother’s!! When I had younger baby buns I put lots of towels and cloths in their cage to let them snuggle in them, they pooped and peed on them, but if you use towels they are very easy to shake out and wash. Also, if you go to a pet store, you can buy some of those plush dog toys and give one to her to sleep with. When I had my foster girls they were constantly sleeping on top of each other or next to each other, so it would be nice for her to have something to snuggle with!

[Carolyn]

ok, So I went up to the pet store tonight, that just sells pets supplies. So I bought my new baby one of the softest dog toys I can find and placed it inside her house so she can curl up with it. I  got her some more Alfalfa hay and put that in with her, She is eatting alfalfa based pellets.

I got her some  kitten replacement milk and a bottle…lol…anyways how much and how often should she get it?????

[osprey]

I fostered a litter of motherless babies from the time they were 5 weeks old not too long ago.  At that age most of them eagerly lapped up the KMR from a bowl.  Two of the litter refused to drink this way, so I syringe fed those about 15cc each day, one feeding.  According to thte HRS, I was underfeeding, they recommend two feedings of that amount on their orphan care page.

WARNING:  Some very knowledgable people will disagree with this next part!

At The Rabbit Haven, we begin feeding babies greens as soon as they show interest in mom’s food, usually around 4 or 5 weeks.  We do this based on the recommendations of Dr. Carolynn Harvey, who beleives that this encourages growth of beneficial intestinal bacteria and also gets them used to eating greens.  You have to be very careful to introduce the greens in small portions and one at a time, looking carefully for signs of tummy upset.  You will have to decide if this is right for your baby.  We have found that good starter greens are italian parsely, romaine lettuce and dandelion greens.

 

[Scarlet_Rose]

You’ve gotten some great advice on feeding your very young baby bunny.  Osprey really has you on the right track and I would follow her advice.  Dr. Harvey, as far as I am concerned is like a bunny god and I have no disagreement with the greens – when they show interest in adult food.  Just like human kids, some are ready for it sooner and it’s better to get vitamins that way too.

As for how much to feed, check the tummy and skin, if the tummy is distended or sunken in and/or

Something to be careful with in baby bunnies (of many things) is to make sure they do not have or get diarrhea, so keep an eye on the stools. Mucoid enteritis has a symptom of diarrhea, gas and bloating among other things and can happen with hand-raised orphans.  A good read:

http://www.kindplanet.org/rabbitbabies5.html

[Carolyn]

Well I tried to bottle fred her but she seem really scared and unsure of herself. I understand her being that way. She is still getting use to us, and this past week for her at the pet store then to our house must have been a nighmare in her mind.

Plus it  wasn’t do it at the greatest time because I had to keep an eye on Scamper my 4 legged wild child  getting into everything as soon as my back is turned. So I placed the KMR in a bowl and left it in her cage for about half hour she didn’t seem to touch it,  but She was so busy trying to make friend with her new stuffed dog….lol..it was cute

I’ll try again in the morning, buy putting a little in the bowl for her, how long should I leave in her cage??…I don’t want to leave it too long I’m afraid of it going bad. I think I may give her some green veggies but I make sure its a very small amount so she dosn’t get sick.  

[princess]

what a lovely one… how many months is your baby now?… so cute…

[MooBunnay]

It sounds like your new bunny and new stuffed dog have already bonded! She must be eager for some affection since I’m sure she still is at that age where she needs her mom. Its really so sad that pet stores care so little about taking babies away from their parents when they are too young. As Scarlet Rose mentioned, really keep an eye on her poops – bunnies taken away from their parents too soon quite often have difficulties in their early life, so keeping an eye on her poops will help you monitor her health.

[LittlePuffyTail]

She’s so precious. Those teeny weeny legs…

[Beka27]

update on the baby?

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