Baby rabbit care questions!!

[bastion]

Hello all!

I was actually once much more active on this forum a while back, but haven’t been back in some time! So really, hello again!

I’ve got a short story followed by five questions for you all, regarding the nature of raising newborn kits. So here we go.

THE STORY

Skip down to “THE QUESTIONS” if you just want to get to the point.

At the end of November, my partner and I helped rescue a lost domestic rabbit in a very rural part of the country. It was cold, snowy, and although she seemed to be doing shockingly well on her own for being a Checkered Giant (or at least with that patterning) in the forest, we knew that as a domestic rabbit she would not be long for this world if we didn’t take her in.

We caught her, and she is doing extremely well and very healthy, now living with my best friend – a first-time rabbit person who is absolutely in love with her now, and doing a lot of learning!

However, when I saw she was female (spying her dewlap from a little ways away), I got immediately concerned of the thing you’ve probably already guessed: oh boy. She could be pregnant.

Fast-forward to two days later. Jupiter is just getting settled, and my partner and I have left for a two-week long international trip. Sure enough, my friend texts me. She’s making a next. The next day:

She had eight babies last night.

That was on December 1st! The babies are growing and we’ve had them checked out by a vet. All are doing well, and so is mom. They are just now beginning to open their eyes and start to gain their feet to explore, but despite my having lived with rabbits for 7 years now, I have never had the pleasure of helping to raise newborn babies before now!

I have also committed to adopting a pair of them, once we can get them sexed and once they are properly weaned, so I’d love to know in general anyone’s advice with babies, as my bunny experience is all adult and senior!

We have all been reading a TON and watching lots of videos, but there are still some things we’re not totally sure on. While I’ve advised my friend to reach out to the nearest HRS chapter for help, I also thought I would come to you all as well!

THE QUESTIONS

1. None of the babies are dehydrated thankfully, but appear thinner and are a little less active. Is there an easy way to tell if they are getting enough milk? (We know about checking their bellies, but is there anything else to watch out for?)
2. How do we know when the babies are ready for solid foods? How should these be introduced?
3. They have been in the same nest all this time… what on earth is happening to their poop/excrement/urine? The nest smells like animals, but is not disgusting… when do we start to clean it without stressing out mom or the babies? And seriously, where is their poop going?!
4. Having some of mom’s cecotropes seems to be important, but of course Jupiter eats them right away before they can be collected. Are these necessary for developing healthy gut flora? Can they be replaced with anything else? (Does anyone have any advice on collecting cecos otherwise?)
5. When is it okay to start regularly handling the babies (outside of regular, basic checks)?

If you made it to the end of this whole thing, thanks so much for reading. Even if you can only contribute partial information or one or two answers to the above, or just general insight about raising kits, please share!!

[DanaNM]

Oh my goodness! The same thing happened with my bun Myra when she was rescued!

I don’t have any direct experience but here are some links that may be useful:

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

https://rabbit.org/care/babies.html

https://rabbit.org/care/newborn.html

http://www.mybunny.org/info/caring-for-newborn-baby-rabbits/

Most of us here don’t have experience with babies, but rabbitsonline.net has more ppl experienced with babies.

My understanding is you don’t clean the nest, the mom keeps it clean. Usually the mom licks the buns belly and that triggers them to poop and pee, so she just licks it up.

I think the other links I shared should answer some of your other questions (including about weaning etc.)!

At the rescue they started to handle babies daily to help them get used to it.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Wick & Fable]

Since BinkyBunny prohibits discussion on intentional breeding, not many users have experience in kit care. There is great information on it here: https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Baby_rabbits_(domestic) , as well as here: https://flashsplace.webs.com/accidentallitters.htm  … below are responses based on my interpretation of information found in those links, not from my own experience with kit care. Please review prioritize reading both the links as reference, rather than my responses below:

1. It’s best to check sometime in the late morning/immediately after the mother typically feeds the rabbits (which only occurs 1-2 a day). Check for a nice belly on the babies and watch out for wrinkling, which is a sign of dehydration
2. The baby rabbits will naturally become somewhat independent and will begin grazing on pellets and hay around that you are feeding the mother. You do not need to worry about timing it yourself, as they will do it on their own — they are actually likely to start pretty soon.
3. Quoted in the second link I shared: “Days 10-14 – Clean the nest for the first time. It’s important when the babies open their eyes, to clean the nest to minimise the risk of conjunctivitis. It’s important to save as much of the nest as possible, especially the fur, so keep anything that is not soiled. Keeping as much of the nest as possible means that both mum and babies will know where the nest is and it will retain its smell.
   There is no set way to clean a nest, you just need to make it as stress free for mummy as possible. Sometimes having a spare shoe box made up into a nest can be useful to put the babies in whilst removing all the soiled nest material from the original nest. After the first time, you can clean the nest whenever you feel it needs it, always saving as much of the nest material as possible.” … as noted in the Wabbitwiki, if the kits are not urinating/defecating, you need to stimulate it to happen. Directions on how to do so are listed in the Wabbitwiki.
4. My (naive) understanding is that Jupiter should be eating her cecotropes — her milk is what’s going to help the kits develop. It is orphaned baby rabbits where there’s more discussion of getting rabbit cecotropes
5. Probably once they are nearly successfully weaned/much more independent. That’s my naive guess though.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[bastion]

Thank you both so much already!!! This is EXTREMELY helpful!

[Buttercup Buns]

If your bunnies aren’t that very active and thin, then I would recommend once they are three weeks old then you should start feeding the baby bunnies unlimited timothy alfalfa hay (I highly recommend Oxbow hay because I believe it has the most nutrients) and once your baby bunnies are 3-4 weeks old they should start being fed unlimited alfalfa pellets (until they are 6 months old, this age is when you should start feeding them adult rabbit pellets.)

This will help your baby bunnies consume a lot of nutrients. If your baby bunnies are already eating alfalfa hay and alfalfa pellets, maybe feed them more than usual? When a rabbit is thin it sometimes means he/she is not getting enough nutrients.

[DanaNM]

How are the babies and momma doing now?

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[bastion]

Oh and I nearly forgot. I helped my friend set up appointments with a real rabbit vet. Jupiter and the babies will all be seen at the beginning of January once the babies are a month old, as per the doctor’s instructions!

[bastion]

Hey everyone! Thanks as always for the continued advice. We also got some great info from a local rabbit rescue up in Maine. I am back down in Boston now but the whole family is doing super well! Everyone seems healthy and happy and my friend has converted the room into a bunny palace. They have begun running around and exploring for the last few days and appear curious about everything and super energetic and friendly.

 

[edited by moderator to remove baby pics as per forum rules- DanaNM]

[DanaNM]

Glad to hear they are doing well!

Sorry I had to remove the picture, on the forum we only allow baby pics if the poster will be keeping them (to discourage intentional breeding etc.), but once you have picked out the ones you are keeping we’d love to see pictures of them!

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[bastion]

Oh no problem, that makes sense!! I will definitely share photos of the ones we adopt!!

[Author]

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