Bunnie Babies

[Riya]

Well, I guess we’ve figured out why Sasha was dumped.  My daughter got us a little while ago, Sasha had a baby.  Unfortunately the baby was not alive.  I guess the question is, how many babies do bunnies have?  Just need to know what to do and then get her in to get spayed as soon as possible.

Thanks

[LBJ10]

Litter size can vary. Rabbits can have anywhere between 1 and 12+ babies in a single litter. Smaller rabbits, on average, have smaller litters. But there are a lot of other variables involved. If your rabbit is young, then a small litter is more likely. If there was only one and it was still born, then I would be worried about the possibility that there are more that haven’t come out.

If she was dumped, she could have become pregnant before or after she was dumped. It’s hard to know for sure. Someone could have had a bunch of young rabbits together when they reached maturity and then dumped them. Or she could have been with other rabbits after she was dumped. You’ll probably never know, unfortunately.

If I were you, I would get her to the vet to have to checked out as soon as possible. Keep an eye out for any more babies. You can make her a nest box with a cardboard box. Cut a hole in the side so she can get in and out, but make sure the hole is up high enough so no babies can wiggle and fall out of the box.

[Riya]

I’ll get the nesting box set up tonight, just in case.

We found her a couple of weeks ago and did take her to the vet then. They’ve guestimated her age to be 4-5 years old. But I will get her back in quick to be safe.

Poor bunny. She’s had a rough few weeks.

[tobyluv]

She does need to be checked by a vet. I just read a story from one of the rabbit rescues where a rabbit had to have surgery to have dead babies removed from her. That also happened to a rabbit years ago at the sanctuary where I volunteer. It can be very serious for the mother rabbit. Hopefully, the litter consisted of just the one baby, and Sasha will be okay.

[Riya]

I’ve learned something else new. Bunnies don’t lay down and have babies like dogs do. Right now we’re at 8 total, but another one did die. The other 6 are wriggling like crazy. She didn’t have them in the nesting box, so I used a blanket that we’d pulled out of her cage yesterday (when we cleaned it) and lifted them into the box. We had to be super careful, because she had them all over the place. I did not touch them directly.

Oh boy!

[OverthinkingBun]

Oh my. Best of luck taking care of your surprise-bunny-mom and her babies. That was kind of you to take in a stray – I hope this isn’t overwhelming. Your bunny is lucky you took her in before she had her litter

[Mikey]

Thank you for taking her in!

I want to note, since you mentioned you have a (young?) daughter, the first litter almost always dies. It is usually due to the mother neglecting them (refusing to feed them, not keeping them warm/building a warm nest, not massaging them so they poop/pee, possibly eating them). The fact she is not having them in the nest that was set up, and is having them all over the place, sounds like the litter will not make it without human help.

[Riya]

Mikey, my daughter is 12. We’ve discussed the possibility. And she’s the one who found the stillborn one. It’s not pleasant, for sure, but she has a good grasp of worst case scenario. I guess all the animal documentaries she’s obsessed with have helped her understand reality.

We’re still holding at 6, so hopefully that’s it. They’re still bundled together, except one that keeps wriggling away. We’ve crash coursed on this, and learned that mama won’t hover, but she has gone to them a couple of times. And she seems to be very careful not to step on them. They are making squeaky noises, so that’s pretty fun. And at one point, my daughter said Sasha stood over them, and she swears she heard suckling sounds.

Crossing our fingers that it works out. We will do our very best to get them to be big bunnies. I did check back at Petsmart and was given the names of a couple of other local vets that handle rabbits, without the need to take out a second mortgage, so I’ll be calling them tomorrow and see what they say.

[LBJ10]

Oh good, she had the rest of the babies! Sometimes there is a delay, so I’m glad everything has turned out OK so far. Mikey is right that kits are often lost in higher numbers in first litters. It all depends on how well her maternal instincts kick in, but it’s definitely something to prepare yourselves for just in case the worst possible scenario occurs. It sounds like she is at least trying now. You can check on the babies periodically to make sure their tummies are full and round. If they are sunken in, then you know she hasn’t been feeding them.

[Mikey]

Good that your daughter understands! It can be hard for some kids to understand, so its good she already knows whats up

Usually mommy buns visit once or twice to feed. Sometimes it can be heard, sometimes it cant. Sending good luck vibes that it all works out!

[Riya]

And it’s a good thing she understood. We lost all of them overnight. They were fine when we went to bed (round bellies, wriggly and everything). Gone when we woke up. Not sure what happened. And I think I’m a lot more upset than I should be.

[LBJ10]

Oh no, I’m sorry.

[Mikey]

So sorry to hear that (((((binky free little buns)))))

[Author]

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