We were told they were both girls ?

[A1983legend]

So..we got some bunnies at the end of August. We were told by three different people at three different times that they both were female. According to the nest of babies we now have….we have determined that was false.. ? we don’t know what we are doing. Never had babies before. We separated the parents and the mom rabbit seems to be showing interest in her babies. I don’t know if she is nursing or how well she is nursing because I haven’t been home very long. I intend to keep a close eye on them tonight. My concern is that the nest Isnt warm enough. They are on a concrete floor because she had them while running loose in the basement. They keep rolling off the nest and onto the floor and sometimes she moves them out of the nest completely. We have carefully been moving them back to the nest with gloves on or using a paper towel. The mommy bunny acts like she’s trying to conjur up some more bedding to use for a nest. She was digging at the concrete and also At my pants leg. I feel like she’s trying to tell me something but I don’t know bunny language :/ I feel like she is asking me for more bedding or something for them. What would be the best thing for me to do? And should I just leave her alone with the babies or should I keep checking in on her?

[Bam]

Try to make a nest box with sides low enough for mama bun to hop in and out of, but high enough to keep the kits in the box. If mamabun wants more bedding material you can give her that and let her nest away all she wants with for example extra hay, but normally the mamabun pulls fur from her chest to cover the babies with. The fur on the chest comes loose due to pregnancy hormones, so it’s not harmful.

Mamabun only feeds her kits once or twice per day, the rest of the time she spends away from the kits. This is so as not to lead predators to the nest. The kits should have nicely rounded bellies after each feeding and be pink and warm.

You can touch the babies with your bare hands, it won’t make mamabun shun them.

There are a few useful links with baby/mama info on our resources-page: https://binkybunny.com/RESOURCES/tabid/67/Default.aspx
(Scroll down to Pregnancy/Babies -Uh Oh, Surprise Litter?) The links have good info on the basic care of kits and mum.

If mamabun cares for her buns, they will likely be fine. Rabbits are as a rule good mothers. Mamabun should get some extra food now and it’s good to supplement her normal hay with alfalfa hay for extra protein and calcium. She needs that while she is nursing.

Keep mama and dad separated by more than just cage bars -rabbits can mate through cage bars and the doe can become pregnant directly after giving birth.

I’m sorry this happened to you -but it isn’t uncommon for young buns to be sexed incorrectly. Even vets can sometimes be mistaken.

Please keep us updated!

[A1983legend]

Thank you so much for all this info. I went to get a few things from the store for them. Nesting box and alfalfa, etc. when I got home, two of them have passed away. I took all four upstairs and tried warming them up because they were so cold. Two made it and the other two didn’t. they are now in a nesting box and in the same hutch with mom. But she is acting like she doesn’t know they are there. Do you think she will find them? Or is there something I need to do? She tries to bite when I get too close to the babies

[DarthVadar]

Rabbits are hard wired to keep their babies a secret. In the wild, the mom stays far away from the nest unless she is feeding the kits. She might not be showing interest in the kits while you are there because of this instinct. Believe it or not, her trying to bite you if you get too close is a good sign. She definitely knows the kits are there if she is doing that.
Since there are only 2 left, they may have trouble keeping warm. The dam will not keep them warm herself. If you have not already, move the mom and kits to a warm part of the house.

[A1983legend]

Thank you for your response! I have moved them and I have a heater directed towards their hutch but not too close so they are getting some extra warmth. I sure hope these two make it! I feel like I sort of bonded with them while I was trying to revive them. One of the babies looks like a hippo ❤️ And it was sucking on its foot!

[DarthVadar]

Posted By A1983legend on 1/04/2019 11:11 PM

Thank you for your response! I have moved them and I have a heater directed towards their hutch but not too close so they are getting some extra warmth. I sure hope these two make it! I feel like I sort of bonded with them while I was trying to revive them. One of the babies looks like a hippo ❤️ And it was sucking on its foot!

That’s great! Newborn rabbits look nothing like cute fuzzy baby bunnies. When my bun Corrie had her litter, my first thought when i looked at therm was “dead rats”. Baby bunnies grow like crazy. Within a week, you will notice peach fuzz fur growing in, a couple days after that they may try to leave the nestbox. Just gently place them back in, until 18 days, when it is ok to let them get out. At 2-3 weeks, they will start trying to eat mom’s food/drink mom’s water, and will prob have weaned themselves by 4 weeks. But don’t remove them from mom until they are 8 weeks old. Rabbits are capable of breeding at 3/4 months, so have them sexed by then. 

[Bam]

I’m sorry about the kits you lost. i hope the remaining two will make it! A little hippo sucking on his own foot sounds just too adorable!

I agree with DV, if mamabun reacts when you go near the kits, she knows they are there. She might not feed them so you see it, but you will see if the kits thrive or not. Warmth is essential for uptake of nutrients, so it’s good you’ve moved them to a warmer spot.

[A1983legend]

Exactly! I thought the same thing. They looked like mice/rats ? but still cute in their own little way!!

[A1983legend]

It is so cute! I wish I could upload the live photo I took to show you! But even if I did it would just be a picture and not a short video. That particular bunny stole my heart at that moment.

[A1983legend]

We let momma bun out to run today for some exercise and she keeps running back and forth from the hutch to the corner of our basement where she had the babies. I hope she is just stretching her legs. It’s so sad to think she might be looking for the two that didn’t make it.

[A1983legend]

We just checked the babies. Both are still alive! We did move the nesting box back to where she had the babies though. She was starting to make a new nest. Once we did that she jumped right into the box and it looked like she was nursing them. She uncovered them and got on top. So….we moved the heater to the corner and are hoping it will be enough to keep them warm. The basement isn’t freezing but the concrete does get pretty cold. Should they be okay in their box with the heater blowing their way? She is showing more interest in them now that they are back “home” and not in the hutch.

[DarthVadar]

That should be ok. The babies get more resistant to cold as they get older, so it should be just fine now.

[A1983legend]

Is there a link for good references when it comes to baby milestones? Like when they start to be able hear, see, etc. and when it’s safe to feed them certain foods once they start eating vs nursing..I don’t want them to have any belly upsets when the time comes for them to eat pellets. I heard alfalfa hay is not a good thing for them as it causes gas. So I’m wondering what is safe and at what age they can eat it.

[Bam]

I found this link that has some rather nice info: http://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Baby_rabbits_(domestic)

The HRS recommends alfalfa for young buns, both as hay and as alfalfa-based pellets. Here are HRS bunny diet guidelines:
http://rabbit.org/faq-diet/

[DarthVadar]

https://www.raising-rabbits.com/breeding-rabbits.html
This info is pure gold. The website it is on has helped me so much. I know its not a house rabbit website, but the info on caring for kits is dead on.

[A1983legend]

Thank you!!

[A1983legend]

Since momma bun had her babies in a corner of the basement (beside the 5year olds toy box) and behind a curtain during free time….would it be safe to put a cage in that corner and move the nest box so momma and babies are in a cage? Or will it turn her off from the babies because all the surrounding items she has been using as a “shelter” have been moved away from the nest? I want the nest box to be protected so when the time comes that the babies hop out of the box they won’t be able to go far and they won’t be on the concrete floor. She didn’t take care of them while they were in the hutch with her because daddy buns scent was in there. We moved them back to her original nesting corner and she’s been perfect since them. I went and bought a new cage just for her and the babies. The babies were born around 12:30-1:30pm on Friday so they are about 4 and 1/2 days old.

[DarthVadar]

That should be fine. It won’t have the scent of another rabbit, so she will most likely accept it. Just keep an eye on her and make sure she still is taking care of the kits. Happy 4 day b-day babies!

[A1983legend]

Thank you for your reply! Is there anything that I could do that might make her stop taking care of her kits? I definitely do not want for that to happen but it makes me nervous with this being a first time experience for us all. If I move everything and she doesn’t like it and stops taking care of them, would she probably resume care if I moved it all back to normal? I have to figure something out before they get old enough to get out of the box..

[DarthVadar]

Does under stress will not take good care of their kits. Introducing a new pet (especially another rabbit), exposure to frequent loud noise, or being handled by new people may cause to to neglect the kits. Moving her into a new cage that does not small like another animal should be ok. Right now, its really your only choice; baby bunnies go from sleeping in the nest all day to bouncing off the walls and zooming across the room very quickly.

[A1983legend]

Thank you!! Everyone on here has been so much help!

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