We've had Gary for years. We also have Jeff. They live in two rabbit cages, one on top of the other outside on our deck. Now and again, I let them out to play, and they run around and jump on each other.both displaying male patterned 'jumping'. I've had both these rabbits 2 years.
This morning, I noticed a odd sound coming from the rabbit cages, so I walk over, and there are about 6 -8 naked baby bunnies in with Gary.
So, Gary is a girl.
I've never had baby bunnies before, Gary did shed a lot of fur, and I did place the babies in her fur. She covered them. I haven't seen her nurse them.
What do I do to make sure our newest members of the family survive?
(I can't tell you what a shock it was to open my BOY bunnys' cage and see 6 to 8 babies) weird.
Answers:
I can completely understand the shock that you must have experienced! First, congratulations! Now onto details. Baby bunnies (called kits) are usually born in the very early morning (usually between 1 and 6 am). Depending on what breed of rabbit they are, most mama bunnies only nurse the kits once a day (usually also in the very early morning hours between 1 and 5 am), so don't worry if you never see them eating. Kits don't need a lot of food. You can tell if they are being fed by looking at them first thing in the morning. If you see nice, fat round bellies (think "Philsbury Dough Boy"), you can rest assured that they're being fed well. Now, that being said, it can take a day or two for the feeding to start. This is totally normal, and usually isn't a concern. Kits can survive that long without nursing. If, come tomorrow morning, you don't see any full bellies, a call to the vet would probably be a good idea. Mom might need a shot of pitocin to get the milk going. You don't need to worry about anything else. The mama will take care of everything. Try not to handle them too much until their eyes are open and they have fur. Otherwise they'll get too cold too fast. Once they have fur, you want to handle them several times a day for progressively longer periods of time so that they get used to being handled. You do not want to separate them from their mother until they are at least 8 weeks old, and most breeders keep the litters together for another 2-4 weeks after separating them from their mom before sending them to their new homes. I hope this helps to get you started. If you have any other questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to e-mail me privately!
Just make sure they are nice and warm ,
and seperate the boars from the females after 3 weeks ( thats how young they can mate )
And congrats !
And goodluck =D !!
I hate to say this, but because you touched the bunnies, they will probably die. As soon as they get human scent on them, the mother abandons them. They should have started nursing immediately after being born.
You will have to watch to see if the babies are nursing. If they are not then you will have to feed them yourself. It is hard to do but it can be done. They will need milk replacement to drink. I would try to find Rabbit Milk Replacement if not I have read that you can use Puppy Replacement Milk. I tried to save abandoned wild baby rabbits but I was not able to keep them alive. It is hard to be a Rabbit Mama! Good Luck. Hopefully, "Gary" will be a good mom. You might need to change his name. HA HA
She'll only feed 1-2 times daily, and then for the most part let them be. Just check them daily to make sure there are no dead kits, and to see if their tummy is full. Don't listen to what a ton of other people are going to say, you can touch the kits. Specially if the mother know, and trusts you. And, even if she didn't trust you, you'd still need to check the kits daily anyways. You'd let her out of the cage, check the kits, cover them in the fur that she pulled, and let them soak her sent for 10 minutes.
Rabbits can be weaned as early as 6 weeks, personally i wait 'til 8.
Rabbits ARE not sexually mature until about 3-4 months, DO NOT listen to the people above me. They have no idea what they're talking about.
hon, don't touch them, you don't want to get your scent on them until they are at least a couple weeks old...call your local vet and ask for advice they'll give you specifics (and a phone call is usually free)...if I were you I'd even go pick up a book at your local library on baby bunnies
good luck
ps, I speak from experience of raising and breeding a couple dozen rabbits over the years with my dad
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment