# Asap Advice Needed!!!



## becks01 (Jan 27, 2009)

ive got 8 baby rabbits born yesterday afternoon...went out there this morning and looks like mum hasnt fed them, instantly you take the fur from on top of them and the squirm about really quickly and bellys wrinkly...advice given on here last night was to wrap a baby in a towel and try and place under mum to feed...tried this and mum seemed scared and wouldnt keep still so placed baby back...ive rung local vets who said i can get formula from them about £13, and syringes for £2.80...they said they need to be fed every 2 hours?...is this right as mum only feeds once maybe twice if she did feed them?...also if i was to do this i would need to bring them inside, what should i keep them in?...then how long do i keep this up for?...advice plz asap!!!!
how long can babies go without being fed??? it looks like they havnt been fed since theyve been born yesterday afternoon?


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## noushka05 (Mar 28, 2008)

this might help, such ashame you took some bad advice, does really do need to be left in peace. Good luck with the babies

How To Care For Newborn Baby Rabbits


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## toddy (Jan 24, 2009)

I agree the female should be left quietly with the babies.
She may well be feeding them and it can take a day or two for the milk to come in fully.
Leave them with her and let her have a chance of raising them that is what I would do personally.
All baby rabbits will squirm around if the nest is disturbed.
How can you be sure she is not doing her job.
It is still early days.


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## becks01 (Jan 27, 2009)

toddy said:


> I agree the female should be left quietly with the babies.
> She may well be feeding them and it can take a day or two for the milk to come in fully.
> Leave them with her and let her have a chance of raising them that is what I would do personally.


how long can babies go without being fed??? it looks like they havnt been fed since theyve been born yesterday afternoon?...i left her 2 it last time and they all died...when i got the dead 1s out there bellys was so flat and wrinkly it looked like they starved to death


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## penny2607 (Aug 31, 2008)

becks01 said:


> how long can babies go without being fed??? it looks like they havnt been fed since theyve been born yesterday afternoon?...i left her 2 it last time and they all died...when i got the dead 1s out there bellys was so flat and wrinkly it looked like they starved to death


Ok, I know its hard but please try to forget the past litters. Just concentrate on this one. I'm not sure how you know they haven't been fed but if this is the case then ring your vet and ask how long you should give it before you should take over. BUT this should be a very LAST resort.

I understand that you have put them in a shoebox??? Can mom still get the babies to feed them? As the babies have been moved she may well abandon them or kill them as a worse case scenario.

Experts on here are few and far between, I myself am no expert. If in doubt I would ring the vet in future as you have been given some seriously bad advice from what I can gather which is no fault of your own, its such a shame.

Fingers crossed that mom does her job, but as there is a history there it could be that she just isn't cut out to be a mom.


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## becks01 (Jan 27, 2009)

penny2607 said:


> Ok, I know its hard but please try to forget the past litters. Just concentrate on this one. I'm not sure how you know they haven't been fed but if this is the case then ring your vet and ask how long you should give it before you should take over. BUT this should be a very LAST resort.
> 
> I understand that you have put them in a shoebox??? Can mom still get the babies to feed them? As the babies have been moved she may well abandon them or kill them as a worse case scenario.
> 
> ...


im due to speak to the vet in a hour so ill ask for there advice then (spoke to them earlier, but now on lunch break, hence the reason im ringing in an hour)...
its not exactly a shoe box just a medium box with high sides and yes mum can still get to them as they are still in the same place as before...she still checks on them as shes lifted the fur off them to have a look...im in a no win situation as to what advice to follow...which makes it an even worse situation to be in....dont no what to do for the best.


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## penny2607 (Aug 31, 2008)

Could you google for rabbit breeders near where you live. I'm sure someone could give you some help and obviously they would give you sound advice.

If she's interested and checking on them then that is a good sign, she may well still take to them. As someone else has said somewhere, it can take a couple of days for the milk to come thru


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## becks01 (Jan 27, 2009)

penny2607 said:


> Could you google for rabbit breeders near where you live. I'm sure someone could give you some help and obviously they would give you sound advice.


ill have a look...


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## Tinkerbella (Nov 25, 2008)

Hey Becks, How are they today ?


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## becks01 (Jan 27, 2009)

Tinkerbella said:


> Hey Becks, How are they today ?


babies are all fine today...i got mum to feed them last night by me and my partner holding her over the nest, with doing this she soon just relaxed...i will continue to do this until she feeds them on her own accord...then she will hopefully realise this is what shes meant to be doing...


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## Tinkerbella (Nov 25, 2008)

Brilliant!! xx Keep up the good work!


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## umber (Feb 15, 2009)

Excellent News! Glad to hear they are all doing well! Must be a relief for you too!


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## penny2607 (Aug 31, 2008)

Hey Becks,

How are they all getting on now, I hope everything is going well


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## kayla jade (Aug 26, 2008)

well if she dose not feed them in the next day or two the i would say to hand reer them that is what i have been told because my rabbit is pregnant.sorry this is nothing to do with it but when will my doe give birth and how will i know if she is achley pregnant or not dose she make a neast or will i have to put one in there for her?sorry to bother you about that i am onley 10 i dont know what i am saying or going 
kayla
xxx


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## becks01 (Jan 27, 2009)

kayla jade said:


> well if she dose not feed them in the next day or two the i would say to hand reer them that is what i have been told because my rabbit is pregnant.sorry this is nothing to do with it but when will my doe give birth and how will i know if she is achley pregnant or not dose she make a neast or will i have to put one in there for her?sorry to bother you about that i am onley 10 i dont know what i am saying or going
> kayla
> xxx


hi, my rabbits are feeding off of mum now....my doe gave birth on day 29...they usually say 30-33 days from when she was with the male...you will know if shes pregnant if she starts to build a nest area and pulling her fur out and placing it in the nest aswell...now this is her 3rd litter and she did this on the day of giving birth but the last 2 it was about 1-2 weeks before...so it depends really, all rabbits are different...dont make the nest for her though if shes pregnant she will do this on her own...if she doesnt pull any fur out when shes had the babies you can buy the fur at some pet shops/vets, this helps the babies to stay warm thats why they need this...i think really you need some help from your mum or somebody who is willing to help you with your rabbit...but we are always here for giving you advice, so dont worry!


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## becks01 (Jan 27, 2009)

penny2607 said:


> Hey Becks,
> 
> How are they all getting on now, I hope everything is going well


well they are 4 days old now, looking bigger everyday...i'll be happy once they've reached a week old though...i know thats still young but then id know mum is doing a proper good job with them...


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## Harvey12Fish (Feb 26, 2009)

Id say Leave her with the babys so she can get used to them. She may just need a bit of quite time with her newborn.Maybe she is still tired..
Holly.:smile:


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## becks01 (Jan 27, 2009)

thought id give you an update...babies are 7 days old today and all doing really well (stunning markings on them...so beautiful...im very proud of them)...now you always have a runt and i have 2...1 of them is doing fine, putting weight on and slowly catching up with the others but the other 1 is very tiny and not putting on the weight so well...this 1's my worrier ...im keeping a close eye on him/her...but was wondering is there anything else you can do if you have 1 thats tiny and not alot of weight on it???...i mean obviously he/shes eating(or drinking should i say!?)... as it wouldnt be here today but not eating as much as everybody else....or cant runts eat as much as the others as they have only tiny bellys???...


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## Izzie999 (Nov 27, 2008)

becks01 said:


> ive got 8 baby rabbits born yesterday afternoon...went out there this morning and looks like mum hasnt fed them, instantly you take the fur from on top of them and the squirm about really quickly and bellys wrinkly...advice given on here last night was to wrap a baby in a towel and try and place under mum to feed...tried this and mum seemed scared and wouldnt keep still so placed baby back...ive rung local vets who said i can get formula from them about £13, and syringes for £2.80...they said they need to be fed every 2 hours?...is this right as mum only feeds once maybe twice if she did feed them?...also if i was to do this i would need to bring them inside, what should i keep them in?...then how long do i keep this up for?...advice plz asap!!!!
> how long can babies go without being fed??? it looks like they havnt been fed since theyve been born yesterday afternoon?


Bunnies need to be left alone, if the nest is disturbed she can stop feeding them,wreck the nest and worst still kill her babies.

Let nature take its course and see if she feeds her babies on her own. I know that sounds harsh but its the best way to be with rabbits.

Izzie


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## becks01 (Jan 27, 2009)

Izzie999 said:


> Bunnies need to be left alone, if the nest is disturbed she can stop feeding them,wreck the nest and worst still kill her babies.
> 
> Let nature take its course and see if she feeds her babies on her own. I know that sounds harsh but its the best way to be with rabbits.
> 
> Izzie


thanks for the advice but if you had read the last post it does say an update saying mums feeding them herself now...


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## frags (Feb 5, 2009)

becks01 said:


> thought id give you an update...babies are 7 days old today and all doing really well (stunning markings on them...so beautiful...im very proud of them)...now you always have a runt and i have 2...1 of them is doing fine, putting weight on and slowly catching up with the others but the other 1 is very tiny and not putting on the weight so well...this 1's my worrier ...im keeping a close eye on him/her...but was wondering is there anything else you can do if you have 1 thats tiny and not alot of weight on it???...i mean obviously he/shes eating(or drinking should i say!?)... as it wouldnt be here today but not eating as much as everybody else....or cant runts eat as much as the others as they have only tiny bellys???...


when i asked about my runt i was told that sometimes they can get pushed out by the bigger ones and not get to feed as much, i was also told that you can take the bigger ones away and the runt will get a proper feed but not sure how true this was so i didnt do it myself.
i had 2 smaller kits and 1 of them is just as big as the rest the other is just getting there with size so they do catch up as my smallest was really close to death from how small it was and it was being pushed out.
good luck yr doing great..... il look forward to seeing some piccies


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## penny2607 (Aug 31, 2008)

oooo, bring on some piccies!!! 

I don't really know about the runt, have you googled? I would have thought as long as its getting some food it should be ok, runts survive don't they? Aren't they just a lot smaller than its siblings?


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## becks01 (Jan 27, 2009)

penny2607 said:


> oooo, bring on some piccies!!!
> 
> I don't really know about the runt, have you googled? I would have thought as long as its getting some food it should be ok, runts survive don't they? Aren't they just a lot smaller than its siblings?


no havnt googled, but alot of people are saying that as long as its getting something it should be ok...and when they start eating themselves it will build itself up them properly...ill keep my eye on it anyway..yes it is alot smaller than the rest...but you get a runt in any litter...but like i said i will watch this one closely


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## becks01 (Jan 27, 2009)

went and checked on babies this morning and found the white baby downstairs dead...mum hadnt attacked it, it had been fed as it had a big belly...but just cold...i wrapped it up and brought it in and tried for an hour getting it warm to see it would come back (as i didnt know howlong it had been there for, so it could of just happened)...but no luck ...this was the only white 1 there and was adorable...the only mark i found was its nails had blood in them and a little nick on 1 front paw...so i dont know if maybe it was still latched on to mum and she pulled it out and maybe shes tried picking it up and thats how the marks where there on its paw i dont know...there was absolutly nothing wrong with it at all...dont understand :confused1: :crying::


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## toddy (Jan 24, 2009)

I am sorry you lost the little one.
Sadly this just sometimes happens.It quite possibly was still latched on to mum when she moved and was dragged too far from the nest to get back.
It is just one of those sad things


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## becks01 (Jan 27, 2009)

update...babies are doing well...they are 2 weeks old today and all their eyes are open...and today i noticed 1 of them following mum out of the nest...when they start weaning at 3 weeks, what do i give them???...and what do i do about giving them the option of having water....would they learn to drink out of the water bottle that mum drinks out of???...


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## frags (Feb 5, 2009)

becks01 said:


> update...babies are doing well...they are 2 weeks old today and all their eyes are open...and today i noticed 1 of them following mum out of the nest...when they start weaning at 3 weeks, what do i give them???...and what do i do about giving them the option of having water....would they learn to drink out of the water bottle that mum drinks out of???...


hiya becks
mine are 4 weeks today and they started nibbling mums normal food at about 2 n half weeks.
over the last week ive noticed they have also started to drink from mums water bottle too.
HTH x


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