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jddm

help shes just given birth!!

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I've been given a rabbit had a her a couple of weeks and she gave birth a Sat night. Found she'd pulled her fur out in her 'bedroom' and found at least 6 babies. I just put the fur back but she wont go near the bedroom area, how often should she feed them?

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Don't worry rabbits only feed their young once or twice per 24 hours, usually at night. My rabbit had babies four weeks ago. As I knew she was pregnant I put a cardboard box with hay in her sleeping area (she is in an eglu). She filled it with fur and had the babies there. One did come out the box at about a day old, I think this can happen if the mother is feeding them and moves off with them attached! I read online that the mother will not move the young so I lifted the baby back in with the others (I made sure I had the mother's scent on my hands before doing so). This caused no problem to her interaction with the babies and we still have 8 healthy little rabbits.

I would just keep a quiet eye on things. Perhaps distract her with food when you want to have a quick check. (If there are any dead ones you will need to remove them) But I would not touch them unless necessary for at least several days and then only if she is happy about it. After a week you should be able to lift them out to check their health.

Going back to the feeding question. I have seen her feed them only twice. Once when they were about 2 weeks old she went into the nest box when I was checking the babies and about 3 days ago at dusk when they were all out in the run it must have been feeding time as they all rushed and slid under her to feed (the mother stands when feeding them). They remind me of mechanics sliding under a car :lol:

Hope this helps.

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Yes that does make me feel a little better. It was a bit of a shock as i didn't know she was pregnant when i adopted her - but probably goes a little way to explain her aggressive behavior which seems to have calmed since the birth. What age do i move them from their mum?

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I was told they should stay with her for 6-8 weeks. I will probably go for 7. The babies are mini lop and growing fast. They are now eating hay and the food pellets mum eats. They have access to grass and a tiny bit of greens but I don't want them to have too much as it can upset their digestive system. (I let them go into the run at 3 weeks old). They are still getting fed by mum too so are still at the weaning stage.

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Mum will feed babies once first thing in the morning and last thing at night, many people think that they are neglecting them as they never seem to spend time with them but they will normally feed when your not looking. I would check the babies when Mum was eating or I was stroking her aswell to make sure all babies were being fed properly and were warm, they should have big round tummies when they are being fed. I start to handle mine at around 5 days old, I find by this time Mum has settled enough after the birth and is normally happy with me to quickly check them over once a day - although this depends on the temperament of the doe. At around 10 - 12 days old they should start to begin opening their eyes, then the fun begins!! :lol: Once they have opened their eyes fully they will start to being getting out and about and speeding around the hutch. Once they are out and about they will normally start to try some of Mum's food (pellets and hay should be provided... I wouldn't give any vegetables as at the weaning stage anything like that can upset their tums and give them the runs). Don't worry about having to wean them as Mum will do that all by herself, she will start to feed them less and they will then start to eat the pellets more.

 

When you start to wean the babies from Mum (around 6 - 7 weeks) my advice is to make it a gradual process so that it decreases the level of stress and upset to both mum and babies. What I do is when babies reach 6 weeks old Mum will go back into her normal 4ft hutch in the morning and will return to kits in the afternoon. Babies will remain in the hutch they are used to and it will be filled with all different sorts of toys to keep the babies occupied. Mum will be removed after morning feed and will return to babies in the afternoon. This will allow babies to develop their own independence without Mum being around and will also develop their own skills. When the babies come to 7 weeks old they will be permanently living in the 'Nursery Hutch' on their own without Mum, as they will have been in there from 6 weeks on there own most of the time they will be used to it without Mum around. It's best to keep a close eye on them all to make sure that they are eating and drinking well and are all healthy rabbits. Then when babies are 8 weeks they will be ready to leave for their new homes.

 

Hope this helps! :D

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Good news :D Glad everything has gone well.

I am feeling a bit sad as at the weekend 7 out of the 8 babies we had went to the pet shop. My OH did say wouldn't it be nice to keep them all :shock: However sense prevailed. We have kept one male and are off to the vet this week for mums injections and to book a date in the future for our little boy's op! I suppose he may get his injections too.

What plans do you have for your babies?

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