# PLEASE HELP! Bunny just had a litter!



## newbabybunnies (Jan 12, 2013)

We have 2 bunnies that were supposed to both be female and came home to 4 baby bunnies!! I am freaking out and don't know what to do. I seperated the new mama (just saw her birth the 4 one so we know it was her) and the daddy. I have heard the new mama will eat babies sometimes. How can I make sure she doesn't eat her babies? The male bunny cannot be around the babies, right? For how long? Do they need a heat lamp? I am so panicked and don't know what to do. Help!?


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## JBun (Jan 12, 2013)

Well, first you are going to need to separate the male from the female from now on. She can get pregnant again from day one, plus he could injure the babies. Next, did she pull any fur for a nest? You need a nest box to make a nest for the babies. You can use a shoe box or some sort of cardboard box for now, that is big enough for the momma to be able to turn around in, but not so big that the babies will get too spread out, and it needs a low enough front for the momma to be able to jump over, but high enough that the babies won't accidentally wiggle their way out. Now if you have some grass hay, stuff a bunch in there and then hallow out a depression towards the back of the box and if she pulled fur, use that fur to line the depression with and put the babies in there.  If you don't have grass hay, you could use a bunch of shreaded paper, and if the mom didn't pull fur, you can pull some off her belly neck area yourself, to line the nest. Don't use the males fur at all. Momma buns only feed their babies once or twice a day, usually in the morning and night, and she will leave them alone the rest of the time. Here are some pictures of a nest box. Are your rabbits kept indoors and what kind of cage will the momma be kept in? How old is your momma bun?


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## newbabybunnies (Jan 12, 2013)

Thank you so much for the reply! We just got her a couple of months ago, but I think she is around 8 months old? She and her mate were suppose to have been spayed! And female.  They are kept in a hutch in our garage. It is well sealed and comfortable in there, and it's 75 degrees outside.

I am so sad and angry about it. They look so tiny and helpless, and I am so scared they won't be okay. Mama didn't pull any fur from herself. I am so scared I will hurt her if I try. I did make a nest out of shredded paper and placed them inside. Her mate is able to visit her through the cage (but not get inside), and she keeps making whining noises for him. I still can't believe he's a he. I guess I have to find something to put him in for the time being. It's so sad. Do most new, young mamas try to eat her babies? Is there anything I can do to prevent it? I feel so helpless. 

When do I try to take mama in to be spayed or daddy to be neutered? I just don't know what to do!


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## OakRidgeRabbits (Jan 12, 2013)

Cannibalism is not typical in rabbits. Usually the only time you may see that happen is if a kit is stillborn and the dam is cleaning up the nest. Eating the kits for no reason is unusual, though not unheard of.

Offering a nestbox and putting the kits in the nest with plenty of hay/fur/etc is about all you need to do.  The mother takes care of the rest. Dryer lint is a nice filler too if she didn't pull fur. Check on the kits daily to make sure they seem "plump" and active. As long as they do, you'll know she is feeding them and caring for them properly.


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## JBun (Jan 12, 2013)

You could get him neutered right away, but will still need to keep them separated for at least a month before his hormones are settled and he's not fertile anymore. You probably won't be able to get her spayed til the babies are 8 weeks old and weaned from mom. That's not a good thing that you were lied to about them being spayed. You almost have to get a spay certificate these days, just to make sure it's actually been done and someone isn't lying. If you can still contact the people you got them from, I think they would be getting an earful from me, as well as a spay and neuter bill!

Temperature wise, the babies will be ok, but you need some sort of nesting material, like fur, to help insulate the babies and keep them warm. You can buy nesting material at a petstore, or my walmart even carries it.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12289104

If the momma hasn't already mutilated the babies at all, then it's most likely that she won't. I would try to keep the male as near her as possible so she doesn't get too stressed from being separated from him. Close enough so that they can groom each other through the cage bars. You could even let them see each other for a minute if you are right there to make sure absolutely nothing happens between them. You'll want to make sure that they both are still eating and drinking ok, and not overly stressed from the separation. The biggest thing is to make sure that in the next 24 hours that the momma feeds the babies. She will probably feed them tonight, so in the morning check their bellies and make sure they are plump and round. You can usually see a white area from the milk in the stomach, when they've eaten. Also, babies are super squirmy so be careful holding them and don't place them up on anything where they could wiggle their way off and fall.


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## LakeCondo (Jan 12, 2013)

In case the babies aren't getting plump, I understand there's a formula made for kittens that works well.

Once things settle down, you might want to inform whomever you got them from what happened.

And I hope the male is far enough away not to impregnate her again. It's been known to be done through adjacent cages. Make sure the cages aren't close enough.


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## newbabybunnies (Jan 12, 2013)

Thank you so much! I just threw some dryer lint away, but I can put another load on to wash ASAP. We live about an hour from town, so I will go tomorrow and pick up some of the nesting material and use the lint tonight. Is it ok that it will smell so strongly like clean clothes? Should I not put a dryer sheet in with the clothes? They do seem like they want to be together, so I will go supervise for a while. I am so sad for them and the little babies. I don't know what we are going to do with them. We can't have 4 more buns, my little girls are already so excited about them, and we have a new baby due in early March. I am so angry and heartbroken.


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## JBun (Jan 12, 2013)

I wouldn't put the dryer sheet in, that way there will be less chemicals in the lint. When you get the nesting material, you may also want to pick up a bag of grass hay. Try and get the softest looking kind that is available. Do you not normally feed grass hay to your rabbits?

You'll know within a couple days if the babies are all doing ok, and the mom and dad should be able to adjust to being separated. I'm sure that it was quite the shock to see squirming little babies in there. Baby bunnies are lots of fun to raise. I'm sure your girls will love the experience

If all goes well, and the babies do fine. Then you just let mom feed them each day. I wouldn't let any one outside your family, handle them til they are at least 2-3 weeks old. I always liked to wash my hands right before handling my babies, just to make sure to limit the chance of passing some sort of bacteria over to them. Babies need to be stimulated to pee. Usually the momma bun does it, but sometimes my momma bun missed a few, so I would check them each day and gently rub a dampened warm qtip near their genitals to help stimulate the peeing in case the momma missed them, when I did the daily check to make sure they were being fed. I did this for about the first week. Then at 10 days they begin to open their eyes. and at 2 weeks they begin to venture out of the nest box. That's when I clean the nest box out and tip it on it's side and put a handful of hay in the bottom side of it. You tip it on it's side so they can still snuggle together in there, but so they can get in and out easily. If you don't tip it on the side, at that age the venture out and then can't get back in. They will also start nibbling on food at this time. As their digestion gets used to solid food, they can sometimes get a poopy bum, so you will want to check their bum once a day to make sure it's clean, and to clean it off if it's not.


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## newbabybunnies (Jan 12, 2013)

We do feed timothy hay to the buns, so I can use that as nesting tonight as well. So by tomorrow their little tummies should be plump, and I want to stimulate their bottoms. I think I've got it. We found them for free on Craigslist, and I doubt the previous owner would give 2 hoots about it. Who lies about bunny gender and spaying?? They obviously just wanted them gone, and we will be paying for it. Thanks so much for all of your help. I am sure I will be back with more questions!


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## wendymac (Jan 12, 2013)

You shouldn't need to stimulate them...their mother does that, while they're feeding. For a nest box, you can also use an appropriately sized plastic container. I use the big litter boxes with the detachable lip things on them for my French Lops. I add a bunch of shavings and then smash as much hay as I can get into them. My one doe never made a nest, so I punched a hole in the hay, cut a large piece of fleece blanket to line it with, and put the babies in, covering with more hay. The doe had a screwy kindling (had 3 babies one day, skipped a day, had 2 more the following morning then another late that night). Anyway, they were inside and things were fine. The doe just moved the blanket out of the way to nurse them. Good luck!! Be warned, though: baby bunnies are addicting!!


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## newbabybunnies (Jan 13, 2013)

I am worried mama isn't feeding the bunnies. I don't really know what a full belly vs a not full belly looks like, but their little tummies do not look very plump or round to me at all. How can I know they are being fed? When should I step in and how?


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## bhoffman (Jan 13, 2013)

Try googling it. If you google "how to tell if my rabbit is feein her kits" you can look at images or even websites.


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## wendymac (Jan 13, 2013)

Some does don't get milk until a day or two after they kindle, which is perfectly normal. They also are not like other mammals when it comes to feeding their babies. Rabbits only feed their kits once a day, for about 4-5 minutes. That's it until the next feeding. Try checking the babies a few different times (you may have looked right before a feeding) but not to the point of upsetting the doe. I'll tell you now, hand feeding babies usually ends up in dead kits. If there's a chance at all that she's feeding them (even if it's starting off slowly and they're not as plump as you'd like) it's better than taking them away. That's my experience, anyway.


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## majorv (Jan 13, 2013)

Check them again later tonight or first thing in the morning. Newborns can survive for 48 hours without being fed. Mom will feed them before then if she is going to, or can. I agree with Wendy that trying to hand feed kits doesn't have a good success rate.


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## newbabybunnies (Jan 14, 2013)

I am absolutely heartbroken this morning. We lost 3 of them sometime last night, and the other little one isn't going to make it either. I am a little angry at my momma bunny and don't understand why she didn't feed them. I am so sad that the other one is probably suffering and I can't do anything about it. My little girls are going to be heartbroken too. I am so sad about it all and don't understand what happened.


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## JBun (Jan 14, 2013)

I'm so sorry they didn't make it. Don't blame the momma bun too much. It's actually pretty common for a first time mother to not understand how to take care of her babies, so often her first litter won't make it. You could try with this last kit, to hold the mother and try and assist the baby to nurse. It may or may not work. You could try setting her on your lap and then with a helper, try and let the baby nurse from below the momma, between your legs. You could also try turning the mom over and setting the baby on her belly, but this may be harder to keep her from wiggling and knocking the baby off.


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## ladysown (Jan 14, 2013)

mis-information here..."he could hurt the babies" "he can't be around the babies"

Male rabbits tend NOT to hurt young bunnies. Really they don't. They are only a threat to emerging hormonal young male rabbits who are feeling their oats. My male rabbits have no issues with youngsters what so ever.

Depending on the age and the maturity level of the doe she may not take care of them. You may need to encourage her to do so. but sometimes young rabbits simply don't "get it". It's not a bad thing, it's a maturity level thing. The fact that she pulled no fur is an indication of that.

You can pull fur from the momma easily enough... just gently tug on belly fur and it should come out just fine.
Grab a bunch of hay, put it in a box and then make a hollow. Put some fur on the bottom, put babies in, then cover them with a layer of fur. Make sure they are well covered. 

She'll feed them once or twice a day.
She'll ignore them the rest of the time (may check on you when you check on them).
IF they don't have bellies looking like grapes everyday then she's not caring for them.


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## wendymac (Jan 14, 2013)

I'm sorry you lost them. :-( But please don't blame it on the mother. Her milk may not have ever come in and she might not have been able to nurse them. You can tell if her mammary glands have milk. If they don't, the fur won't easily be plucked, either. And there may have been something wrong with them from the start, something not visible to the naked eye. It's really hard to pinpoint why they didn't make it, but rarely is it because of the mother and circumstances within her control (although there are does out there that aren't good mothers).


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## majorv (Jan 14, 2013)

For whatever reason, the kits didn't make it. This would be a good "teachable moment" for your kids...that good and bad happens, and we don't always know why. I'm sorry you lost them. You could let your kids find a little box and bury them. That's what we did with small pets when our kids were little.


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## newbabybunnies (Jan 15, 2013)

Thank you all for the replies and advice. I feel a little better about it today since they are no longer hungry or suffering. We lost a dear pet a few months ago, so our girls understood and handled it very well. We told them from the beginning not to get too attached, and we had a nice little service for them buried them. Thank you again or the help.


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