# Beau



## Yourillusion (Jul 31, 2007)

Just gave birth toseven babies, all are moving. Beau seems fine. Is there anything I need to watch for?


----------



## Yourillusion (Jul 31, 2007)

make that eight


----------



## aurora369 (Jul 31, 2007)

Check all the babys for any injuries or over grooming. Make sure they are all fat and warm.

Also check the entire nest for any left over placentas or dead babies that could rot in the nest and cause sickness in the healthy babies. Make sure they are well covered with fur so they don't get cold.

Check mom to make sure she is not bleeding. Make sure she does not have a stuck kit, palpatate her tummy and check her vagina.

--Dawn


----------



## Yourillusion (Jul 31, 2007)

I palpated her the best I could didn't feel anything, already cleaned out the nest, all the babies are covered. Anything else?


----------



## Yourillusion (Jul 31, 2007)

No signes of over grooming.


----------



## ellissian (Aug 1, 2007)

*Yourillusion wrote: *


> I palpated her the best I could didn't feel anything, already cleaned out the nest, all the babies are covered. Anything else?


Pics?


----------



## Yourillusion (Aug 1, 2007)

Mom after a long day







Beau is still pulling fur, from everywhere even her feet, is that ok?


----------



## ellissian (Aug 1, 2007)

Oh thanks. 

I have never seen baby buns so young before.


----------



## Yourillusion (Aug 1, 2007)

Your welcome, I knew they'd be tiny, but not that tiny. I want to kind of make a day to day journal, but I don't know if I will feel like it after I have surgery on Thurs.


----------



## ellissian (Aug 1, 2007)

Oh, I hope everything goes well on Thursday. 

I would like to see a journal and watch them grow, I've only ever had newborn guinea pigs before.


----------



## Yourillusion (Aug 1, 2007)

Thanks, it's just a gall stone, supposed to be an in and out kind of operation, the last two weeks have been really bad for me, maybe this is a start to a better tomarrow.


----------



## ellissian (Aug 1, 2007)

*Yourillusion wrote: *


> maybe this is a start to a better tomarrow.


Hopefully


----------



## aurora369 (Aug 1, 2007)

Mom may still pull fur out for a couple hours after birth. She's just making sure her babies are nice and warm.

--Dawn


----------



## Flashy (Aug 1, 2007)

Those pics are beautiful, you're very lucky.

I made a day by day account of my babies and it's great to look back on, so maybe you could do it as and when you feel like it.

They look like they will be a whole mix of colours so that will be exciting when they grow fur 

Keep us updated.


----------



## Starlight Rabbitry (Aug 1, 2007)

One thing....Do you have a nestbox. I see the babies are on a sheet of some sort. Make sure you have a box to put them in because they will roll around. Make sure mom can hop into the box though 

Cute babies.

Sharon


----------



## Yourillusion (Aug 1, 2007)

I don't have a box that she won't shred or tear the bottom out of, but I have the bottom to the cage that the girl had for bender will it work?
















and another one of the babies cause I couldn't resist. This is my first litter as well as hers so if I am doing something wrong please let me know.


----------



## Flashy (Aug 1, 2007)

They are so precious.

I'm wondering, and hopefully someone else more experienced will help me here, about removing the material and allowing them to have the hay and fur to burrow down in, because I suspect that might keep them warm.


----------



## aurora369 (Aug 1, 2007)

I have always just used hay and the mom's fur. I think I remember someone warning against fabric in the nest in case one of the wiggles into a fold and can't get out. Then the baby won't get fed.

Other than that, the nest box looks good.

And keep asking any questions you have, the only way to learn is to ask!

--Dawn


----------



## Yourillusion (Aug 1, 2007)

Thanks all, I will go take out the baby blanket, and keep an eye on mom and babies. Will it hurt the babies if mom steps on them? I'm just worried, about them getting hurt.


----------



## aurora369 (Aug 1, 2007)

Bunny moms are normally pretty good about not stepping on babies. Sometimes it will happen and sometimes babies will get hurt, but there is not much you can do to prevent it.

Best bet is to keep checking each individual baby every day for injuries.

--Dawn


----------



## Jenson (Aug 1, 2007)

Congrats, they are lovely! As has been said, I would also take out the fabric, as it gets dirty very quickly and as aurora said kits can get stuck in it. I had a terrible experiance where I had a doe who didn't pull any fur and wouldn't let me pull it, so I put some fabric in the nest and a kit got strangled in a loose thread, so I'd definitly advise against using it.

I would make them a nice hole in a load of fresh hay and line it with the fur and pop them into it, then pull the rest of the fur over them. They'll be cosy and safe in there.


----------



## Yourillusion (Aug 1, 2007)

Thanks Dawn

Heather


----------



## Flashy (Aug 1, 2007)

From the bunny mums that I have seen, they are very careful where they tread, how they move and things like that. she is probably more likely to tread on them if they are on a blanket like that, whereas if they can bury themselves down into the hay then they will be more protected.

Like aurora says, check them everyday to make sure they are ok (as in not injured) and also that they are fed, their butts are clean.


----------



## Yourillusion (Aug 1, 2007)

and Jenson


----------



## Yourillusion (Aug 1, 2007)

Beau definatly isn't gracefull around the babies. I check them all after she gets out of the box to make sure none is injured. I have another question though, when do moms feed the babies, as far as I can tell she hasn't yet. I'm worried.


----------



## Flashy (Aug 2, 2007)

Generally the mum will only feed once a day, although sometimes they feed them twice a day or so.

She will stand over the nest for about five minutes or so and that will be enough to feed them all, hopefully.

It sounds like, if mum will let you, the best thing to do would be to check the babies. If the babies look like they have swallowed ping pong balls then they have been fed. You need to see whether or not there are any that have not been fed as much.

Sometimes mums might not feed their baby until 48 hours after birth, but usually it is sooner than that. 

If they don't look fed, try standing mum over the nest box and stroking her and maybe giving her a treat to help her relax and stay still and allow the milk to flow. she doesn't need to be there too long because they feed quite quickly. You can also do this if some look fed and some don't. You can put the well fed ones somewhere warm and safe (in a manmade nest tokeep them warm and together) and help her feed the less fed ones.


----------



## RAL Rabbitry (Aug 2, 2007)

I am a little concerned with the cage that you have the mom and babies in.

If a kit is still feeding when mom decided to jump out of the nestbox they

may get dragged out and they do wander quite far. You may not be able to

find them. You may want to line the perimeter of the cage with something

to keep them in.

Roger


----------



## aurora369 (Aug 2, 2007)

Good point Roger! I forgot about that, a little baby bumper pad around the edge of the cage is a very good idea. Pieces of cardboard would most likely work well.

If mom is going in the nest and standing over the babies, then she is feeding them. The babies feed from underneath mom, arching and jumping up to grab a nipple. So if she's jumping in the nest, staying for a little bit, the babies are most likely feeding then. Rabbits don't lie on their sides to feed like cats and dogs do.

--Dawn


----------



## grumpybabies (Aug 3, 2007)

Congratulations on the babies. Just wanted to say about mum treading on the babies, my french lop seemed to tread on her babies quite a lot and she was big and heavy but it never did them any harm. And it sounds like you are doing a great job there Grandma lol


----------



## ellissian (Aug 3, 2007)

How are the babies doing?

And how are you after your op?

Hope all is well.


----------



## naturestee (Aug 4, 2007)

Congrats on the babies! Any updates?

I agree that you'll need to do something about the cage wire- babies could easily get out, especially once they start wandering around. Cardboard is a decent quick fix but will probably get chewed up. Hardware cloth would also work. It's cheap at hardware or farm stores and you can attach it to the cage with zip ties.


----------



## gentle giants (Aug 13, 2007)

So long as the babies tummies look round, I woudn't worry about it if you never see them getting fed. Most bunny moms like to feed when no one is around, they like their privacy.


----------



## Yourillusion (Aug 19, 2007)

Sadly the babies didn't make it, I tried to bottle feed them the kitten milk replacer but it didn't work. To little to late, I feel bad because I wasn't in the best condition to help.


----------



## ellissian (Aug 19, 2007)

I'm so sorry you lost the babies, I know how much they meant to you.


----------

