Baby bunnies

[Church]

We resently bought 2 Female two year old bunnies.  A week after having them one of them had babies.  We were at the vet a couple of days before this happened and he saw nothing wrong with either of them.  Now we are trying to figure out which one is the mom.  This is an issue because one of the bunnies has become dominant over the other nipping it and mounting it.

So we seperated them. 

Now we don’t know which one to put the babies in with.  we kept them away from the babies for a day then tried to see which one would come and feed the little ones when we let them out of their cages but they both were intrested.  we checked for exposed nipples or wetness but found none of that on either one. 

Not sure what else to do with the little ones besides switching them back and forth between the Rabbits every few hours.

Any ideas would be helpful.

Thanks

[Emmie]

Hi there! How old were these two buns that you bought?!

Best advice really would be to pick them up, look underneath and see if you can tell which is which.

[Church]

They are both girls, so says the vet. They are also 2 years old. I think we are just going to get formula and feed them ourselves

[tanlover14]

I think you should quickly figure it out. Babies really need to be with their mother for a multitude of reasons. I would call the vet immediately and ask the vet for advice on how to figure out which bunny gave birth. It’s very important they remain with their mother.

[MoveDiagonally]

I definitely agree with tanlover, it’s really important that they stay with their mom. I think contacting your vet and seeing if they have any tips/can help you identify which is the mother.

Here’s some newborn bunny info:
http://www.rabbit.org/care/newborn.html

[LittlePuffyTail]

I agree with contacting the vet asap. They may be able to help you. Baby bunnies are very fragile.

[Roberta]

You need to get mum and babies back together asap. The easiest way is to check which one is lactating. Trust me it will be obvious. Mummy buns only feed the babies once or twice a day usually at night when its quiet or in the early morning. The babies need to be kept warm or they will be unable to feed. It’s is most likely the more aggressive bun is the mother but there are no guarantees. Feel her tummy it will be quite solid and the nipples pronounced.

[Roberta]

Also if the bubs are hungry the minute she is standing over them they will latch on for dear life. Trust me hand feeding buns is rarely succesfull they are much better off with their mother.

[Eucalyptus]

Infants NEED their mother (this is not just bunnies), and they develop their immune systems through mother’s milk. The milk is very nourishing and NOTHING can replace it unless it’s an emergency and mother’s milk is completely unavailable. I suggest that you figure out this situation immediately so that they can begin nursing. There’s a reason that baby bunnies that are sold on the streets (never getting mother’s milk) die within a few days.

[BB Administrator]

I am not experienced in nursing rabbits but wouldn’t the nipples of the nursing mother be more obvious than the other?

Helloworld!!

[Roberta]

Very much so BB, when Pepper had her oopsies she was like a cinder block with legs, ears and nipples. Nothing like the soft shapely tummy she has now.
 

Check their tummies again, it may have taken a little time for her milk to build up, if she does not feed them soon she may cease producing milk. The babies should be well and truly hungry by now. Mummy will not lay down to feed them, she will stand above them and they will wriggle underneath.

[Beka27]

I’m worried that both bunnies “feel” the same to you. Do they both have hard, plump stomachs? It could be that one just gave birth and the second is pregnant…

What kind of conditions did they come from? They were obviously around at least one male rabbit.

[Sam and Lady's Human]

I would recommend finding a real exotic vet, there is a recommended list on rabbit.org that you can organize by location. A vet shouldn’t have missed a pregnant mum.

[Church]

thanks for the info it turned out the more dominaint bunny was the mom. now we are letting nature take its corse. Thanks

[Beka27]

I’m glad you figured that out. Good luck with the little ones. I hope they are strong and healthy.

[tanlover14]

So glad you were able to figure this out! And thanks for taking this seriously – you would be surprised at the number of people who don’t!

Good luck with your new little ones!!

[Roberta]

Excellent news…. Some pictures of Mummy Bunny would be lovely. Baby photo’s are discouraged though (as much as we would all love to see them) as it encourages people to want babies which in turn panders to the breeders (not all of whom are ethical)

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Fantastic! Wow that’s something I’ve never heard-what a tricky situation to try to figure out who i mom…I’m glad you figured it out, for a minute before I got to your second post I was wondering…what if they both had babies and nested together…yikes!

[Author]

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