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Forum DIET & CARE Accidental litter

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    • sorathebunny
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      34 posts Send Private Message

        Can anyone give me an idea of where to look for resources on raising newborn kits?  Sora, it turns out, is a girl.  We keep them seperate, but one day my son let them out at the same time because he was trying to draw a picture of how they were alike and different.  We were hoping that nothing came of it, because little Sora is quick and agile and Riku our boy is slow and more clumsy.  With run of a bedroom we thought it unlikely that he actually caught her, and even less likely that she’d sit still long enough to get the job done.  But this morning, I went to feed them and clean their cages and let Riku out first and Sora (who has since been renamed Kairi) completely freaked out.  I realized that Riku had gone over to something pink and wiggly on the floor.  Thus I found kit number 1.  I rushed Riku back to his cage to focus on Kairi and the kit.  I grabbed a box and put a towel in it, piled it with some carefresh and hay and then put the kit in.  Once the kit was safe, Kairi went to a high shelf in her cage to watch.  l found two more kits under the blankets in her cage and one last kit behind her cage (they fit through the 1 inch grid of the cage sides).  So 4 kits total.  They are happy and snuggled in the box together now, but I worry about Kairi’s instincts.  She didn’t move any hay or pull any fur (I had been on the lookout for that knowing they’d been out together that one time.)  She did, from what I can tell, endeavor to hide the kits under her fleeces.   There was a small ammount of fur on the fleeces, but only a few tufts big enough to relocate into a nest.  (She wouldnt allow me to pull any fur for his this am and she doesnt shed that much on her own.)  Since the kits were on the floor two wandered out and she did seem worried about those two.  I am hoping she knows where to find the kits.  When I put their makeshift nestbox into her cage, she smelled and chinned it and then went off to the top shelf of her cage.  She is a very frisky/finicky rabbit….if you were going to breed on purpose, she isn’t the sort you’d pick because she just isn’t calm.  We always joke that is why she is the perfect rabbit for our 2E/ADHD boy.  They get along well.  But I don’t know how well she will do with kits.  I know there are no pics under 8 weeks here, but does anyone have a link to pics of growing kits so I can make sure hers are growing right?  All the kits were warm and they looked like they had round bellies, though I don’t imagine they have nursed yet so maybe they grew well inside?  One is smaller, but still filled out.  The first one I found is a bit bigger than the rest.  They are indoor bunnies and in a warm state so hopefully they are warm enough.  I keep checking on them.  They have stopped wandering since they were put in the box.  How far can newborn kits travel?  I am worried about another having gotten lose though I have looked around.  4 seems like the right number though.  I have a double appointment for the adult bunnies to get fixed on the 17th, but the kits will only be a week old.  Can they go 8-9 hours without mom at that age?  We’d have to leave the house at 6:30 AM,  so hopefully right after they nursed.  Should I still take her in or should I just bring Riku and take her in next month when the kits are older?    Would a surgery stress her out so she’d stop caring for the kits?  This has been stressful.  My older son’s birthday was yesterday and my younger son has been throwing up sick since yesterday evening.  So this was just some crazy timing!  Are there any tips, advice, orrresources or anything I should know about?  

         

         


      • NewBunnyOwner123
        Participant
        1930 posts Send Private Message

          I’d hold off on the spay until after the kits are fully weaned. They only eat 1-2 times a day. You may never see it happening as it is done at night usually. To ensure they are eating just check everyday to see if they all have round bellies. I’ve seen very newborn kits and they were born without the rounded belly and then they rounded out after the first nursing. And she’d check themy every morning to make sure they were getting fed.


        • Bam
          Moderator
          16836 posts Send Private Message

            Yep, NBO is quite correct, a bunny mama only feeds her kit 1-2 a day and she doesn’t lie with them and lick them all the time like f ex rat mums do. It’s nature’s security measure I assume, the mama keeps the babies in a separate burrow and only goes down there once or twice a day to feed them.

            If you can comb some fluff off your buns, that’s the best material for keeping the kits warm in their nest box. An experienced bun mom would make a nest out of her own chest hair and cover her little ones in it, but a first time mom is often confused as to what’s happening. You’ll probably need to help her a little, esp when the kits get bigger and start to try to crawl out of the nest box. The nest-box should be made so the sides are too high for the babies to fall out, but not so high that the mum can’t jump in and out. Here’s a little info about nest boxes http://www.raising-rabbits.com/rabbit-nest-box.html

            If a baby isn’t getting enough food, you can use milk powder for kittens as a supplement. Look for the nicely rounded bellies, as NBO says.
            Here’s some other Internet sites about baby buns and accidental litters:
            http://www.rabbit.org/care/babies.html
            http://www.rabbit.org/care/newborn.html
            http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/surpriselitter.html
            http://www.mybunny.org/info/caring-for-newborn-baby-rabbits/
            There’s of course a lot of repeat info on these sites, but they can probably be of use to you in some ways.

            The BB Forums have a rule against posting pictures of newborn babies on Binky Bunny, so please don’t post pictures. It’s mainly because pictures of cute little babies might inspire people to let their bunny have a litter. We don’t really want to support intentional breeding. Accidental litters do happen though, that’s sth quite different from our point of view. If members ask you for pictures in PMs you can of course send them pictures if you like.

            Bunny mothers are generally very good mothers, but as said before, first time moms might be a bit overwhelmed at first and need a bit of assistance from their human.

            Please keep us posted.


          • sorathebunny
            Participant
            34 posts Send Private Message

              I won’t post pics. I just want to find some to see side by side with these kits to make sure they are growing well. Since I posted this I went back in to check on them and they were completely covered with hay and mama was on the bottom level hiding behind the litterbox as if she were keeping a watch. I think this is good. I don’t know if she fed them yet, but she did attend to them and make sure the nest box was up to her standards. I’m more hopeful she will take care of them now or at least I know she knows where they are! Riku (the father) seems very interested in their presence. In his cage, he keeps standing on his hind legs looking at the box and everytime I pull the nest out to check it, he hops over to the side of his cage curiously…then again, he might just think Kairi is getting extra feeds. I can’t get fur from her as she is very difficult to groom, it’s all sporadic. I could get fur from him, but I don’t think it will smell right. I’m hoping now the kits are in a “nest” some instincts might kick in and she might pull fur now, but they are at least in a warm place. It is 78-80 in the house so that plus the nest and the fact that they are snuggled I’m hoping means they will be warm enough.

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          Forum DIET & CARE Accidental litter