Would our mother rabbit feed a different baby?

[Averill]

We were brought just the cutest little broken baby. She/he is stray, but kept hanging around the house of our neighbor. They couldn’t take care of it so they brought him to us. We can’t take her either but know someone who does. 

This baby is probably about 1-2 months old and i reckon not quite weaned. Despite her background, shes very, very docile and much prefers to be held than put in her temp cage. We have two mother rabbits (also strays) one with almost three week old kits and the other who we believe is pregnant (and has been before we caught her). could either of them foster this baby? I’m not sure i want to put her in with the existing litter, as there are ten of them and not all of them getting enough milk (which we’ve been taking care of) Mother said we can keep this baby, but only if mother rabbit two doesn’t actually have a litter and baby is a female. (no money to neuter/spay both)

[BinkyBoo]

I really wish I could help, but I do not know. I tried to look it up, but nothing helpful popped up.
If you have a nearby vet, ask them.

[Roberta]

Lactating mums are often used to save motherless babies. So yes, it’s possible. Doesn’t always work but if you completely coat the new baby in the nest scent it improves the odds considerably. Rub the babies fur in hay from the litter tray and some fluff from the nest. Then sneak it in with the rest of the litter.

[Roberta]

Otherwise you can syringe feed a supplement. Also collect a few stray mummy cecals, they will help develope gut flora.

[jerseygirl]

Yes, another rabbit could foster but I would not leave it alone with either of these Does. You may be able to hold it under the Doe to allow it a small feed. At it’s age, it shouldn’t need much and the other kits should be the priority. Is the pregnant one lactating at all?
The alternative is to see if anyone close by has a lactating Doe that is not having issues and see if they will allow this kit to nurse from it. Is it eating solid foods at all? If it is closer to 2 months, it may not need milk but being around other rabbits to build healthy gut bacteria is beneficial.

Binky Bunny doesn’t deal a lot with this sort of issue a lot so I recommend also posting on some forums that discuss breeding/kindling/nursing etc in depth.

[jerseygirl]

Thanks Roberta! Didn’t see your posts until after I submitted mine.

ETA: Ugh, just noticed date of original post. Sorry this was missed earlier, Averill.  I hope the little one is doing well.

[Roberta]

Getting used to rescue babies JG. You try anything and everything. Had a few successful surrogates in the rescue team lately. Supplemental feeding is always a second choice but for a bub past 4 weeks it is more successful. Mummy cecals are the important thing at that stage as they carry the enzymes and bacteria for healthy tummy developement.

[jerseygirl]

Absolutely.
And surrogate mums milk is the best option. Hopefully this little one is past needing it now. Sounds as if the other ones do.

We once had a member on here whose rabbit had an accidental litter, babies all healthy, grew and weaned. Then about 2 weeks later there was a neighbour that had some orphan baby rabbits. They tried them with this Mamma and she started lactating again!

[Averill]

He is on KRM as of now. Our first doe and kits is sent off to another home, while the other doe(the one i previously said didnt have a litter yet) is still with us and has a nice litter of 8.
The orphan really, really likes the milk. But I’m not sure when to wean her. Otherwise, all are doing fine and are healthy.

[Averill]

Also, the tecnique with rubbing momma’s scent and hay/fur on the orphan didn’t work out so well. Mainly because there is a huge age gap between the litter and him, i think. And he proved to be more curious and active which momma caught on immediately. I’ve tried many different things with that, but nothing would work. She would not accept him.

[jerseygirl]

The orphan really, really likes the milk. But I’m not sure when to wean her. Otherwise, all are doing fine and are healthy.

There are some feeding guides in these links:
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/orphan.html
http://rabbit.org/faq-orphaned-baby-bunnies/ Scroll right to end for this one.

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