Surprise Babies, HELP!

[Drob800]

We thought we had three female French Angora rabbits.  Holly, the “mamma” bunny is about 2 years old so we are pretty sure she is the mother of the new litter.  When we started separating the enclosure, she was stepping on the babies so we were’t sure.  Maybe she was nervous because two panicky maniacs (my daughter and I) were messing with the enclosure??

One of the other females, Effie Trinket, was born in June and we’re pretty sure she had nothing to do with this.  

The bunny in question was born in February and was living in a cage with the other two females on the farm when we got them all. 

I’m in contact with the woman who sold us the rabbits.  She has a large farm with many French Angoras (and other rabbits we do not talk about) and has been raising them for years.  She agrees that Holly is most likely the mother of this litter and Shuri/T’Challa is probably a male. 

SO, We quickly built a pen to put Shuri-now-know-as-T’Challa in.   We will try to calm ourselves down and get Molly settled with the babies.  We are building a nesting box.  

Poor Effie is all alone and looking confused.  I think she was born in June – I’m finding out for sure but I guess it’s possible she could be pregnant.

We do have a male, Bucky Barnes, but he was neutered a week after we got him and has always been in a pen by himself.  Ironically, its been over a month since his surgery and we were thinking about letting him interact with Holly this weekend to see how they got along.

Everyone is going to the vet tomorrow.  If we can’t get in to our regular bunny vet, we will take them the the MU Vet School hospital.

Any other advice for now?   

(Photo from left to right:  Effie Trinket, Shuri/T’Challa, and Holly Golightly)

[Wick & Fable]

I think you’ve done well in separation, and it’s clear you have good intentions, considering you were planning to pair Bucky with Holly after he recovered from his neuter. Unfortunately many members are not experienced with babies, myself included, but it’s great that you acted swiftly and have a vet appt.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[A Happy Herd of Hares]

Check their bellies an make sure they’ve eaten. If they look deflated you need to hold the mama on her back in a towel and let the babies nurse. Check to see how much fur she pulled, there should be enough to go under and over top the babies so they stay warm, and under the fur put some hay. Give mama a little treat for doing a good job! As far as the sitting on them: she’s either nursing or being protective! You can handle the babies and count them, but don’t take them out too long.

[A Happy Herd of Hares]

And also, if you can private message me a picture of the one in question I can tell you what it is. If you have any other questions ask!

[Drob800]

Thank you for your advice, kind words, and support.

Holly is an experienced mother it turns out. Once all the crazy humans put her in a private pen with a nesting box she let us know she would take care of everything. She is very protective of her babies.

We can open the top of the nesting box to check on the babies and they are doing well.

The bunny-formerly-known-as-Shuri is scheduled for neutering surgery in a week.

We had planned to have what we thought were our three girls spayed at the same time and just didn’t get it done quickly enough. We thought we should get our male bunny (the one we knew was a male) neutered first. Lesson learned!! As soon as Holly is fit for surgery, we will take her and the other actual female in as soon as possible.

Thanks again!

[LittlePuffyTail]

Glad to hear all are well.

[A Happy Herd of Hares]

Woot woot! Good job!

[jerseygirl]

It’s lovely Holly is such a good mother.

Be certain to keep “ bunny-formerly-known-as-Shuri” (lol)
separated after neuter also as they can still have viable sperm for several weeks.

[Author]

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