How To Take Care Of Newborn Rabbits

Make Their Mother Feed Them

When a kitten isnt getting enough milk from their mom, its best to reassess the situation first.

If the mother is healthy, try to get her to nurse their kitten.

But only do this when the mother rabbit isnt being aggressive to their young.

How?

Stroke the mother rabbit first to calm them.

Then put them in the nest and hold them over their litter.

But if they go out and refuse to stay inside, you may also hold them in your arms.

Put the mother on their back. Then gently hold each baby and place their mouth close to the nipple.

Do Baby Rabbits Have Diseases

If youre wondering how to keep baby rabbits healthy, its quite straightforward. Just provide them with adequate warmth and check them every day to make sure theyre fed and happy.

Baby rabbits can suffer from illness and poor health, just as adult rabbits can. Unfortunately, developing an illness at a young age is often fatal.

The most common baby rabbit illness is diarrhea. It is usually brought on by an imbalance of microbes in the cecum . The cecum is the area where hindgut fermentation takes place. Its supposed to be filled with good bacteria, which help rabbits digest their food. However, sometimes, bad bacteria, such as E. coli, can find their way in.

Diarrhea can kill quickly. If harmful bacteria arent the cause, it may be parasitical. To keep your baby rabbits healthy, you must check up on them every day. Make sure that they are well-fed, have full bellies, and are warm and wriggling. Keep watch for the following:

• Diarrhea or loose stools
• A concave stomach due to the baby not feeding

If you spot any of the above, take your babies to the vet in their nest box. Your veterinarian will have to follow an emergency protocol to keep them alive, as outlined by the University of Miami.

Should You Pick Up Wild Baby Bunnies

It is important to note that wild baby rabbits are not suitable pets and should not be thought of as such. That said, if you have already picked up a baby bunny, you can return it to its nest the sooner, the better. The rabbit mother will still accept the kit even if it has been handled by a human.

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To Take Care Of Baby Rabbits You Want To Keep The Nest Box From Getting Too Fouled With Either Urine Or Round Fecal Pellets

It’s not that the nest needs to be sterile, because the kitsgain their gut bacteria from the mother’s feces. But you don’t want the nest to get damp withurine or excessively dirty.

Usually the doe stays out of the nest except for the 5-10minutes it might take her to feed her babies. But some does like to lounge in the nest all day. That’s when she may just pee and poop in thenest box.

If youve still got days to gobefore the nest box comes out of the cage, you can either clean out the dirtyspots in the nest box or completely replace all the bedding:

Nesting Box Materials: Pine Shavings, Hay, Straw

Preparation Of Milk Substitute

Do follow the instruction on the container for the correct dilution, as different formulas vary. If you find the babies develop diarrhoea, it is best to stop feeding them milk for 24 hours and offer water only, reintroducing milk again the enxt day but watered down to half the concentration for the next 24-48 hours until the droppings are getting back to normal again.

• 1 part Cimicat : appropriate parts cooled boiled water .
• ¼½ teaspoon Avipro Plus, or addition of other suitable probiotic at correct dosage according to instructions on the packet.

Enough milk should be prepared at a time to allow for one days feeds, making it fresh daily and keeping it in the fridge between feeds. Syringes, teats and other feeding equipment can be left soaking in a fresh solution of Miltons Fluid between feeds, rinsing thoroughly before use.

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Wild Baby Bunnies Orphaned Or Not

Wild baby bunnies are most often not orphaned! Many people mean well when they contact HRS after discovering an abandoned nest of wild rabbits. Often they wish to rehabilitate them with some advice from others. The reality is fewer than 10% of orphaned rabbits survive a week, and the care that people attempt to provide can be illegal, unnecessary, and potentially harmful.

The best thing you can do is put the bunny right back where you found him, in the general area, as the mom will only come back at night to call and find him. Leave the area. If injured, please contact a wildlife rehabber or rabbit vet immediately! You can search Google for your state/country and wildlife rehabber. Also search your state + wild rabbit rehabbers. You can call your Humane Society for referral and also check here: If you find a baby with eyes open, and he appears healthy, leave him be.

What Emergency Care Is Required For Abandoned/orphaned Neonate Rabbits

Baby rabbits are prone to developing hypothermia. If a kits temperature is below 36°C, it needs to be warmed slowly by placing in a warm water bath while keeping its head above water. Once warmed, dry the kit with a lightly heated towel and keep it warm with a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel placed under the litter.

Hypothermic juvenile rabbits are often dehydrated and require warmed subcutaneous fluids at a veterinary hospital. If the kits are too weak to suckle, seek veterinary attention immediately.

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Feeding A Baby Rabbit

It is very difficult to feed a baby rabbit without a mum around. You may be unable to care for your pet due to illness, or the mother might have been aggressive towards her young. Besides that, many mothers become aggressive when their babies are around predators. Other times, mothers may even turn against their young without warning. Whatever the reason, you will need to take care of your baby rabbit if you want it to survive.

Wild rabbits do not make good pets and are usually not willing to trust humans or other domestic animals as their companions. If you find a cottontail in a nest with the babies intact, you will probably have a healthy rabbit. You may have to remove the mother rabbit if she refuses to nurse. Be sure to monitor feedings closely and remove the mother if you cant nurse her at all.

To feed a baby rabbit without a mother, you can use Kitten Milk Replacer , a powdered formula that contains nearly the same ingredients as mother rabbit milk. Goat milk is another good alternative, but you should avoid cow milk as it may cause digestive problems. It is possible to increase the calorie content by adding heavy whip cream, but keep in mind that heavy whip cream contains fat. You should provide milk until the rabbit reaches about 6 weeks of age.

What Other Care May Be Needed For Abandoned/orphaned Neonate Rabbits

Baby rabbits will require help urinating and defecating in their first week. You will need to gently rub their anogenital region with a wet cotton swab or ear-bud after feeding.

Keep records of how much each kit eats at each feeding time, and weigh each one at the same time every day. Kits which repeatedly consume insufficient amounts of milk or lose weight need to be taken to the vet.

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Planning To Feed The Rabbits

What Is The Normal Nursing Behaviour Of Rabbits

The gestation period in rabbits is 30-32 days. Generally 4-12 kits are produced. A few days before kindling the doe will pull out some of her hair to prepare a nest. The kits will be born blind, hairless and are totally dependent on the mother. They will remain in the nest for 3 weeks. Does nurse their litter only 1-2 times a day. During these feedings a kit may drink up to 20% of its body weight in milk.

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To Take Care Of Baby Rabbits You Should Be Aware That The Two Biggest Health Threats Related To The Nest Box Are Eye Infections And Enterotoxemia

Enjoy your new bunnies!

Care Of Baby Rabbits: First Two Weeks Of Life

Careof baby rabbits while in the nest box. How to care for baby bunny rabbits agezero to two weeks old.

Baby rabbit care during the first two weeks of theirlives is fairly simple. The motherrabbit will do all the feeding and cleaning of the kits.

Your job will be to ensure that the rabbit nest box stays clean and dry, and that the doe and kits stay well-fed.

Here are a few tips about taking care of baby rabbits….

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Baby Rabbit Food List

A baby rabbit can eat a variety of food.

Alfalfa hay should be available to your growing bunny every day. Give a chunk of hay roughly the same size as your bunny. You can also give your bunny an egg cup full of pellets once a day whilst they are growing. These are usually alfalfa-based pellets . Again, these alfalfa pellets should be slowly weaned from your rabbit once they are around 6-months old and no longer need the extra calcium and protein.

As Alfalfa hay and pellets are quite tasty, moving them to Timothy Hay or Rye Grass Hay can take a bit of perseverance, but it is the best thing for your bunny and should take a few months, there’s no need to rush it.

The other food source to slowly introduce is green leaves. A small amount at first and only slowly building up or adding new green leaves as you progress.

Green leaves to try: Basil, broccoli leaves, butter lettuce, cabbage, dandelion greens, dill, kale, mint, oregano, parsley, spinach, watercress, rosemary, carrot tops and others. With such a range, you can find out your rabbit’s favoured green leaf with a bit of experimentation and keep them interested with variety.

Feeding Your Newborn Bunnies

Buy kitten milk replacer from a local pet store or veterinarian. Also buy acidophilus capsules from your local health food store. Make sure to buy the capsules that have the grainy filling rather than the powder because it is easier to mix. One capsule of acidophilus is equal to 1 cc. You will need this for measurements. You will also need a container of cream to mix with the kitten milk replacer to make it more caloric.

Mix together your three ingredients according to the following measurements. For newborn bunnies, mix together 5 cc of the kitten milk, ½ cc of acidophilus, and 1 tablespoon of cream for each bunny. For bunnies that are 1 week old, mix together 10-15 cc of kitten milk, ½ cc of acidophilus, and 1 tablespoon of cream. Bunnies that are 2 weeks old need a mix of 26-30 cc of kitten milk, 1 cc of acidophilus, and 1 tablespoon of cream. You will start weaning your bunnies at 4 weeks of age, so from 3 to 4 weeks of age you need to feed each of your bunnies 30 cc of kitten milk, 1 cc of acidophilus, and 1 tablespoon of cream. At 10 days, when the babies’ eyes have opened, you can slowly introduce hay and pallets to them. Do not give up giving them the mixture until after 4 weeks and you know that the bunnies are eating the pallets and hay without problems.

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Orphaned Baby Domestic Rabbits

Rabbit kits may need to be hand-reared in case of maternal death or mismothering or lactational failure of the doe. Does with a new litter may take 24 hours to start lactation. Mother rabbits only jump in the nest twice a day for about five minutes at a time to nurse their young, and do not “nest” on their litter of rabbits. See Nursing process for more information.

Mismothering can be diagnosed if the kits have not been fed for 48 hours. Unfed kits will have thin abdomens and wrinkled skin due to dehydration. From Dana Krempels,

If the mama has been separated from the babies for more than 24 hours, and refuses to feed them, you can try to gently, but firmly hold her over the babies until they can get a meal. Stroke the mama, talk to her gently and love her, making her feel secure. After the first feeding, you probably won’t have to do this again. She will take care of the babies on her own.

Before handling the babies, wash your hands well with disinfectant soap and hot water. Once they’re clean, rub your hands in a bit of clean, fresh hay and on mama’s fur to scent your hands.

The most common causes of failure and death when hand-rearing rabbits are aspiration pneumonia due to inhalation of milk into the lungs, and diarrhea due to the failure to establish a normal gut flora. Death at around four weeks of age are also common due to enteritis from intestinal Escherichia coli overgrowth.

Should I Feed Unlimited Pellets

In short, no. A baby rabbit will love eating pellets and giving them an unending supply will create problems with their diet. A quality hay diet like the Timothy Hay created by The Little Hay Co. mixed with alfalfa hay whilst they are young is the best for your rabbit, with pellets added for extra nutrients. A baby rabbit will usually only have an egg cup full of pellets when young, with this only increasing a little as they get bigger. Moving a rabbit onto hay as soon as possible is more natural and will help with their teeth health. Hay naturally wears down their teeth to a manageable and healthy size.

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Baby Bunnies: How To Care For Newborn Bunny Babies

Wondering how to care for baby bunnies? Well, that is what this page is about. While we probably wouldnt recommend that you just dive right in and look after a newborn bunny baby without owning a different rabbit in the past, we are sure that the information on this page will help you out.

It is worth noting that a lot of the tips on this page will also apply to a wild baby rabbit. So, if you find a bunny baby in the wild that doesnt seem to have a mother in sight , the tips on this page are going to help you out too.

Although, of course, you should never touch wild bunny babies unless you absolutely must.

It is also worth noting that looking after bunny babies isnt as difficult as you may think. Obviously, it is going to require some knowledge about rabbits on your part, but in the wild, rabbits can be fairly self-sufficient.

Not as self-sufficient as hares, but enough that after a few weeks, they should be running about on their own.

We are going to try and break this article down into the order that you will be dealing with the bunny babies. However, we do encourage you to read through every single word here. Do not just look for a single section and get your information from that. You need to read it all.

Contents

Gradually Wean Them Off

Baby rabbits are usually fully weaned when theyre about 4 to 6 weeks old.

Although some bunnies may take up to 9 weeks.

So if your kitten is at least 3 weeks old, you must start offering them small amounts of solid food.

Then feed them more dry pellets and hay as they grow old to have a smooth transition to adult food.

What should I feed them?

• Alfalfa hay: This is higher in protein, fat, fiber, and calcium than grass hay.
• Plain brown pellets:VCA says that bunnies below 7 to 8 months must eat alfalfa pellets.

Also, if theyre above 3 to 4 weeks old, theyre allowed to drink fresh clean water from a shallow dish.

Should they still need milk?

Until theyre not fully weaned yet, you must continue giving them milk.

This usually ends when the baby rabbit is around 6 weeks old.

So until then, hand-feed them or make sure they get enough milk from their mother.

Note: Monitor the baby rabbits stools. If its watery, experts say that it might be too early to fully wean them off.

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