just born

Question
Mom does not look like she knows what she is doing.  the baby is outside the box,..mom is pulling apart the cardboard box for nesting and stepping on baby alot.  She may have more tonight..it is 4 a.m ..how can I help baby..I scooted it to side a little with th shavings..not touching it.  HELP..thank you

Answer
Hi Lisa,

Do you have anything besides cardboard that you can use for a nesting box?  Even a plastic tub like you would use to store shoes from any Walmart store would work better than cardboard.  Pack up all the nesting materials and fur and tuck the babies safely in the nest box.  Once you are sure the mom has had all the babies if she is still stepping on them you can take the box right away and put it in a safe area in you home.  You can take the babies to her twice a day and she should jump right in the box and feed them.  If you do this you need to make sure she is feeding them by either watching her from a distance or by seeing if the babies have nice round bellies.  They tend to feed either in the early morning or at dusk naturally.  They usually only feed once a day but when we take the kits away we always offer them to her twice a day.  

Cardboard is not a good idea to use.  Not only will the doe get confused but it will get wet and the babies will get cold no matter how much nesting material they have.  These web-sites might help you

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/surpriselitter.html

http://www.suite101.com/content/rabbit-reproduction-a82543

If you need any more help please let me know

Pam