Rabbit nursing - only 2 look fed, other 3 very skinny

Question
My mini rex gave birth on September 12th to five babies.  Only two have plump bellies while the other three look too skinny.  My dad suggested I hold the mother while one of the babies feeds on her mammary glands.  Does this work?  Thank you.

Answer
This does work in some cases, as long as the mother stays calm and is willing to cooperate.  However because you are dealing with mini rex which is a dwarf breed, you may also have "peanuts" this is where the babies get a dwarf gene from each parent, this is a lethal combination and causes the babies not to be able to process food correctly.

Most breeders leave these in the nest box and let them die naturally, this is however (from personal experience) a horrible thing to watch and the humane thing is to put them out of their misery rather than letting them starve to death.  I know this sounds harsh and horrible, but watching them waste away is even worse, and there is nothing you can do, force feed, hand feed etc that will save these babies.

I am sending you a link to a page that has some good pictures of peanuts compared to regular kits.  This way you can do some comparision of your own and decide what is best for you.

http://www.welshrabbitry.com/birth.html#peanuts

and a general rabbit breeding website that has some info on hand raising
http://www.islandgems.net/bunbreeding.html

Good Luck
Amy