Bunny Had Babies! Can I touch them?

Question
QUESTION: " Hi, Yesterday night my female rabbit Daisy gave birth to what looks like four healthy kits.I do have her separated from  my male rabbit Thumper , and I have her in a pen inside.Well I do have a few questions.First off , am I allowed to touch the babies?I want to make sure they are not cold/dead.Secondly , I know that the mother nurses at night or when there isn't anyone around , but she never goes in the nesting box and I'm a little worried.And last , how old are the kits when they are weaned and what should I feed them? Thank you so much! ~Maggie"


ANSWER: Hi Maggie

Yes you can touch the babies and you should to make sure that none have died.  You should do this daily.  It is a myth that the mother will neglect her babies is they are touched.  It is always a good idea to give the mom a little pet before you pick up the babies though.

The rabbits natural instinct is to stay away from the nest.  It helps keep predators away in wild rabbits and it is a defense mechanism that they use.  She will only go in there briefly to do her feedings.  Honestly if a mother rabbit is constantly sitting in the nest I would be concerned for the health of the kits.  They could easily be stepped on and if something spooked the mother while she was hanging out in the nest box she may trample her babies.

As soon as the babies are hopping out of the nest box on their own (about 3 weeks) you want to make sure that the mom and babies both are free fed pellets.  The babies will nibble on a few pellets.  Also make sure that they are free fed timothy hay.  If you give the mom veggies make sure you do it when she is away from the babies.  Their little digestive systems don't fully develop until they are well into their 7th week of life.  If they start to eat veggies there is an extremely high chance of them getting enteritis and dying.

Baby rabbits can be weaned at 8 weeks.  You can keep them with their mother until 10 weeks but I prefer to take the mother away at 8 weeks and leave the babies all together.  Then when the babies reach about 10 - 11 weeks I separate them.  It is absolutely imperative that you separate all doe's and bucks by the age of 12 weeks.  Although it is young they can still develop sexually and the last thing you want is an accidental pregnancy.

Good luck Maggie and if you need anything else please let me know.

Pam

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi again,

I sent you a question very simular to this one but I messed up so here ... "Hi again, I was just wondering if you can tell me all I need to do for the baby bunnies and what i need to KNOW. ~thank you, Maggie"


Answer
Yes you can touch the babies and you should to make sure that none have died.  You should do this daily.  It is a myth that the mother will neglect her babies is they are touched.  It is always a good idea to give the mom a little pet before you pick up the babies though.

The rabbits natural instinct is to stay away from the nest.  It helps keep predators away in wild rabbits and it is a defense mechanism that they use.  She will only go in there briefly to do her feedings.  Honestly if a mother rabbit is constantly sitting in the nest I would be concerned for the health of the kits.  They could easily be stepped on and if something spooked the mother while she was hanging out in the nest box she may trample her babies.

As soon as the babies are hopping out of the nest box on their own (about 3 weeks) you want to make sure that the mom and babies both are free fed pellets.  The babies will nibble on a few pellets.  Also make sure that they are free fed timothy hay.  If you give the mom veggies make sure you do it when she is away from the babies.  Their little digestive systems don't fully develop until they are well into their 7th week of life.  If they start to eat veggies there is an extremely high chance of them getting enteritis and dying.

Baby rabbits can be weaned at 8 weeks.  You can keep them with their mother until 10 weeks but I prefer to take the mother away at 8 weeks and leave the babies all together.  Then when the babies reach about 10 - 11 weeks I separate them.  It is absolutely imperative that you separate all doe's and bucks by the age of 12 weeks.  Although it is young they can still develop sexually and the last thing you want is an accidental pregnancy.

Good luck Maggie and if you need anything else please let me know.

Pam