babies rabbits

Question
QUESTION: Hi
My Rabbit just had 5 lovely babies. But i have been reading about some websites say i can touch them but some say i cant. Please will someone tell me if i can or cant.

     Many thanks Rhys

ANSWER: Hi Rhys,

generally you don't want to handle them a lot, just for fun, while they are extremely young.  You can handle them to briefly check they are alive (and remove any that unfortunately may not be); you can move them if the mom appears to be attacking them; you can handle one to put them back in the nest if they fall out.  But while they are under 2 weeks, just try limiting your desire to hold them until their eyes open and they have a good fur coat.

If you smoke or wear a lot of perfume or fragrances I would advise against handling the baby rabbits.  These odors may be fine to us but not to rabbits.

Rabbit moms don't seem to mind people handling their young.  They will not decide not to take care of them because they smell a human scent on them.  At the same time it is good to limit your self in the beginning to handling them only when truly necessary.  When they become more mobile and more interested in the outside world, around 3 weeks or so, then you can gradually and slowly increase your interaction with them.

Lee

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

QUESTION: thanks very helpful i touched them yesterday morning wen dey were 1 day old. to see if they were alive so it should be ok. and i never see the mom in the nest with them so i dont know if they are getting fed how will i know if she is.  many thanks rhys

Answer
Hi Rhys,

you may not see her feeding them.  She will only nurse them once or twice a day, max, and then, only for a few minutes.  Rabbits have very rich milk.  So she could easily nurse them when you are not around.  

She will stay away from them the rest of the time (instinctually) to keep predators away by not drawing attention to the nest.  That's why she needs a big cage where she can stretch out and be away from the babies.

I would suggest going to the House Rabbit Society web pages:

http://www.rabbit.org/care/babies.html

http://www.rabbit.org/care/newborn.html

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/orphan.html

http://www.rabbit.org/chapters/san-diego/behavior/litter_train.html

I would also recommend "The House Rabbit Handbook, 4th Ed" by Marinell Harrimann - at Amazon or your big local bookstore.

Lee