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moving baby rabbits

22 10:46:35

Question
my baby rabbits are 11 days old, i didn't know the mother was pregnant, and we made her a sleeping compartment high in the air,she has the babies in there and i am worried about them falling out of it, and what do you think i should do about moving them, also the father of the babies is also in the same cage, which is big enough for all of them, but what if i have to move the babies, will they be safe on the lower level?

Answer
You should move the babies into a nest nesting box filled with the moms original nesting materials.  Put them on the lower level of the hutch.  This way when they start to crawl out of the area which should be any time now they won't fall off the perch.  She will still hear their cries and no where to find them.

You also want to get the father his own cage.  Unspayed/un-neutered bucks should absolutely never be left together. Not only are the babies at risk but so is the buck.  That mother will be protective of her babies to some degree.  She may attack the buck if he goes near them.  These attacks are usually vicious and usually go right towards the genitals.  If you want your 2 rabbits to live together then at the very least you need to get you buck neutered.

The last thing you are need to watch for is another litter coming approximately 30 days after the delivery of this last one.  Doe's can and do get pregnant the exact same day they give birth.  It was one of those things left over from their wild ancestors that ensured the survival of their species.  At 28 days from the delivery of the last litter you want to provide her with a nice nesting box.  For ideas on nesting boxes I highly recommend these sites:

http://www.islandgems.net/nestbox2.html
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/surpriselitter.html

It is very important that unless you want hundreds of babies that this mom and dad aren't a bonded pair.  If you would like to read more, I always find this article about bonding both useful and somewhat amusing:

http://www.hgrabbitry.com/howtobondmybunnies.htm

It also explains that if you do plan to breed your rabbits that is important that they each have their own separate cages.

For now move the babies to the lowest part of the cage, remove the dad and let the mom do her thing.  I am sure that they will grow up to be happy and healthy babies.

Good luck

Pam

Oh Ok well since he is neutered I would still take him out so the babies don't accidently get stomped on but make sure that he is in a cage directly next to her so they don't lose their bond.  You are also going to want to let them out several times a day to play together so the he doesn't feel abandoned.  The babies are old enough now that they should be wandering on their own soon.  They don't need their mom all the time.  Rabbit moms actually only tend to their young once a day anyway so by letting her and her bonded partner play will keep them both a bit more at peace.

Sincerely,

Pam