baby rabbits.

Question
i have a female netherland dwarf rabbit that just recently gave birth to 5 baby rabbits. she does not seem interested in them at all. I have another rabbit that has had 3 past litters so i know about how the mother rabbit only feeds them like once a day and when its quiet - but this rabbit wont even go near them. She didnt make a nest or anything like my other rabbit did. My question is - can i place my other female rabbit in w/ the babies as a surrogate mother? or will that not work because she doesn't have milk? i want to help these babies the best i can - but i am at a lose as to what to do. The rabbits are skinny and when i picked them up today - they were cold, not dead, just cold. What do i do??

Answer
You're correct in thinking that the other rabbit may not make a good surrogate mother because she won't have milk to feed them.
Sigh, some rabbits just aren't too good at raising babies.  I don't know if this is her first litter, but some mothers have a difficult time knowing what to do when it's their first time.

If you haven't already, you should build a nest for them to help the keep warm.  This site has some info on creating a nest for them.  It also has a link to instructions for feeding babies.  It sounds like you may need to step in and do this. http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/surpriselitter.html

This site also has some instructions on warming up the babies, checking if they've been fed, and when to see a vet: http://www.rabbit.org/care/babies.html#Is_There_A_Problem?

You may need to step in and play mother for awhile,
Good Luck