what if my holland lop does not feed her babies?

Question
My rabbit is expecting any day now and this is the first time i have breed rabbits what if she does not feed her babies what   can i do to help?

Answer
Hi River

If she doesn't feed her babies you can hand feed them.  It is really hard and the survival rate is slim.  Give her a nice warm place to deliver them and hopefully she will do ok.  If she makes a beautiful nest and tucks them all in nicely then she will probably take care of them... the only reason she wouldn't is if she doesn't produce enough milk.

Chances are that if she is going to be a bad mother the babies will be dead when you find them.  Rabbits also only feed their babies once a day and don't even go near the nest at any other time.  If you don't see her feeding them don't just assume they aren't being fed.  You may never see it because they have a tendency to do it late at night.

If something happens and she decides not to feed them you can go to this site and it will tell you how to hand feed them..

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

Thank you and good luck

Pam