new rabbit babies

Question
QUESTION: hi my rabbit gave birth on april 23rd and i am not sure she is feeding them they are crying and look wrinkly is this normal? how will i be able to tell if she is feeding them or not? thanks alot
ANSWER: Hi Kayla

Congrats on the new babies.  Mommy bunnies only feed their babies once and occasionally twice a day.  They usually do it at night since they are nocturnal and you may never notice.  Wrinkly babies are normal but check their little bellies.  When you get up first thing in the morning look to see if their bellies are rounded and look full.  

I have to be honest here.. chances are if she wasn't feeding them they would be dead by now.  So just keep an eye on them.  Babies usually make a whiny noise anyway.  

Let me know how they make out and if you have anymore questions please let me know.

Thanks

Pam

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

QUESTION: hi the babies i first asked you about are doing great they are the cutest little things i have ever seen they are now about two weeks old. my question today is when should i start giving them food and what exactly should i start them off eating? unfortunately one of my other rabbits gave birth and it was her first time so she ended up stepping all over them and they all died she pulled no fur and i was wondering is this typical of first time moms and what should i do to make her better at it next time if i should either breed her again thanks so much for your help once more  

Answer
Hi Kayla

That is great that your babies are doing great.  Once they start jumping in and out of the nest box they will start nibbling on pellets.  Use the same pellets that you feed the mom but just make sure there are unlimited pellets in the cage so that all of them can get as many as they want.  You will also want to put mounds and mounds of fresh grass hay.  They love to chew on hay and it will also help their teeth to grow properly.

As for your new mom well unfortunately it does happen.  Sometimes it happens many times before they figure it out.  There are a few things you can do but it may or may not help.  You can wait until about 2 weeks after the other babies are weaned and then breed her and the good mom at the same time.  That way if she doesn't care for the babies they can be fostered over to the mom that already knows what she is doing.  When you are building a nest for her you can buy some fake rabbit fur and put it in the box.  This might help her to realize that she needs to pull her own fur.  Honestly I put a little bit in most of my doe's nests.  I buy it online from a place called KW cages.  I don't have their web-site but if you do a search you should be able to find it and you can order it over the phone or they can send you a catalog.  It is pretty cheap and something good to have around.  

I have had other breeders tell me to start keeping the extra hair from other doe's that is clean.  I don't like to do this myself because I raise different breeds and am not sure if they can smell the other rabbit.  Some breeders say that if you leave the fur out so that the scent goes away that the new rabbit won't notice, but others have said it is just a bad idea.  

I have a doe that has now had her 4th litter of dead kits.  I know how frustrating it is but she is getting better every time.  The first 2 times she scattered them all over, the 3rd time she didn't birth them in the box but tried to cover them up.  This last time she at least put them in the nest box but failed to pull fur.  I personally paid way to much for her to give up so I am optimistic that she is getting better.  

It is really going to be up to you.  If this was an expensive brood doe or a rare color or a doe that you just need to have kits from then keep trying.  If you don't show them and she isn't a good mother after the 3rd time I would usually give up.  It is just really going to depend on what you purchased her for.  Sometimes it seems the most expensive or best typed rabbits are the worst mothers.  That is why I always breed one of my good moms at the exact same time.  I have a fuzzy lop that will happily foster babies from any breed of rabbit.  It is quite adorable seeing my little 4 pound fuzzy raising Flemish giants that are almost the same size of her before they are 2 weeks old.

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

Pam