My female rabbit just had babies...

Question
My female rabbit just had babies and seems to be doing a good job with them...I have not touched them (although my exotic vet said it was okay)...however, there is one that is constantly away from the rest of the litter and it is not covered with a nest, etc. At times, it is back with the rest of them in the nest but most of the time it is on it's own...I can see it breathing and stuff...I want to make sure this one is okay and honestly, I have no earthly idea how to tell, etc.  I was unaware of the fact that I had a male and female caged together for approx. two weeks and sure enough after separating them, it was too late...I woke up to my female rabbit w/ babies two days ago...please advise, thank you SO much :)

Ashley Harris
Ashley@PamsHomeTeam.com

Answer
Hi Ashley

Doe's will not move their babies so it is moving away on its own.  I don't know what breed of rabbits you have but sometimes rabbits that are mini type rabbits or dwarf rabbits will have babies called peanuts.  If this is the case the others might be able to move and this one may not.  I don't know how they tell but for some reason baby rabbits seem  to know.  If it does has the peanut gene it won't survive no matter what you do.  If it isn't then for some reason it is not able to move around to cozy up with the other babies.  

Yes you can touch them, infact you should look at them every day to make sure that none have died and count them to make sure they are all there.  Babies will die sometimes for no reason and it is important to remove them right away so that you don't end up with flies or decaying corpses that could make the other babies sick.  I wouldn't however let anyone that isn't their primary care giver play with them.  The mother is already used to you and she knows your scent so she won't hurt them.

Just keep an eye on it.  If you see it away from the others move it back to the pack.  

I am attaching an article on double dwarf gene rabbits so you can see what a peanut looks like.  It doesn't necessarily mean that is what is wrong like I said it could just not be able to move around as well.

Congratulations on the babies.

Pam

http://www.geocities.com/mnd_rabbitry/Peanut.html

http://www.islandgems.net/peanuts.html

it is a little complicated but it would give you a good idea what to look for.  Also look for any missing limbs or under developed legs.