baby rabbit has sore genitals

Question
hi
I have recently started breeding rabbits(mini rex).One of my does had four kits on 9/19/06, so they are 13 days old.  Two of them have what I think is infected genitals. One had poo stuck to it , I cleand it off and under the poo it had a open sore with puss in it. The other one is swollen and red. I cleaned both of them with hydrogen perxcide and put anti bacteria cream on the sore parts. Was ths the right thing to do?  What do you think they have?  Could it be hutch burn or something eles? are they contagious?  If so How will they eat? they are not weined yet.
thank you
leslie

Answer
Hi,
This is a common occurence in baby bunnies. It pretty much is just that the babies are getting extra nutrients, and the mom isn't cleaning their bottoms well enough to get them to poo. The mom has to stimulate them to go for the first few weeks of life. The babies being compacted like that is just that their bodies are pushing it out. The soreness is from it being like that for a day or so. The best thing to do for them is to wipe their bottoms with warm rags a few times a day. This will stimulate them to go, and help the mom out with taking care of them. As they get older this kind of thing normally doesn't happen unless there is an illness or the bunny cannot clean itself properly. It is not a contagious condition, so you will not have to remove them and care for them on your own. Just check them often, at least once a day to make sure they are healing and staying clean.
Samantha