Newborn rabbit problem!

Question
I have a few rabbits that I raise in my backyard, but have never encountered a problem such as this.  A preg. mother had a litter of babies and they all died except for one.  The mother didn't build a nest for the rabbits and wasn't feeding them, and they all froze but one.  Since she wasn't feeding it (it's stomach was sunken in), I brought the baby, which is about 5 days old into my home.  I warmed it up and have it on formula twice a day.  The baby has only three feet.  All the legs are there, but one foot is missing.  It had stuff stuck on it, not sure what it was.  I carefully rinsed the foot and put peroxide and neosporin on it.  I'm not sure if this was right, and I would like your input.  When I put the peroxide on it, it bubbled like an open wound. There is also a spot on his backend that looked like a wound that has grown together.  You think I should just let it be?  One more thing, he is pooping green matter that looks like the green balls are attached by a green string?  Is this normal?

Answer
Dear Jessica,

From the sound of it, this baby will be very lucky to survive.  It sounds as if the mother is very stressed, and accidentally "overgroomed" her babies and did not take care of them.  This is an indication that she is not getting proper care, so please re-evaluate the conditions you keep the bunnies in, or this could very likely continue.

The missing leg and wound are probably from the mother's overzealous, stressed licking and grooming the babies after the birth.  One should never use peroxide on any sort of injury:  it is very caustic, and as you saw, it can damage live tissue by oxidizing it.  This delays healing, and can actually make things worse.

A much better disinfectant is a dilute solution of povidone iodine (Betadine), which sterilizes and dries out the wound.

The green fecal matter is a very bad sign.  It is likely that the baby is suffering from enteritis from lack of food that made him lick his surroundings, introducing bacteria into an intestine that is supposed to stay sterile until the age of three weeks.

I would strongly urge you to read the following:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/surpriselitter.html

and especially:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/breeding.html

I hope this helps.  Please write back if you have more questions.

Dana