How plump is too plump for kits?

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BunniesOhMy

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First a bit of background...

Over the summer, my mom got three lionhead 'doe' weanlings. About a month later she got a mini lop doe weanling. All was well until about two weeks ago today when there was a nest in the pen in the bunny room, with three kits appearing in it within an hour or so. Sadly this litter didn't make it past the 72 hour mark. We weren't quite sure who the mom was except it had to be one of the lionheads based on the fur that was pulled (two mostly white lionheads, cinnamon colored mini lop, pulled fur was white). We think mommy got confused when the nest was moved out of their litter box into a nest box and they didn't end up getting fed.

Well that was a bummer. But we suspected one of the lionheads was pregnant (I palpated after reading about how to do it and something was in there) so we put her in her own cage with the nest box. Sure enough Monday night she kindled three kits. Pretty much confirms the other white lionhead was the mother of the litter we lost.

These little guys are definitely getting fed. Nice plump bellies. Last night was the 72 hour mark so they officially lasted longer than the other litter.

This morning they were nice and plump as usual. In fact...a bit plumper than they had been. Not just round in front but the sides were as well. The abdomens were a bit wider than the ribcage.

Unfortunately we didn't take pics before getting them settled back into the nest so hopefully my description was decent enough. Does that sound like too much milk in those bellies or is that good? They're all nice and active. Wiggle wiggle wiggle. So their amount of fullness didn't seem to bother them, but obviously we don't want problems from them being too well fed.

We suspect there may be more kits coming. The day the first litter was born my mom saw who we now know is the male do the deed with who we now know kindled that litter before we got him separated out. Also we think he may have gotten the mini lop as well. In short, we think he's been a very busy little boy.

EDIT -- Okay upon evening check they were full and I'd still say a hair wider than ribcage now that I was paying closer attention. But more like their usual level of fullness. Still not entirely sure if they were quite to the point of being too full at the morning check but I'm sure the evening check was okay.
 
don't worry about kits over-eating when they are nursing..
firstly , there is nothing constructive you can do about it,
and secondly, getting involved in that process,usually just causes trouble..
If you should notice empty shrunken abdomens, then be concerned..
 
With 3 kits you don't really have to worry. If it makes you feel better you can take the nest box out of the cage and let it back for a feeding just once a day. If mom nurse when you put in the nest box, then you can let her at them again after 24 hours. Be careful as some moms don't like you near the kits. You might as well handle the kits while the nest box is out. Best times are before and after feeding.
In 2 weeks when their eyes have opened they'll be running after mom to nurse.
 
Thanks for the responses.

They were this morning like they were yesterday morning. We're thinking she's feeding them in the morning, perhaps not particularly long before we do the morning check.

Not sure if she's feeding once or twice a day (I know does do either once or twice). They're nice and plump at evening check though, so whichever her feeding schedule is it seems to be working for them.
 
Is it possible for a baby bun to be too fat? Sometimes they will be almost round, kinda like a golf ball with ears and feet.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it, they'll be fine.

And rabbits can be bred the moment they give birth so there will probably be another litter on the way.
 
For anyone interested, here are some pics we took Monday night of the little cuties at the one week mark...

[album]3898[/album]

[album]3900[/album]

[album]3899[/album]

[album]3901[/album]
 
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