14 little wrigglers

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Ivory

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How do you do it? I see beautifully staged photos of little bunnies of all ages, but when I try and take my own they just won't stop hopping and wriggling. I gave up trying to line them up.

At the end of March I bought two does at a sale. No particular breed. I paid $7.50 for the two of them.

At the end of April one of them kindled 18 little wrigglers. She chose the corner of the barn underneath a shelf as her preferred nest spot. Oh no, I thought, they'll never survive there. She lost two in the first couple of days and another one a few days later, yesterday I found another one almost dead, it looked as though it had hopped out of the nest and been unable to find its way back, it was comatose, and died in my hand.

So here are the remaining 14, unfortunately I don't have anyone I can foster any of them onto, I've been in touch with a couple of friends, but they don't have any suitable does either so I guess this lot just have to take their chances.

I'm giving momma bunny calf manna and Quaker oats to try and boost her milk production, but I'm guessing the one kit that is three times the size of all the others is getting the lions share.






 
You could hold back the biggest from a feeding once a day to let the others get a couple of good meals in their bellies, but it looks like most of them are getting enough for now.
 
What a brood!!! :shock:

They do look like they are getting fed... I see lots of full tummies... I'd probably still do what AnnClaire suggested, and hold back the big one from a feeding a day for a few days, to give the others a chance to catch up!
 
He does look as though he's from a different litter, but there is no way he could have got there so he must be hers.

I went and checked them just after lunch today and they were all OK, but I found another one that had hopped out of the nest, I left him to find his own way back and if he doesn't I'll put him back later tonight.

Yes, I might try taking that big guy out for a while, and see if that helps.<br /><br />__________ Wed May 15, 2013 10:17 am __________<br /><br />14 must have been too much for her. I found the doe dead yesterday afternoon. Three of the babies have died, but the odd thing is the others all look fine.

I did a necropsy, she looked in good condition, her stomach was full, but her intestines were full of air. I wondered if she had twisted them somehow.
 
Oh, I am so sorry, Ivory! :cry:

I don't know that it had anything to do with the litter... but I have no idea. I know a doe can get thin and lose condition, but can a large litter kill a doe? I don't know. :(

Gases will begin to fill the intestines after death, so unless you know she hadn't been dead very long, the inflated intestines may not give you a clue. :(
 
Aww. Poor Momma.

I'm sorry you lost her.

You may be able to save the kits. Start giving them old fashioned kitchen oatmeal, either soaked or dry. I never could get mine to eat it wet, but some people mix milk replacer or water and a little molasses with it.

You can also try supplemental feeding. If you use KMR, I would suggest mixing it with goat's milk which will firm up their stools. Straight KMR results in diarrhea even in kittens. If that is all you have, however, mix it double strength to up the nutrient density. Goat milk replacer is a great feed if you can find some.

Miss M also has had success with her own formula which you can find here:

formula-feeding-baby-bunnies-pics-vids-t3691.html

Good luck! :clover:
 
Miss M":2rb00akg said:
They're about 2 weeks old now, right?
Click to expand...

Yes.

I gave them oatmeal, calf manna and scrambled egg. I am going to move some of them tonight as I had a doe kindle yesterday.
 
You may also be able to get them to lap a shallow dish of goat's milk or milk replacer, and if they are not drinking yet, you do need to be sure they are getting fluids. You can touch their little mouths to the milk. If you sweeten it, they may be more likely to drink. I have only tried to get one baby bun to drink from a bowl, and it wouldn't. :roll: But others have had luck.

11 babies would be a lot to hand-feed with formula, though they get to be pros pretty quickly at that age. I had them sucking the eyedropper dry within seconds. I hardly had to squeeze the bulb anymore. 1-week-olds take forever! But it is fun anyway. :)
 
Thanks Beekeeper, I had some serious help from the grey doe, you can just see her at the back. She pretty much adopted them and fed them along with her own litter.
 
Thanks Marinea, I can't believe how well they've turned out.

They eat a big garbage bag full of grass and dandelions every day. I think they'd eat two if I had the energy to get it for them, and they eat two big bowls of peas. I give them calf manna and bread every day too. Every couple of days I give them a couple of cups of rabbit pellets but more often than not they don't eat it.

It's time I moved them to a new pen and got this one cleaned out. I started building a new 8 x 8 movable pen so they can eat some of our huge expanse of lawn, but its a slow process. Carpentry is not my strong point and its been very wet and windy here too so I haven't even wanted to be outside much.
 

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