4 week old kits! Help!

[Mini-Rex55]

We have had our rabbits for only about 6 months, so I'm still kinda learning as we go, and am still running up against new situations almost daily.

Today's issue is we had what I'm assuming is an older doe, I'm not 100% sure how old, she was bought from a sale barn. She was our first rabbit, and in Nov had a litter of 5 healthy kits. Then in late Jan she gave us 2 kits. They will be 4 weeks old on Friday.
She died yesterday. I have no idea what happened. She was in the house to kindle, and we moved her back outside into the rabbit shed to make space for new mothers to be. The babies had a good coat, so I thought they would be ok. I noticed I wasn't having to put as much feed in her feeder each day, we free fed her since the kits were starting to eat too. She didn't seem sick, she stayed curled up a lot, but seemed just fine. Water was going down in her bottle, so either the babies were drinking a lot or she was still drinking.

Now I'm more concerned about the babies. I had another doe (Pepper) that just had 1 baby a day apart. So we put them all together, hoping she would at least help keep them warm. I was worried she would fight them since they weren't hers, but so far it is working out, all 3 kits stay snuggled up together most of the time, and Pepper even curls up with them too. She lets them eat grain with her, but haven't seen any attempts to nurse would they try to nurse from another rabbit?

4 weeks is VERY young to wean them, I know but I don't know how to milk a rabbit or what else I could give them. Will they be ok being weaned this young? Is there a chance Pepper might be letting them nurse? Would I know if she was its hard to see pudgy bellies at this stage, and they eat pellets too? Should I hold Pepper and try to get them to nurse? She is a first time mother, and I had to hold her after 2 days as her baby was looking thin. It's almost like she didn't know what to do with it, until I showed her it had to eat. After that she has been an awesome mother. Her baby usually climbs up and sits behind her ears, and falls asleep its adorable.

Any advise will be most welcome.

 

[MaggieJ]

Welcome to RabbitTalk, Mini-Rex55! :hi:

A lot of people like to leave the kits with the doe for 6-8 weeks, but the doe herself usually weans them anytime from 4 weeks on. So I don't think you need to worry about them not getting enough to eat. At four weeks they should be fully furred and should be able to keep themselves warm. Pepper may not let them nurse, since she is probably weaning her own kit along about now, but an extra warm body in with them is not a bad idea as long as they get along. Saves cage space too.

Please add your location to your profile (state, province or country if other than Canada or USA.) A location like N.E. PA or S.W. Ontario gives us a better idea of your climate and weather. So many questions (including this one) are climate-related, so it does matter.

EDITED TO ADD:
Giving the kits some grass-hay and some kitchen large flake oatmeal in addition to their pellets would be a good idea. It helps to prevent weaning enteritis, which sometimes happens if the kits have trouble going from momma's milk to pellets.

 

[EnglishSpot]

Welcome MR55!! I see the wonderful Maggie got in ahead of me and left excellent advice for you. The only think I would add is to definitely follow the oatmeal and hay regiment as it really safeguards against kit loss between 4-8 weeks as they transition to adult food.

 

[Zass]

Most kits are nibbling solid food even before their eyes are open. By 4 weeks they should be well started on it.
I third the hay and old fashioned oatmeal suggestion.
Pellets often have a type of fiber (soybean hulls) that can be harder an a weanlings GI tract. Grass hay is long stem fiber, and oats are high in soluble fiber...The combination seems to be perfect for developing rabbits.

If they were mine, and the doe was OK with the other kits, I'd also leave them together. They can pick up helpful bacteria from the cecotropes of the older rabbit, and kits just seem happier (less stressed) with other rabbits around.

 

[Mini-Rex55]

Thank you all for your ideas, I wasn't able to reply after reading them, but I gave them plenty of hay, and the oatmeal, kept them all together, and so far no problems with any of the babies, all 3 kits are doing amazing.

To my surprise Pepper adopted them with no issues, she let them nurse, I caught her on several occasions being mobbed by them all, she snuggles up with all of them and if you didn't know otherwise would just assume they were all hers. She is now my super star! which considering she was a 1st timer amazed me. I've read so often how most 1st time doe's lose the whole litter, and she'd given birth to 5, but we lost 4. I was happy she'd kept 1 alive but then to adopt the other 2! can't ask for anything more from her, needless to say she got a few extra treats over the last 2 weeks.

Thank you all again for putting my mind at ease.

 

[wpcaernarfon]

A local breeder said her moms would nurse babies from a bunch of different litters all at one time.

Pepper must be saving the day here, good for her!

 

[alforddm]

Thank you all for your ideas, I wasn't able to reply after reading them, but I gave them plenty of hay, and the oatmeal, kept them all together, and so far no problems with any of the babies, all 3 kits are doing amazing.

To my surprise Pepper adopted them with no issues, she let them nurse, I caught her on several occasions being mobbed by them all, she snuggles up with all of them and if you didn't know otherwise would just assume they were all hers. She is now my super star! which considering she was a 1st timer amazed me. I've read so often how most 1st time doe's lose the whole litter, and she'd given birth to 5, but we lost 4. I was happy she'd kept 1 alive but then to adopt the other 2! can't ask for anything more from her, needless to say she got a few extra treats over the last 2 weeks.

Thank you all again for putting my mind at ease.

That is awesome! Thank you for the update.

 

[FourRingCircus]

Thank you all for your ideas, I wasn't able to reply after reading them, but I gave them plenty of hay, and the oatmeal, kept them all together, and so far no problems with any of the babies, all 3 kits are doing amazing.

To my surprise Pepper adopted them with no issues, she let them nurse, I caught her on several occasions being mobbed by them all, she snuggles up with all of them and if you didn't know otherwise would just assume they were all hers. She is now my super star! which considering she was a 1st timer amazed me. I've read so often how most 1st time doe's lose the whole litter, and she'd given birth to 5, but we lost 4. I was happy she'd kept 1 alive but then to adopt the other 2! can't ask for anything more from her, needless to say she got a few extra treats over the last 2 weeks.

Thank you all again for putting my mind at ease.

That is awesome! Thank you for the update.

Ditto! Very good to hear!

One question from your OP that I don't think got answered - about milking a rabbit. If you have an incident with younger kits and need milk for them there are a number of threads on her with recipes for milk replacement to syringe feed them... I keep meaning to get it and print it out JIC I need it in the future.

 

[ladysown]

Do be alert to the fact that even though it all seems to be working out well, kits can transfer illness from one doe to another if they've been nursing from the dam.

As to why you lost her.... if the weather has been fluctuating in your location that could be the stressor that put her off feed.

ALWAYS be alert to rabbits go off feed as you need to react quickly or you will lose the rabbit fairly quickly.