baby bunnies are peeing on one another...

[Attal.Rabbits]

i just had my first litter of rabbits, they are 8 days old, i have noticed just yesterday all of them keep getting soaked with pee.... what can i do to make it so they dont keep getting wet like that, they are inside but im afraid there going to get eachother sick! :bunnyhop:

 

[ladysown]

put them in a slotted box...helps the pee to drain away. OR give them more room to spread out (clean out nestbox and make a bigger "circle" for them snuggle in.

 

[Miss M]

It could also be that the mother is peeing on them. Make sure the nestbox is not in her potty corner, and clean the nestbox as well as you can. Fill it with fresh hay and as much dry fur as you can salvage.

If it is the doe doing it, this may not work. You may need to bring the nestbox inside, and return it to the doe twice a day just long enough for her to feed them, until they are old enough to go in without a nestbox.

 

[AnnClaire]

Kelly, this is why I actually remove the babies from the nestbox when I bring them in ... the littlest ones go in a straw basket with an old, fuzzy handiwipe (you know, the ones for cleaning?) in the bottom, and a pile of fur on top with another towel over all of that. There is enough room for the babies to all be on the "floor" so if they pee it goes into the handiwipe.

For the larger ones, I put them in a plastic laundry basket with a towel folded in the bottom, and put another towel on top of half of the bottom towel for them to snuggle under, again, side by side rather than on top of each other.

This helps keep the nestbox material clean(er), gives you the opportunity to examine each kit 2x per day, and helps socialize them. In fact, I keep the kits in the containers on my dining room table and as I go back and forth during the day, I will stick my hand in there and stroke and rub the kits (they are SOOOOOOOO SOFT! :cheesysmile

 

[Attal.Rabbits]

My rabbits are inside, they live in my living room scince i am just starting out and have my first litter, its not the mom that is peeing on them, when she nurses them she cleans them everytime i wacth her do it, they also keep falling out of the nest box and i keep having to put them back in, dont worry i have solid flooring so i only find them cuddles against mama when they fall out of there nesting box, actualyl she drags them out because they want to stay lacthed to her when she hopes out. she is fully litter boxed trained and she only pees in her litter box.i gave them all new fresh hay and made a nest out of that, because evyerthing was soaked to the bone, i cant belive how much these baby bunnies can pee all at once! i was holding one and it peeded all over me, it just kept going and going like the energizer bunny! i think it peeded more then he weighs lol.<br /><br />__________ Sun Jan 13, 2013 7:48 pm __________<br /><br />ann you gave me an idea, can i just remove the nest box entriley scince they keep faling out of it, and just put a towel and create a nest with it then put hay on top of it to finish off the nest and just lay in the corner of the cage? scicne my babys are inside so they most def. wont freeze its nice and toasty in my home and like i said before i have solid flooring there is no way they can possibel fall through or out of the cage.

 

[-HRanchito]

Sounds like it is worth a try -- just make sure they can't crawl out the holes in the side of the cage. Kits can crawl a long way if they get separated from the others.

 

[Attal.Rabbits]

my rabbit cage is bordered with carboard on the sides so there is no holes for them to fall out of.<br /><br />__________ Sun Jan 13, 2013 8:01 pm __________<br /><br />ohhh also, i have seen the mom jump in the nesting box and stepped on her babys, they didnt get hurt at all, she has done it a few times.. is this normal?

 

[AnnClaire]

Kelly, yes, this is also why many breeders will trim the does nails the week before kindling.

However, I use nest boxes that I make and the length is enough for the doe to land in the box, but to get to the kits, she has to stick her head in and I think it helps the doe keep from stepping on the babies. You might want to try a larger nest box or put a top over the back side so the kits can be in a nest hollow in the back of the box

 

[Attal.Rabbits]

ohhh thats great advice! thanks ann! i will remeber this wiith my next litter! i think his eye is going to be ok. it looks like the eye lide just got screacthed a bit

 

[AnnClaire]

Kelly,

There is a lot to keep track of, and a lot of folks just schedule one day per month for a general health check and grooming for the rabbits ... you can catch things while they are "little" and correct them ... and the babies should be handled at least once per week ... little things get to be big things very quickly with them. And, with my baby angoras, when their fur gets to about 1/2", I handle them every day and start trimming the fur in their "tailgate" area. This prevents the poops from getting stuck to the longer hair as they aren't the best at being able to keep themselves as clean as an older rabbit does.

 

[hoodat]

my rabbit cage is bordered with carboard on the sides so there is no holes for them to fall out of.

__________ Sun Jan 13, 2013 8:01 pm __________

ohhh also, i have seen the mom jump in the nesting box and stepped on her babys, they didnt get hurt at all, she has done it a few times.. is this normal?

That's one reason I use a fairly large shelter box instead of a nest box. It is attached to the side of a cage. The babies are usually in the corners and mamna enters at the center. With more room there is less chance of her stepping on them when coming or going. I have a piece of hardboard that covers the door when there are no babies.

 

[Attal.Rabbits]

ohhh wonderful! what great ideas about trimming the hair and the attachge box thanks you guys! and i handle them everyday :-D you guys are all great and giving me my own ideas and making sure there clean and trimmed and such thanks so much

 

[Freyja Farms]

I noticed one of my seasoned American does urinated on her kits. I do not use nesting boxes and the kits are not where the doe normally urinates. I have a theory that she may have urinated on the kits to keep the mosquitoes off of them. They were getting eaten up at night and now, no more mosquitoes. She was licking them clean today but did not clean all of the urine off. BTW, I stopped using nesting boxes after losing half a litter to what I felt was trauma. I raise Americans, New Zelands, and Flemish Giants so hopping in and out of a nesting box is hazardous for the kits.