Formula feeding baby bunnies *PICS & VIDS*

[Bandits Bunny Farm]

I currently have 1 left. The other night I put the kits in the hutch with the other kits to see if their (the older kits) mama would feed them. When I checked on them yesterday morning, I found a kit dead, like 4 feet away from the hutch (don't ask me how that happened). Then yesterday morning I had the 2 left in the house on the heating pad in the living room off to the side a little bit. My sister was playing around there and accidentally stepped on one, and I'm pretty sure broke a rib, which punctured a lung, and the kit died in my hand. The last one is doing ok though. If he makes it I'll probably keep him because I think from bottle feeding I'd get super attached and not be able to let him go lol

 

[Susie570]

Aww... sounds like the doe must have kicked the kit out. I've never heard of that happening, but....

How is the last one doing?

 

[Zass]

Aww... sounds like the doe must have kicked the kit out. I've never heard of that happening, but....

No, does do not normally mess with nestlings other than to feed and groom a bit while feeding.

More likely it crawled out or was pulled out on the teat.

 

[Bandits Bunny Farm]

But I can't see how it could've gotten out. The hutch is 2 story, and there's not enough space between the door and the wood that the hinge is attached to for it to have crawled out. And the mesh We used to build it is really small

 

[Zass]

But I can't see how it could've gotten out. The hutch is 2 story, and there's not enough space between the door and the wood that the hinge is attached to for it to have crawled out. And the mesh We used to build it is really small

Could a younger sibling have taken them out, and maybe not notice one crawl away?

 

[Susie570]

But I can't see how it could've gotten out. The hutch is 2 story, and there's not enough space between the door and the wood that the hinge is attached to for it to have crawled out. And the mesh We used to build it is really small

Bizarre

 

[Bandits Bunny Farm]

It was 6 in the morning when I checked on them, so no

 

[ladysown]

of the five babies I'm hand feeding at the moment I have two that are of concern.

1. a kit I call tongues because it took forever to feed him (one drop of milk at a time on his tongue). he drank plenty, just took a long time to do so. Still doesn't understand sucking. He now drinks from a plate but frequently falls over and turns in circles. I think he has something wrong with him. Thinking of culling him but wondering if a small dose of ivermectin might be in order? (all I have is horsewormer paste so I'd need to be careful with dosage). Or would it perhaps be a waste of time.. .he'd only be going to a pet home.

2. a kit I call stubborn. he's the ONLY one of the five who will not drink from a saucer. I've dipped his nose, I've used the pipette to lead him the saucer, stuck him in the milk and NADA. He will actively suck the milk out of the pipette for one round, and if (and only if he's up for it) he will lick milk off the end if I have it there in drop form in front of his nose. He's a kit that I do not know how he is still alive as he is the hardest to feed of the bunch and rarely takes more than one pipette sometimes two. He always acts hungry but getting him to eat is a total challenge.

Thoughts? Recommendations?
Anything is appreciated.

 

[Miss M]

1. a kit I call tongues

It does sound like something is wrong. Could be E.c., could be a defect in the ear, etc. I would either cull or try the ivermectin. I'd probably try the ivermectin first, knowing me. That would be hard to dose, but I'd figure there's nothing to lose.

2. a kit I call stubborn

As an aside, I've never gotten a kit to drink from a bowl or saucer. I have tried. :roll: Anyway, I have had a couple of these kits that were so difficult to feed and never took much. They have not made it. It's like they simply cannot eat effectively enough to stay alive. I still try, but I cannot think of one that has survived. For me, they've gone rather suddenly -- scrappily trying to eat in the evening, dead in the morning type of thing, rather than slowly fading.

 

[Susie570]

of the five babies I'm hand feeding at the moment I have two that are of concern.

How old are the kits?

I remember reading something about a hand raised kit that started turning in circles. It had something to do with not having the proper kind of milk or something, it causes an incurable issue, but I can't recall what it was. Not sure if that's what you're feeling with or not.

 

[ladysown]

they are getting goats milk. I've successfully raised three or four litters on goat's milk. just these two kits that are struggling.

I'll keep plugging away at them. They are old enough to start nibbling on oats... born March 5 so they've made it this far. Old enough I've stuck an older kit in with them to help them stay warm and show them the ropes. She's being a good girl with them. I can usually save them once they hit day 17 but those two are worrisome.

 

[Susie570]

Yeah, that makes them almost 3 weeks old. Best of luck with them, I hope they make it.

 

[Preitler]

Hi,
I only have UHT goat milk available, and would honey be a suitable substitude for the corn sirup?
That's what I have available, and I really consider feeding my lil runt...

Preitler

 

[Miss M]

I think you can use honey. You can make your own syrup with sugar and water. Just do a search. Or use the honey... I think it's alright to use for young bunnies.

 

[Ncrabbit]

Ok I have one kit that is not getting fed or just will not eat. My wife is wanting to hand feed it so this is where I came to get the info and found this post. Miss m I am going to go with your very first post and give it a shot. I know it's an older post so if anyone has any suggestions or updates I / wife, are going to give it a try.

-- Fri May 15, 2015 12:39 pm --

I went to Wal Mart and got everything and it took several minutes of just dabbing in on its chin with the eye dropper. It finally started to go at it pretty good. Kinda lost interest after about a 1/4 of the eye dropper. I didn't want to force it so I put it back in the box. After reading through the rest of the post I think I will try holding the doe tonight and see if that will work. I know since they are meat rabbits I probably should just cull it but it's kinda fun trying to help out. Plus the wife will feel much better about it if we at least tried. She was dead set against this when I started but has been buying in pretty good.

 

[EnglishSpot]

There is no such thing as canned condensed goat's milk in the area I'm in, but I do have goat's milk from the dairy section. I'm feeding 3xs a day--is this sufficient?

 

[jimmywalt]

I'm wondering if there is ANY other variation of this recipe? Over the past year we have probably tried to feed 8 kits from different litters and none of them have EVER wanted to drink this mixture. They try to push it away with their hands, or just don't open their mouths. We get the canned goats milk from TSC and the eggs we use are fresh!

I've seen the same recipe on Youtube and in every video the babies suck down the mixture like it's the best stuff on earth.

Why does it never work for us? We also make sure it's warm (not hot), just like a baby bottle.

HELP!!!!!!! Thank you!

 

[Oscar]

Ok so I have egg yolks, corn syrup, and a nun experienced doe, I don't know if anyone has asked this question yet but would regular condensed milk work?

 

[Miss M]

Ok so I have egg yolks, corn syrup, and a nun experienced doe, I don't know if anyone has asked this question yet but would regular condensed milk work?

I would not recommend using regular condensed milk or evaporated milk, because they are cow's milk. Cow's milk is more difficult for baby rabbits to digest, and frequently causes diarrhea, which is very dangerous for baby bunnies.

When I found myself without evaporated goat's milk once, I just used egg yolk, corn syrup, and a little water to thin it. I just didn't want to take the chance.

You can try holding her in the nestbox (this may require help) with the kits. We did this once with a doe who couldn't figure out what to do. It took a few times and a lot of hands, but she finally figured out that she was supposed to feed these little things.