Hand raising the bunny named Snickers

[ButtonsPalace]

So about a week ago my blue doe had a litter of 8, I thought 3 were hers and 5 the chocolate does as they looked completely different, turns out I was wrong as 4 days later (day 35) chocolate doe kindled 7 the only two that were still alive when I found them were large and looked stretched, they were too chilled to save sadly. Well I left the blue's litter out until about day 3 when we had a lot of rain and I didn't want to risk it raining on them because the weather was insane. On night 4 one of the does pee'd all over the litter, we cleaned all the cold, wet kits, put them under the lamp and all was well by morning.
Fast forward to about two days ago (the kits are now 6 days old) and our cat was a bit curious as to what they were, of course he picked up the runt, and popped his nails just right under the skin. Snickers wasn't hurt to terribly bad by the cat or the fall right after. I've been feeding him KMR with some rabbit poop broke up in it, he's digging it and I've been digging him. He has since opened his eyes, been moved from a bowl to a basket, he escapes in a matter of seconds, unless he's with me. So here's my questions, what can I do to help him grow faster? How do I know if he's getting enough (I feed him in the morning, mid day and before bed, the time is usually based on when he starts getting more active and trying to get out) When his cuts are fully healed is it safe to put him back with mom? (He has two gashes, one on his hip and one in his armpit, I didn't want them to get infected or to be constantly opened because of the other kits.) My last question is when can I switch him over to a bottle? He's currently eating from a Syringe but he's a messy eater lol

 

[2CrazyFools]

Getting attached are we? I totally understand :lol:

To be honest I expected to go to using a bottle and nipple system with my bottle babies but actually never did, I'm starting to wean them off formula now at 6 weeks of age and I'm still using a glass dropper to feed them. They do the sucking and it's really quite clean. I never liked the syringe because like you said, it's really messy!

 

[ButtonsPalace]

I can't help but be attached, when I put my hand in to get him he crawls right up and cuddles and sometimes he'll root for boob in My palm..

I realized I had another question, how do I know he's full? I've noticed he don't get the little belly buldges like most babies do, no matter how much I feed him, But I can feel his little belly is definitely getting fuller than not. He has been peeing and pooping pretty regularly and his poops are nice solid little pellets. He's very active and acts just like the other kits, which I would assume is a good thing... Right?

 

[2CrazyFools]

I'd say just go with your gut on this one, when he's no longer interested in the food I wouldn't try and feed him any more. If you're concerned I'd weigh him each day before feeding just to make sure he is gaining weight. If he's static or even losing weight then I would definitely be concerned. Is there any way to let him eat from Momma?? It's so much better for them than formula and would help him gain weight.

If I were in your shoes I would shelve the entire litter, Snickers separately like you've been doing, and then put Snickers in with Momma for feeding about a minute before you put the rest so he can definitely get Momma's milk, then use the formula as a backup if you bring him back in and he doesn't look full. A supplement instead of the bulk of his nutrients.

The reason to shelve the other kits is to make sure Momma wants to feed them when you want to put Snickers out there.