Help baby bunnies 4 weeks old

[mariahk]

My friend got a bunny that had babies, then the Mom died when they were 4 weeks old. I told her I would research how to care for them but found so much conflicting info. So I am asking for advise. What do we do how do we care for them? They seem willing to eat and drink on there own, but do they still need milk? If so what kind? Also what can they eat? Any advise or tips would be appreciated, thanks. Oh and they are flemish giants.

 

[MaggieJ]

At four weeks old, they should do fine without milk. I assume you are feeding them pellets. It would be a good idea to give them grass hay and old fashioned kitchen oatmeal as well to help prevent digestive problems. Make sure they are drinking water.

 

[mariahk]

thank you, yes so far they are eating pellets and timothy hay and drinking water

 

[coffeenutdesigns]

At four weeks old, they should do fine without milk. I assume you are feeding them pellets. It would be a good idea to give them grass hay and old fashioned kitchen oatmeal as well to help prevent digestive problems. Make sure they are drinking water.

:yeahthat:

I have early weaned kits at 3 weeks who did fine. If they are eating pellets and hay and drinking water, they're doing good. Just add some regular rolled oats (not instant oatmeal).<br /><br />__________ Fri Aug 30, 2013 7:03 am __________<br /><br />Also if you have some poop from a healthy adult rabbit, you might toss a couple in their feed.

 

[mariahk]

Ok a few more questions. The oats were a huge hit! Is there a limit we should give them? Also she wanted to know at what point can they have greens and treats like parsley, carrot tops, Kale, chard, apples ect? We realize they are too small right now but at what point should we introduce them to those?

__________ Fri Aug 30, 2013 6:31 am __________

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

My kits eat whatever their dam eats, so if they are nibbling food, maybe let them nibble tiny bits of the other foods? I had a batch of broccoli and I give the stems to the rabbits, the kits haven't had issues so far. Just don't let them gorge on the green/soft stuff, tiny bits at first so they can develop proper gut flora.

Best of luck, I think they will be fine.

 

[mariahk]

Thanks, I am helping her as she is working and I am off for the week.But I have never had babies and neither has she. I have decided to adopt one of them, well ok my kids decided we are going to adopt one of them. I figure in a few weeks I will bring him/her home. So it is good to have a little advise for the future.

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

because you are new at rabbits I would just stick with the oats for now.. wait till they are 10 weeks old.. then you can introduce some greens... You can give them a handful .. over doing in the oats will not hurt them.. They also need some hay.

 

[Miss M]

Yes, oats, pellets, and hay. Unlimited oats and hay, with some pellets, and you can increase the pellets and decrease the oats over the next few weeks.

There are members who give greens to their rabbits all the time, and the kits start eating them when they are very young. But I agree with Mary Ann... since you are new to rabbits, stick to just oats and hay besides the pellets, and not greens. Do a bunch of reading on the forum about feeding greens, and when they're older you can slowly introduce the greens.

Welcome to RabbitTalk!

 

[ladysown]

i would NOT at this point give those kits greens. Give them oats, pellets and hay. that's it.

as they get a bit older give them say... a sprig of parsley or a small handful of plain grass to share. But I'd wait until they hit six weeks before doing that.

Then over a course of time... say every two weeks or so, give them something more. DEFINITELY avoid the brassica family plants for quite a while.

 

[MaggieJ]

My kits get greens from the moment they start nibbling... as in nature. But because your kits are already four weeks old and being weaned, this is not a good time to add the greens.

Later on you can start them on a leaf or two of greens. When you do, please note that the very safest greens to give them are the leaves of raspberry, blackberry or strawberry and the lawn weeds plantain and shepherd's purse. These plants are also great for rabbits of all ages if they develop a bit of "poopy butt".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantago_major
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantago_lanceolata
http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/cropprot/weedguid/shepherd.htm

 

[mariahk]

excellent I have strawberry and raspberries in my yard

 

[Flemishstar]

LOL Maggie, My kits have been eating clover, grass, endive, EVERYTHING since 3 weeks, lol I guess its all how the are introduced to it?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Hi Mariah!

You have gotten excellent advice so far.

I just wanted to say :welcome: to RabbitTalk!

I have decided to adopt one of them, well ok my kids decided we are going to adopt one of them.

...and so it begins. You should name it "Gateway", as in "Gateway Rabbit". :twisted:

I figure in a few weeks I will bring him/her home.

Good plan! Eight weeks is a good age. Even though they don't have a mom anymore, they still have each other. They will be better able to handle the stress of new homes at eight weeks.

My kits have been eating clover, grass, endive, EVERYTHING since 3 weeks, lol I guess its all how the are introduced to it?

Exactly.

When kits first start to try new foods, they nibble tiny bits of everything- they are just "tasting" stuff, not really "eating" to fill their bellies since they are still nursing. This allows their gut flora to develop gradually so they can digest the fresh foods properly.

Problems occur when they are a bit older and suddenly get those yummy greens and eat too much at once without the proper bacteria in the gut to digest it.