NEED HELP KEEPING KITS ALIVE !!!!

[BunnersMama17]

Hi everyone . My name is Alexis . I'm 17 & I own two Rex rabbits . The male is about 10 months old & the female is 5 months old . The female recently had a liter of 3 & she is aggressive towards her kits (I thought perhaps its because she's so young & its her first liter so she's overwhelmed?) Anyways , I removed the kits from her cage & have stored them in a drawer with blankets to keep warm . I have been feeding them KMR with a pinch of acidophilus through a suringe without the needle coarse . I'm worried that my babies won't survive because they aren't getting the colostrum they need . What do I do!? Someone please give me advice I don't want my babies to only have a 10% chance of survival ..

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

WELCOME TO RABBIT TALK````Are you sure she is aggressive towards her kits not just you. They have a better chance with her then with you... Put them back in and see what happens. You have to leave her be.. Leave mother takes it course. She is very young for a Rex rabbit to have babies at 5 months old.
Mothers only feed there babies once or twice a day. You can put the box in the morning for half hour then take back out and put back in evening feeding .

 

[ladysown]

if she just had her kits, she'll just be a nervous young mom, being highly protective and keeping a close eye on them.

Is she a standard or a mini rex? 5 months is just fine for a mini.

I'd give her back her kits and leave 'em be. Give her some time to chill out. Usually lasts for 3-10 days.

 

[Miss M]

It is true you should be sure she is actually being aggressive toward the kits first, as at this stage, they have a low chance of survival without her. Can you describe what's going on?

If it is truly the case, here are a couple of threads on handraising kits:

formula-feeding-baby-bunnies-pics-vids-t3691.html

tips-for-handraising-kits-t2486.html

Good luck, and keep us posted!!! :clover:

 

[ZRabbits]

Hi, Welcome to Rabbit Talk. So sorry to hear about the problems you are having with your first litter. You already got some really good advise, but just wanted to say, know how you feel. Had my first litter beginning of October with a First Time Mom. She was very protective at first. Also kind of got nervous when at 2 weeks they started venturing out. I really worried then. But after a day she did settled down. Maybe I was lucky because I waited until she was a bit more mature (7 months) to breed. (She's a Lion Head).

Please keep us posted on whats happening. Wishing you all the luck.

Karen

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Welcome to RT, we are glad to have you and will help anyway we can! I routinely breed my does at that age and most of them are excellent first time moms, so I don't think it is necessarily her age. I would put the nestbox back in with her in the morning and evening and see if she will nurse them. It is very difficult, if not almost impossible to hand raise kits from birth. Some have done it, but it is not usually successful. The kits have a much better chance of surviving with their mom.

 

[ZRabbits]

How are the kits doing? Did Mom start feeding them? Most experienced breeders, like OAF, will breed more than one doe so they can foster any First Time Mom's kits if there was a problem with feeding, giving First Time Moms a chance if they don't get the hang of it. Because I only have one doe, I went with the maturity factor (age wise) and had Miss M's backup recipe for hand raising kits. In my case, the maturity factor paid off.

Just remember, you are doing all you can for those kits. First Time Moms do have a history of having problems. Fingers crossed to hear all is well.

Karen