Not sure 1 baby is getting milk from mom.......

[jimmywalt]

We have two 15 day old Holland Lops. One is about 25% larger than the other. We are worried that the smaller isn't getting enough milk from the doe. Maybe the larger one is drinking her dry.

We have tried to flip the doe over and let the small one find her nipples but he doesn't seem to get anything to drink. We find at least 4 nipples and he pushes, moves around and never seems to come up with anything that we can tell.

Is there something we can give to the doe to make more milk. She's about 4 years old. Or is there something we can give directly to the small baby that will help him catch up to his sibling?

We can tell he wants her milk because he tries and tries when we hold her on her back for him.

Suggestions?

Thank you!

 

[akane]

Don't holland lops have the dwarf gene? The smaller one could just be a true dwarf. I would think at 15 days she has to have been producing enough milk for both to get them that far. You can wean kits over 2weeks. Just soak some pellets and feed that. If you want to make it a little more appealing with more nutrition you can mix it up using goat milk or an animal milk replacement formula instead of water. You might have to shove some in their mouths and when they realize it's food they tend to plow in to it so they need wiped off after every feeding.

If they won't take solid food yet you can try to syringe/eye dropper feed them goat milk or formula. No cow milk. It's not very easy though. They can choke/suffocate, they like it to be a very specific temp and start to refuse milk that is a couple degrees too cold, and it's hard to get enough energy in them because rabbit milk is very very concentrated. Having to feed too frequently due to the lower level of nutrients or not getting enough milk in them at once can kill them. Also the kits getting too cold can cause them to die with full bellies from being unable to digest all the milk. So if you can mix the milk in to something solid at that age you will have better luck and they will start eating without assistance much sooner.

 

[Zass]

Fed VS unfed:
fed-vs-unfed-kit-pictures-t3052.html

Tips and instructions for hand feeding:
formula-feeding-baby-bunnies-pics-vids-t3691.html
tips-for-handraising-kits-t2486.html

My favorite supplement for nursing does are black oil sunflower seeds. For a holland lop with only two kits I would not give very much. Maybe a 1/3 to 1/2 a spoonful per day.
Plain oats are another good energy food.