Oh, Baby Bunnies

[Sunshine9198]

So this is my 1st litter since I was a teen some 17 odd years ago. It's been awhile.

I've read hundreds of pages at this point and watched tons of hours on rabbitry husbandry. This is just to preface.

My babies are now 3 1/2 weeks old. I treat everyone with a small slice of banana every couple of days and give them fresh greens everyday.

Now with babies you aren't supposed to allow them to have any fruits or veggies because they are too young. I usually hand feed my nursing doe and keep the kits away from the greens/fruits. I guess they got a taste of the banana last time I fed and OMG. I was feeding my bucks and I turned around...

Babies CLIMBING ontop of their feeder and then ONTOP of each other because they smelled the banana. :lol: :lol:

Just imagine this:

x4 tiny floof balls

Then as I was trying to feed her the banana without her kits, they were hell-bent and determined to grab a bite (but I kept them at bay). I was just laughing during the whole process. They have brought so much joy to my life in these few weeks. I'm a caretaker of my parents (both are disabled and housebound), so getting into rabbits is the best medicine I could have done this year. :bunnyhop:

 

[hotzcatz]

Babies can have grasses as soon as they're big enough to nibble on them. At least, we let the baby bunnies here eat grasses as soon as they want. A tiny smear of banana shouldn't hurt them, but no more than one or two bites which in bunny sized bites would be about the size of half a pea. But, that's just what we'd do, they're your bunnies so do what you think best.

 

[Sunshine9198]

Babies can have grasses as soon as they're big enough to nibble on them. At least, we let the baby bunnies here eat grasses as soon as they want. A tiny smear of banana shouldn't hurt them, but no more than one or two bites which in bunny sized bites would be about the size of half a pea. But, that's just what we'd do, they're your bunnies so do what you think best.

Oh they are on free choice hay and eat moms pellets already! This was just an added treat I gave mine!

 

[Zass]

Kits can have whatever their dam is on.
I wouldn't give fresh grass to kits who's mother never had it, as that can cause enteritis and be fatal to weanlings.

However, I start my babies right onto it if it's the time of year that I'm also feeding a lot to their mother.
It has to do with them getting the probiotic bacteria to digest it from eating her cecotropes.
If their dam is not accustomed to it, they can struggle; but if she is, they will be fine too.

 

[hotzcatz]

Good catch, Zass!

A friend bought a rabbit that had never had anything except one brand of pellet and it wouldn't eat anything other than those pellets. I don't think he was ever able to get it to eat anything else other than pellets, although I think he eventually got it to eat other brands.

 

[michaels4gardens]

Once uppon a time ...
I raised a lot of rabbits in "old style solid bottom cages" with deep straw bedding.
There were no nest boxes. the does dug a depression out,built a nest, and kindled in the back corner.
When the kits began leaving the nest, they ate poop,straw, and whatever the doe was eating.
I fed almost exclusivly garden raised feeds, and hay.[they got a little mixed "cow grain" [cob] when lactating]
I almost never had any enteritis ... or "weaning issues". [I weaned at 8 weeks]