Well, I was told that the two rabbits I bought had been in the same cage for a long time and produced no litters. I checked and yes they were male and female. Well, I posted a question as to weither or not a castrated male would mount a female about a month ago. The answer is he is a full male and I now have five baby bunnies!

They were born on the floor of her new cage (she was moved to a separate cage about a week ago) and I rushed to put them in a cardboard box with polybatting as that was the only thing I had. I then rushed out and bought the nest box I was looking at on FRIDAY! Oh, if I had only known she was pregnant! They were chilled, but all still alive and kicking. She hasn't gone into the nestbox, that I know of, will she reject the litter? I believe this is her first. I looked at the bellies as I was moving them and they weren't shriveled or overly full either. They all looked well formed to me (inexperienced but I have been looking at all the pictures I can find). Is there anything else I should do? Help!!! Thanks for all your help. annette

-- annette (j_a_henry@yahoo.com), July 23, 2001

Answers

Some rabbits are skittish with their first litter regardless of what happens, so she may reject the litter. I would suggest that the best thing you could do was to give her as much privacy as possible - the calmer she is, the more likely she is to become a good mama. I would check the bunnies once a day to make sure they were all alive and kickin' (and of course, immediately remove any that don't survive) and if all is well, don't disturb them further.

It's good that you moved her to her own cage - does and bucks should be kept in separate cages, and the doe should be taken to the buck's cage when it's time to breed. If she does lose this litter, don't wait too long to breed her again. If you wait too long (definitely not more than 2 weeks!) she may not accept breeding again.

Good luck! I hope she turns out to be a good mama for her little bunnies. There's just not much in this world that's cuter than a little fuzzy baby bunny!

-- Cheryl in KS (cherylmccoy@rocketmail.com), July 23, 2001.

We lost one to exposure I think. It was out of the batting towards the front of the nest box. I did remove it, but didn't get a chance to look at the rest. I definatly think these are mixed rabbits. I really don't care as they are meat sized, but there were three white ones and two black ones. At least I know the male can breed. Even if the female turns out to be a bad mother, he was worth the twenty I spent on him, her, his cage and water bottle. Definate deal! I will rebreed her even if she loses all of this litter. After all, I did not provide her with what she needed as I did not realize she was pregnant. I have no idea how long after kindling I found the babies. One I found six inches away from the cage. That was how I found out about it. I had gone out to feed and water both rabbits (by the way, for those who remember I had three, the small rabbit went to my sister for a pet) and reached for the bag of pellets. There was something laying next to the bag. It took me a minute to realize it was a kit, and then I went into a controlled panic. What a way to start the week! annette

-- annette (j_a_henry@yahoo.com), July 24, 2001.

Annette, If you do lose this batch give her another chance like you said you didn't give her fair chance with this patch. you can breed her back right away if you should lose this batch. Keep reading those books as they are a great help. Linda at peaceful valley

-- Linda at peaceful valley (peaceful valley3@yahoo.com), July 24, 2001.

Yes, don't say that she is a bad mother if she looses this batch. Sometimes if they don't have a nest box at first they just don't tend to them. I had one batch born unexpectantly like that and we lost all of them. But I had another batch born unexpectantly born nearly three weeks ago and six of seven are still alive and are now getting into everything and giving their little mother fits!

I try to keep all our bunnies seperated and only let them breed between the ones I want to breed for my Angora program but I'm beginning to think they sneak out at night and "visit" each other....even tho their hutches are also securely fastened!

-- Suzy in Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), July 24, 2001.

Annette, if you don't think the mother is nursing the kits and you want to try to save them, try this formula. To a pint of whole milk, (preferably goat) add 1 egg, 1 T. honey or white corn syrup and 1/4 t. cod liver oil or infant vitamins. If possible mix in a blender to break up the chalaza in the egg. Feed at body temperature all they want twice a day. A vet gave me this formula years ago for wild rabbit kits and I've used it successfully on rabbits, weak kids, calves, kittens and puppies. It's a lot of work but at least bunnies only nurse twice a day and you can reduce the feedings once they start nibbling pellets.

-- marilyn (rainbow@ktis.net), July 24, 2001.

Two more died, one I think got stepped on and the other I think was the one that had its head caught in the cage wire when I found them. I expected to lose that one. So far other than cutting the remaining two out of the polybatting, it was wrapped around their necks, they are doing great. Mom is taking care of them, so it looks like I have a good breeding pair. I'm going to get some hay and something else to pad the nest as she really hasn't been pulling fur. I think the polybatting is just to dangerous. Annette

-- annette (j_a_henry@yahoo.com), July 25, 2001.