Help please! My lionhead rabbit Bo gave birth yesterday to 4 babies (i think) i have never had baby bunnies before and so, so far have not done anything except make sure my new Mum has enough food. I need all the help and advie i can get. Im not sure if i should be feeding her something special, or wether to keep cleaning her out or leave her completely alone with the babies, etc etc!????? If anyone can give me a lesson on how to deal with a new mum and her baby bunnies please let me know asap. Thanks.
Most of my moms do just fine with the same food they get whether they have babies or not. When the babies are approx 2 days old, I start to slowly increase the amount until she is on full feed at about a week to 10 days. With my does, if I increase the feed by too much too soon, they over milk which is bad for the babies. Slow is best. I handle all of my babies from the day they are born. You need to check the nest box every day to make sure there are no dead babies and to make sure their bellies look nice and fed. My moms do not mind me handling their babies but follow the lead of your doe. You still need to check them every day but if she gets very upset by it, make your visits to the nest box short and sweet. Maybe give her a little piece of carrot or her favorite treat to distract her before looking at the babies. You may also want to give her hay every day for awhile. When the does pull hay for the nest, they ingest some of it so you want to give hay to help move it on through her so it doesn\'t get blocked inside. Good luck with your new babies.