03-07-2006, 04:56 AM
We have new baby bunnies that no one expected. Three weeks ago my daughter was given an adult female rabbit. Snowball is very friendly and enjoys being petty and played with. I have no idea what breed she is, just a fairly large white and tan rabbit. We have her setup in a rabbit hutch with a wooden box inside for her to sleep in. Saturday we went to clean her cage and discovered 4 baby bunnies in the box. They already have their eyes open and are covered in fur, so I imagine they have to be about 10 days old. We have not been touching the babies for fear she would reject them. When can we start handling the babies? She is taking care of them and doesn\'t appear to be nervous around us. I\'ve been reading the posts here and she built a nice nest for them with hay and her fur. All seems to be going well, it was just a surprise to find babies.
. Anyway, we just make sure we pet the doe a lot first so her smell is on our hands. As MischiefNite said, when they\'re first born, we just handle them long enough to check them so they don\'t get cold. As the babies get older, we handle them more, and by the time they have fur and their eyes are open, they snuggle right into our necks and chests. We\'ve never had a doe reject or mutilate or \"eat\" her babies. Biologically, it doesn\'t make sense for does to eat their young...it defeats the purpose of reproduction. Research suggests that does reject or eat their young because they are in danger (a dog gets in or something else), in an area that\'s too small for them, or otherwise feel threatened. As long as your does feel safe and secure, they, and their babies should be fine, and handling them makes them nicer pets. Enjoy those fuzzy babies.