How to Care for a Baby Bunny? |

Are you tense about How to Care for a Baby Bunny? It’s a common issue for all rabbit lovers. So no need to be an over-thinker about it. Rabbits are one of the amazing pets. In order to live a long, happy, and healthy life, they have particular qualities.

Raising a litter of baby rabbits is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It is essential to learn how to care for a baby bunny. Even though your mother will do the majority of the job, there are certain things you should be aware of.

Make a wonderful nest box where the babies should live. Daily, check the kits to make sure they’re complete and gaining weight. Give them alfalfa hay and pellets to nibble on until they’ve reached the age of ten days. At the age of eight weeks, they should be weaned and isolated from their mother.

Rabbit mothers are good at looking after their young. But it’s up to you to make sure they’re healthy and well taken care of. We’ll get on everything you need to know about providing care for baby bunny/rabbits from birth to eight weeks.

Here’s a brief overview on how to care for baby bunny/rabbit as a pet:

Table of Contents

Preparing for the Arrival of the Newborn Rabbits

1)Feed the Mother a Quality Diet

Although your rabbit’s diet won’t change much while she’s pregnant or weaning, it’s always important to provide high-quality nutrition. Check your feed label and have a feed that meets the following criteria:

The protein content is between 16 and 18 percent
Fiber content ranges from 18 to 22%
The fat content of 3% or less
She should also have daily access to clean water, which should be changed every two to three days.
You can provide more protein to her diet when she is breastfeeding and weaning the kits (babies) by feeding her alfalfa hay or cubes.

2)Separate her from the Male Rabbit

The male rabbit frequently hurts the female rabbits. He can, however, impregnate the female again as soon as she gives birth, resulting in a second pregnancy before the first litter is finished weaning. To avoid this, distinguish the two rabbits as the due time approaches.

Keep the male near enough to make contact with the female from their separate enclosures if possible. Rabbits form very tight bonds, and being close to the male during pregnancy and birth reduces unnecessary stress for the female.

3)Prepare a Nest Box

Kittens are born without fur and will need continuous warmth for the first few months of their lives. Providing a nest box with bedding materials can aid in keeping the kits warm and together. This small box (cardboard is fine) should be slightly larger than the mother and have a one-inch lip to prevent the kits from escaping.

Put a generous handful of grass, straw, or hay in the box for bedding (make sure there are no fertilizer or pesticides present). Place the bedding on top of a clean towel that is free of loose threads that might snag the kits.

The female can rearrange the bedding in the box or even take out some of her fur to add to the bedding, indicating that the birth is approaching.

To prevent any problems for the kits, make sure the nesting box is on the opposite side of the cage from the mother’s litter box.

You should also keep the cage in a cool, quiet place. The mother would be overworked if there is so much activity around her and her new kits.

Caring for the Newborn Rabbits

1)Check the Kits

Your doe’s pregnancy will last approximately thirty-one to thirty-three days. She doesn’t need any assistance during the birthing process, which takes place at night or very early in the morning. This means you’ll most likely wake up to a new litter of kittens one morning.

Monitor to see if any of the kits did not make it through the birth. To gain access to the nest box and remove any dead kits, you may need to entice the mother away with a treat.

Excluding any placenta or afterbirth from the package as well.
Don’t be afraid to handle the babies and the mother would be familiar with your smell

2)Warm the Kits if Necessary

Unless the mother gives birth to some of the kits outside of the nesting box, you must put them inside. These kits are always too cold and need warming. Fill a hot water bottle with warm (not hot) water and put it under the towel and bedding in the nesting box to do so safely. The kits should not come into direct contact with the bottle because it will be too hot.

3)Provide the Mother Constant Access to Food and Water

While feeding the kits, the doe will need regular access to food and water so she can feed whenever she wants. This is to ensure that she delivers enough milk to feed the litter properly. Put out plenty of fresh food on a regular basis, and keep an eye on her water or she’ll drink more than normal.

Providing her with enough nutrition would also help to reduce the likelihood of the mother cannibalizing the kits.

4)Look for Signs of Nursing

The doe’s natural instinct is to stay away from the nest for the majority of the day, so don’t be surprised if you don’t see her feeding once or twice a day. Instead, look for signs that she’s been taken care of. The babies will be wet, with round tummies as a result of their eating. If they’re well fed, they’ll also be quiet rather than making mewling sounds like a cat.

5)Contact your Vet Immediately if the Mother isn’t Nursing

If the litter has more than eight kits, you can call your veterinarian because the mother might not be able to help them all. If the mother has more than eight kits or abandons the litter and refuses to milk them, the veterinarian will most likely give you instructions on how to bottle feed the puppies.

However, since there is no one-size-fits-all formula, outcomes are often unsatisfactory. However, since there is no one-size-fits-all formula for newborn rabbits, the findings are often ineffective.

6)Keep the Nesting Box Clean

Until the babies will toilet in the box before they are powerful enough to climb out on their own, you will need to clean it everyday and have a new, dry bottom towel and clean bedding.

7)Adapt the Diet of the Kits

As early as two weeks after birth, the babies can begin nibbling on pellets. They can, however, continue to nurse for at least eight weeks after birth. During this period, the babies will gradually stop breastfeeding and start eating pellets.

But it is important that they continue to nurse. Because the mother’s milk contains antibodies that protect them from pathogens. Their immune systems can not be powerful enough without these antibodies if they are weaned too fast.

You should also refrain from feeding the rabbits greens for many months due to the risk of digestive problems. Starting about two months, you should try small amounts of one item at a time. But if it causes diarrhea, eliminate it from the rabbit’s diet immediately. Carrots, romaine lettuce, and kale are all good places to start.

8)Handle the Babies Beginning at Eight Weeks

The babies will be vulnerable to illness and bacteria before they are weaned, especially E. coli, which can kill a kit in a matter of hours. Before the babies are weaned, you can thoroughly wash your hands if you need to touch them. After that, try to treat them as much as possible, as this will result in tamer adult rabbits down the road.