new born rabbits coming away from nest

[jenny parker]

our new rabbit has just given birth to 4 babies. we havent really gone near the nest apart from to see how many she has. couple of days ago one baby was rolling around in the main hutch, we put it back in the nest as mum didnt seem to be bothered. its happened again today and we have done the same thing but i'm unsure if i'm doing to right thing. help needed please. new to this. p.s were not told rabbit was pregnant when we got last sunday.

[Psychick]

Assuming you have a closed in area for the rabbit to sleep and that that is where the babies are, it could just be that its getting accidently pushed out. However, you will need to keep a check on all the babies as sometimes, sadly, mum canreject one or all. How old are they now? There is no harm in taking a sneaky look once a day to check all babies are ok. If mum will let you of course, some can getting a little grumpy and go to bite, they dont mean any harm, just protecting their babies and will stop doing as babies start opening their eyes and moving about . You need to have as little contact as possible with the babies as mum needs to smell the babies and herself, not you. If you need to keep moving any back, do it as quickly as possible and try picking it up using some of the straw or shavings from the hutch. That way, the familiar smell of mum will still be on the baby.

You are doing the right thing because the baby needs the warmth of the nest and its brothers and sisters plus needs to be where mum can feed them.

Good luck, hope it all goes well. Oh, and congratulations lol

[jenny parker]

They will be one week old on monday. we found the baby in the main hutch about a foot and a half away from the nest. she's not the most friendly rabbit but we dont want to loose the babies. would it be worth hand rearing if it happens again?

[Psychick]

For baby to be that far away, it sounds as though maybe mum keeps moving it out, which, Im afraid to say, is not good. She may feel she cant manage the 4 of them. Is it always the same baby and if so, how does it look in comparison with the others? Does it look as though its feeding like the others? Sometimes they can also sense that the baby is not as healthy and therefore rejects it to save all her milk for the healthier ones.

Im sorry, I know this isnt the answer youre after, but sadly thats the reality with rabbits. Before trying to hand rear, give your local vet or RSPCA centre a call as they have much more experience than I do (Im just going by experience from my mum always having had rabbits which she used to breed and show) Hopefully they can offer you advise.

Let me know what they say and the outcome :)

[jenny parker]

i'm not sure if its the same one, i have really seen the others close up as i didnt want to annoy mum. do you think we should take a proper look at all the others or let nature take its course? also should we just keep returning baby if she keeps moving it?

[Psychick]

What type of rabbit/colouring is the mum and what colour are the babies? Are they pink or dark or a mix? If mum will let you, have a look at the babies as best you can without touching them, just pull the straw back off them and put it all back when youve seen them. If they all seem to be getting fed, then I would say let nature take its course.

How far is the nest from the food and water bowl? Im just wondering if mum is going for a feed and water herself with a baby still attached. That could be why its ending up so far from the nest. Try putting everything closer to the nest and see if it makes any difference.

[Psychick]

If mum wont let you get near them, try getting her in the otherside away from them and put a divide between her and the babies giving you a chance to look. But do it quickly as possible, no more than a minute or two. The longer you do it, the more agitated mum will become and the higher the risk of her rejecting or attacking them. (Doesnt happen often, but can)

[showcatbenga]

We had this problem when our rabbit had babies. what happens is the baby gets latched on to suckle & mum pops out of the nest. When baby lets go it's been dragged outside the nest.
The answer is to have a lip on the front of the nest box so that any silly babies are pushed back into the nest space as she leaves over the lip. Once the babies get bigger mum will need a ledge to lie on so she can get away from the babies for a rest. Hope this helps.

[jenny parker]

thank you to everyone who helped me, unfortunately we found one of the bables dead in the nest but we still have 5 healthly ones left, it was clearly the runt as he was very small compared to th others. thanks again, jenny