Bottle feeding baby bunnies

[tobin123]

We have several angoras that don't seem to feed their young so we have decided to start bottle feeding them ourselves BUT how often should I do it and how do I tell if they are getting enough????????

 

[PineBurrowPeeps]

What makes you think that the Mama's aren't feeding their kits? Mama rabbits only nurse once, sometimes twice a day. Just sayin'

 

[tobin123]

Because the lst litter died(starvation) We are not going to take any chances they are worth more than dying.

 

[ksacres]

Quote:
How many litters has your doe had? It's not uncommon for a doe's first litter to fail.

I would leave them with mama unless you are ABSOLUTELY sure she's not feeding them.

How old is this litter? If it is more than a couple days, they would already be dead if she weren't feeding them.

BTW: These are angoras? Did you pull any extra wool of the tummies? Really wooled bunnies don't always clear enough away for their babies to find the teats. I used to raise AFL's, and I had several does that always needed extra hair pulling.

 

[dddCT]

We have some baby Flemish that we are bottle feeding right now and we had someone send us a link to a site. I will try to find it for you. The info on the site which is published by a rabbit rescue group advised 15cc of KMR with a little cream for extra calories for the first 1-2 weeks. Then up to 30 cc a day. The mother rabbit only usually feeds once daily so you don't want to bottle feed more than twice a day because it can cause tummy upset. I am giving mine a litttle more now because they are a bigger breed and quite frankly, they are little piggers and sometimes I can't get them off the bottle before they've taken in maybe 40cc. They also suggest a little acidophilus to keep the GI running well.

It's a lot of work but sooo worth it. Good luck

 

[Hippie Chickie]

Like the others have already posted. The mama will feed mostly at night or early morning. With two litters I only saw her feed once. The easy way to tell is to look at their bellies. If they are full don't worry. They will also gain about an ounce a day, I think it is. It's been awhile since I weighed and charted kits. Good luck on bottle feeding them. We had a few in the first litter get sick. I bottle fed three of them and lost all but one. It was easier to use a eye dropper with kitten formula than the kitten bottle. Good Luck. THe vet also suggested adding some mashed up mama poo to add immunity boosters or something like that. It was two years ago so I don't remember exactly why, just that we did.

 

[mekasmom]

It is very difficult to feed baby bunnies. They die so easily. I have only kept a few alive while feeding them. If their eyes aren't already open when you start supplementing them, they usually die. Even if they are old enough for their eyes to be open, you loose them sometimes.
Use an eye dropper and goat's milk. Feed them twice a day, morning and night.
If there is anyway you can split a litter between other nursing Mama Rabbits, you would be better off. Very few human fed bunnies make it long enough to be weaned. I have eye-droppered several litters for one reason or another, and maybe half the bunnies will make it. If you have any younger does to replace the poor mothers with, you should do it. I wouldn't keep a doe who won't care for her babies.

 

[Mikhail]

Like the others have said, make sure she isnt feeding them. Kits will usually die if raised by humans. if she really isn't feeding them, dont breed her again as she likely won't next time either. Good luck!

 

[lionheaddaddy]

Is this forum out of date, I need help

 

[Mtn Laurel]

Are you bottle feeding bunnies? Even though this is an old thread, if you post your problem the thread will show up as recent and you should get a response.