Due to their popularity, many people want to have the rabbit as their pet. But having a rabbit as your pet is not an easy task, by their nature, the rabbit is not low maintenance pet and require you much attention to keep them happy and healthy. Should you need tips on how to choose, taking care of your rabbit for the indoor or some tips of gardening for your rabbit. I recommend you to read these four articles.
- 10 Reasons Why You Should Choose A Rabbit As Your Pet
- 3 Ways to Pet A Domestic Rabbit for New Owner
- How to Let Loose Your Rabbit at Home Safely
- How to Gardening Your Rabbit
Rabbit, that usually called as a bunny is one of pet animal that has a trait of the fast breeder. If you have a couple of mixed gender adult bunnies, you can expect that they will have a baby bunnies soon. Even so, baby bunnies are quite frail, even more without the bunny mother care. It will fall to you to take care of the baby bunnies at home, especially should the mother bunny has passed away or seems to abandon her own babies. Here are some tips on how to take care of baby bunnies at your home.
1. Separate The Mother Bunny From Other Male Bunny.
It’s quite important to separate them from other male bunnies as soon the mother bunnies give birth. Ideally, try to separate them but keep them close to cut unnecessary stress as a bunny is a sociable creature and don’t really like to be alone without same age bunny friend. By separating them in another cage but keep the cage closer to each other is an ideal solution.
2. Provide Warm for The Baby Bunnies
Place the newborn bunnies in some big box then prepare the bedding with an unused towel while placing a warm water bottle underneath it. The baby bunnies need a warm temperature and the warm water bottle will provide their much-needed warmth. Please don’t directly give them warm water bottle as the temperature might too warm for the baby bunnies. You can also provide incandescent bulb to keep them warm in their cage, but keep it out of the bunnies reach and try to not place it too close toward the baby bunnies.
3. Keep The Nest Clean
Baby Bunnies will litter in the nest they have been placed, make sure to clean it up daily as a dirty cage can be detrimental for the baby bunnies health. By cleaning their nest, you should change the bedding daily and replace the warm water bottle. You have to keep it clean until the baby bunnies have grown strong enough to left the nest.
4. Provide Extra Food and Fresh Water for Bunnies Mother
During this period, the mother bunnies will need to have constant access to fresh food and water, please provide them and an extra portion for them to keep it nourished and hydrated. A well-fed mother will feed her babies with adequate and good quality milk. Please ensure the proper nutrition for the mother to lower the chance of the mother bunny cannibalize her babies due to lack of much-needed nutrition.
For extra detail information, here is the detail of much-needed nutrition for the diet for the mother bunny.
- 3 percent or less in fat
- 18 to 22 percent fiber
- 16 to 18 percent protein
- a constant access to clean water, which you should replace it two to three times per day to ensure the water freshness.
The much-needed nutrition can be obtained through bunny food pellet that has been specialized, you can be obtained in your pet shop. Some additional greenery for the mother bunnies diet also recommended like kale, romaine, and lettuce.
5. Adapt to The Mother Rabbit’s Babies Diet
Around two weeks baby bunnies birth, they may nibble pellet. As the time passes, the amount duration of their breastfed by their mother will be decreased and started to raise their pellet consumption. It is important to keep them being nursed by their mother because their mother’s milk will provide them with the antibody to protect them against many harmful and deadly pathogen. Should they get weaned too soon, the babies immune system might become not yet strong enough with this needed antibody. The babies should completely stop get nursed by their mother when they are eight weeks after birth.
Please refrain to feed the babies with greenery (vegetables) due to the chance of digestion complication. The babies can be fed with tiny dicy vegetables after two months of their birth. Immediately stop the fed should the babies should it cause an intestinal problem (like diarrhea).
6. Handle The Baby Bunnies for the First Eight Weeks
Try to handle them often because it will make them accustomed to you and lead it to be tamer adult rabbits in the future. But always thoroughly wash your hands everytime you need to handle the baby bunnies until they’re weaned. Baby Bunnies are highly susceptible to illness and harmful bacteria, especially E. coli, which is very deadly for the babies as it can kill them in a matter of hours after being infected.
7. Observe The Mother Sign of Nursing
By Nature, mother bunnies not stay for a long time in her nest, and not stay for a long time with her babies. Don’t worry as the mother bunnies should come back to her box to feed her baby bunnies. But should you find the bunny babies seem underfed, mewling, wrinkled skin (due hydration) and barely respond when handled, then the mother bunny might not properly nurse her babies, you should reach your vet as soon as possible.
The mother shed her fur in the nest for her babies bedding is a sign that the mother bunny still has her mothering instinct to nurse her babies, you might only need to bring the mother to vet to be given a small dose of oxytocin to help mother milk production.
But you have to contact your vet should the mother give birth around eight or more babies. It possibly that the mother bunny unable to support all her babies. Should the mother completely ignore and not nursing her babies, you might get instructed to bottle feeding the babies with formula milk, which often unsuccessful since there still none formula that fully adapted for the newborn bunny babies.
In the emergency situation, you might need to forcibly restrain the mother, hold to her to recline position, make her breast visible then feed the baby by placing them on her belly and let her babies milk from their mother breast while keeping her mother stay still and calm during the nursing. Try to rotate between all her bunny babies should can’t support all her babies at once. This method is not recommended because it will make the mother bunny get stressed.
There is 7 tips on how to take care your baby bunnies at your home. I hope this article will provide insight for you and help your baby bunnies growh healthy and happy.