Baby Rabbit and Orphan Care Guide
Background. For over 15 years, we have been the Baby (Kit) and Orphan Site for several 501(c)(3) nonprofit Rabbit Rescue Groups in the San Francisco Bay Area, providing care for hundreds of kits/orphans. We specialize in the care of newborn and high-risk kits and orphans; and are well known for this specialized care amongst Exotic Rabbit Veterinarians and 501(c)(3) nonprofit Rabbit Rescue Groups. The purpose of this guide is to share our knowledge in an easy-to-understand format to help you save the lives of very young rabbits. All of the pictures are from our newborn, high-risk and orphan fosters that we have cared for in the past.
Newborn Kit Care. The first 72 Hours of the birth of kits (Rabbit Babies) are critical. The kits may have enough food at birth to provide for them for the first 48 to 72 hours. It is important to provide for their health and safety. There are times when we find that our rabbits have had an “unexpected” birth. It is also important to help care for them during the first 72 hours while you seek the aid of a local Rabbit Rescue Group or Animal Shelter.
Mom Prior to Giving Birth. It is very difficult to determine if a female rabbit is pregnant short of doing an ultrasound. Palpation should only be done by an experienced person as the process can harm the fetus.
However, theIf she is near an unfixed male, she may experience what may be called a “false pregnancy.” There are certain things that she may actually do prior to giving an actual birth.
She may feel more agitated as she is about to give birth and may start to build her nest, placing hay or her fur in and around her nesting area. You may see her hop around with hay in her mouth or may start to pull her fur to build it. After building this nest, she may soon give birth within 1 to 2 days.
We rescued a female and male from a very difficult area outdoors with hawks and other wild animals with a local 501(c)(3) Rabbit Rescue Group. The male was separated from the female, and then she was on “Baby Watch” the night of the rescue.
She then started to build her nest with hay in her mouth and pulled out some of her fur. She gave birth that night.
A Mom can actually become pregnant again immediately after giving birth, so the Dad was at another foster site after the rescue. Melody, our foster, had back-to-back litters. We knew the signs of her preparing for another birth and acted quickly to allow her to give birth to Solo.
Mom's would build their nest with hay and pulling their fur. Melody was our foster who had back to back litters. We knew the signs and acted quickly to allow her to give birth to Solo
A Mom will pick where they want to birth their kits. We knew that Melody was going to deliver. We brought her back from her Mother's Den to the Mom's area as we have talked about. She did not want to deliver in the nesting box that we had set up as she would move the nesting box aside. We added another large litter box, hoping that it would make her happy. She was and then built her nest with hay and her own fur. Solo was born in the top right corner and never moved from that spot until about Day 14 or so. Melody would later add more fur to help protect Solo.
The Nesting Box and Mom’s area. Rabbits cannot move their kits like cats. She will pick an area that she feels safe and start to build her nest using hay and with her fur. Her fur is critical to the health and care of her kits as it will keep them warm and provide access to her Life Giving Milk. Notice that she had pulled her fur from her stomach area and may also pull fur below her chin area. If she has given birth several times, she may have a Dewlap below her chin due to the pulling out of her fur.
Delivery. A Mom will tend to deliver late at night or early in the morning and can have from one to more than ten kits. Her entire delivery can span over several days, but the delivery of each kit can only take but a few minutes. Notice that you will see blood. She will eat the afterbirth after she delivers and will clean up her kits after giving birth.
Nursing Mom will nurse 2 times a day. It take 12 hours for her to rebuild her milk. She will tend to nurse late at night and early morning when it is quite and safe for her. You can feel at times her milk supply with your hand on her stomach. Kits will nurse on their backs. The Prime Nursing Area is the middle of her stomach. The harder to reach areas are below her arms and above her legs. The smaller kits tend to be pushed out towards the arm and leg area.
The Dad. You wake up in the morning and find out that you have Mom, maybe Dad, and several more. The first thing to do is to remove the Dad. Mom can deliver again in 28 days after the initial delivery.
You MUST pick up each rabbit and look at their private parts. It will be apparent who the Dad is. The Dad can also cause Great Harm to Newborn kits. You may need two people, one to hold and the other to look.
Housing. The Mom and Kits should be kept inside of your home. If she gave birth in an outside area you cannot control the environment. At once, you should move the Mom and kits inside of your home.
Pets The Mom and kits should be kept in their own room or area away from other animals. Mom would be become very protective of her kits. The added stress might lead her to not making enough milk for her kits. Mom needs to be in a quite and calm area with her kits inside of your home.
Action Plan for Mom, Dad and her kits.
You see Mom plus her kits. The kits maybe outside of your home, inside or at a shelter. You should do the following ASAP.
- You need to move the Mom into a safe inside secure space.
- You need to move the Dad away from the Mom.
- You need to move the kits to a safe place. You need to do all of this before you ask for help from a shelter or rabbit rescue group. Each minute is critical on the life of the Mom and her kits.
You should see a lot of fur that the Mom had pulled and put over them. If she pulled a lot of fur it tends to be a sign that she is an experienced Mom. The loss of body heat can cause great harm to the kits. She will have her kits and build her nest using what she has. She may have her kits on the floor, in your garden, at the shelter or many other places.
You will need to move them to a safe place and them build their nesting box. The critical item to know is that being cold can cause great harm to them. If they were found on the cold floor, cold metal of a shelter cage floor or outside they will be cold. Rabbit’s body temp is 101 to 103F. If the kits are not warm when you hold them in your hand they are cold. If the kit is cold they cannot nurse and or digest their Mom’s milk.
Find a small box or even a hat. Place a soft material or paper towel at the bottom. You will then place bedding that the Mom used for her nest at the bottom. It should just cover the bottom. You should then place the kits in the center of the object. Each time you hold them they lose body heat. It takes a lot of energy to rebuild the body heat. You are looking for that they are about the same size and how many. Look for any that are outside of the nesting box. They should have a full stomach. You can take pictures of them in the nesting box to review. The kits are born with the eyes closed and no fur. They tend to be pink or dark in color.
You MUST make sure that you find them all. The next step is place whatever fur that she pulled onto of the kits. Her fur is critical. Her fur will keep them warm. When you place them together they will keep each other warm. You can now move them inside on top of a table or similar. You want them to above the floor to avoid any cold floor drafts.
You should look at the kits without holding them. Each time you hold them they lose body heat. It takes a lot of energy to rebuild the body heat. You are looking for that they are about the same size and how many. Look for any that are outside of the nesting box. They should have a full stomach. You can take pictures of them in the nesting box to review. The kits are born with the eyes closed and no fur. They tend to be pink or dark in color. Once the Mom, Dad and kits are secure you can seek help from the shelter or rabbit rescue group.
We will now go over the care of Mom, kits and orphans.
Nesting Box for kits where Mom will nurse them.
The nesting box is where the kits will live for the next 3 to 4 weeks. Mom will nurse and care for them. The Nesting Box along with the housing are critical for the kits.
I like to use a square High Back Litter Box. I place fleece material on the bottom / sides of the box and use clips on the 4 sides. I then place some hay on the bottom just to cover the fleece. You can use other soft fabric. You want to avoid fabric the threads come apart. It may be possible for the kits arm and or legs to get stuck in the threads. Fleece does not have that problem. I then place the kits in the center of the nesting box and then place the Mom's fur on top of them. Try and use much as possible the material that she used to create her nest. You should feel their body heat with the palm of your hand just above them.
You can also use a large litter box for her nesting box.
1. Please the litter into her box.
2 Add hay that covers the surface of the box.
3 Place the kits in the center or on one end
4 Add her fur that you found on top of them.
There are several things that you can do the common points are
1. Large enough that she can hop in and nurse.
2. The sides are a few inches high to prevent the kits from getting pulled out when she hops out from nursing.
3. The surface is not cold for the kits. The litter box has a lot of litter and the fleece has a heating pad under the nesting box.
The bedding of the nesting box may not be changed for 10 to 14 days. Mom may poop in the nesting box but not pee. She would eat, poop and pee in her litter box. She will use the nesting box to nurse in the morning and a night for a few minutes. You don’t want to change her nesting box until her kits open their eyes at about 10 to 14 days. The kits will tend to hop out of the nesting box at about 14 days.
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Housing for Mom and kits. I use a large two door Marchioro Cage to house the Mom and her kits. The Mom is in the housing only at night.
First, I place a fleece cover at the bottom of the housing and place the nesting box on one side and her litter box on the other side. I place an electric heating pad set to low below the Marchioro Cage on the side with the nesting box. Then, I place her water and food bowl on the side as the litter box.
Once the kits hop out of their nesting box I will change out the water bowl for a water bottle because it is possible for the kits to flop into the water bowl. The housing is placed on a table above the floor with fleece material on three sides and the top. You can also use an X-pen or similar.
* The Marchioro Cage has solid sides and on the bottom, so it is not possible for the kits to flop out of the housing area. If you use an x-pen or similar you need to cover the sides of the x-pen with a solid material just a few inches/mm above the floor.
*Place the water bowl away from the nesting box. Convert to a water bottle once the kits start to hop out of the nesting box.
* Reduce Stress on the Mom by having the sides are covered on 3 sides along with the top. This prevents a draft and allows the Mom to nurse in Private.
We worked with a member of the community on an orphan housing setup. She used a large animal crate for the orphan. You can see the raised size sides, floor cover, heating pad and other items. The water bottle could be attached to the side when the kits hop out.
We worked with a member of the community on the setup for an orphan. She used a large animal crate for the orphan. You can see the raised size sides, floor cover, heating pad and other items. The water bottle could be attached to the side when the kits hop out.
Food for Mom. Because Mom is nursing, she will need unlimited Alfalfa Hay and Young/Baby Pellets. I like to use Oxbow or Sherwood Pet Health pellets. Also, I offer the Mom Romaine Lettuce, Spring Mix and Carrot Tops. You should not offer parsley to the Mom for her greens as it will sour her milk or dry up her milk supply.
Playtime for Mom. Mom will need her indoor play time away from her kits during the day as she needs to hop around and to relax in order to reduce her stress. It will also give her time to rebuild her milk supply. She can go back with the kits at dinner time or when you go to bed.
It is important for the Mom to have “alone” time away from the kits in a different area indoors during the day.
*You may need to do one-on-one feeding with her smaller kits.
* She needs to exercise in order to produce milk.
* You may be able to feel if she has milk and or is nursing when she is back with her kits at dinner time.
Mom Nursing Her Kits. When the kits are hungry, she will let out a high pitch sound. The Mom will arch her back to allow her milk to flow when she is nursing and then the kits will nurse on their backs or any way they can to receive her milk.
If Mom is away on playtime, you should put the Mom back with her kits to see if she is ready to nurse. When she finishes, you should see that her kits have full stomachs. Mom will also clean her kits’ private areas to help them go to the bathroom and to stimulate their digestive system.
You will most likely not see the Mom nurse. When you go to bed at night you can look at her nesting box and may see that the fur has moved around it when you get up in the morning. If the fur was moved, that is a sign that she was nursing during the night or early morning.
The Mom will start to eat the fur in about a week. You should take pictures of the kits as their stomachs should look full. There might still be some smaller ones than the others.
Daily Health Check. It is important to establish a baseline value of the kits’ weights starting on Day 1 using a scale that measures weight in Grams. It is important to weigh the kits at about the same time each day and record the value. You can record the weights by the size, color and any possible markings of the kits.
You may see that each kit may weigh at different amounts, however, you should see that each kit would make progress and gain some weight each day. During the first few days, it may be just a few grams, but then you should see 5% to 10% weight gain as the Mom’s milk is produced. You should not see a weight loss and if you do notice one, and/or skin or stomach that is “folded,” this is a medical 911. At this point, you must do one- on-one nursing with the kit and Mom.
The following kit was a two day old orphan. We would like to see a weight of at least 35 grams at birth. When you see curled up fur on the side, this is a medical 911.
Mom doing her living saving job. It is critical for the Mom to stimulate the private parts of their kits who are less than 14 days old. The purpose of this is for them to urinate and to digest their Life Saving Milk. If you have an orphan You must do the same by using a warm cotton ball saturated with a small amount of water, going in one direction from the stomach over the private parts to the tail.
One-on-One Nursing with Mom. You cannot replace Mom’s Milk as it is very rich in nutrients and will provide everything that her kits will nutritionally need. It is estimated that for every milliliter of Mom’s Milk it is nutritionally equal to 5 to 8 milliliters of store-bought supplement. It may also be very difficult to hand feed kits under 5 days young with formula or similar (reference our Orphan Kit Guide on feeding).
One-on-one nursing should be performed at dinner time after the Mom has had her playtime during the day. She should have plenty of milk by this time. The one-on-one nursing will allow her smallest kits to have first access to her milk. Place the Mom on a chair or couch as you should sit on the floor to allow you to place her kits under her stomach or near her nipples. It will be hard to see the kits with her if you are sitting above her. You can also place her with the kits in a top opening carrier.
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You can learn more on our Baby Rabbit and Orphan Care Facebook Page. You will see more details and videos.