Are my 11-day-old baby bunnies getting enough care and feeding?

Does are usually great mothers and will take excellent care of their babies. Keep in mind that baby bunnies can safely go 1 - 2 days before getting a full ‘meal.’ This is a protective mechanism since in the wild the doe might need to stay away from the nest for a while to avoid leading predators to her kits. Mother rabbits only ever feed their kits once a day, rarely twice, and that for just 5 to 10 minutes. In this short time frame, the kits get their whole day’s milk supply. So, if you never see the doe go near the nest box, but the little kits have round tummies, everything is fine. You don’t need to help nature along. The doe is doing her job while you’re in bed asleep. If you find that she is not feeding them at all after 2 days then refer to this link to an article on how to raise orphan bunnies. There is a recipe you can use in their to make formula. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

You can check their bellies. At that age, you can see a white band which is their tummies full of milk. Rabbits will only nurse once or twice daily unlike cats and dogs who nurse multiple times daily.

1/2 Cup evaperated milk 1/2 Cup water 1 egg yolk 1 Tablespoon Corn syrup Kits should be fed every 6 hours for the first 2 weeks, then every eight hours the third week, and every 12 hours on the fourth week. After that the kits should be eating a good amount of solid food, and they should be drinking water. If they seem to be doing well on pelleted food, discontinue the formula. Otherwise, feed once a day until they are six weeks old, or until they to well on solid food. Feed a good quality grass hay starting at four weeks, and do not feed any moist foods such as fruits or veggies.

Thanks for your question about your bunnies, and I am sorry to hear that you have lost a few of them. Also, thanks for the photo - it was very helpful. From what I can see in the picture, these bunnies are doing well. The things you are looking for are great - they have round bellies, they are warm, and they are clean. You can see in the photo that there is a more pale area visible on the belly - this is the stomach and it is full of milk! It is referred to as the milk line. This is a good thing to see on the bunnies, and when this is present it indicates that mom is doing a good job with the feeding. Please keep in mind that it is not uncommon for mother rabbits to only visit their babies once to twice per day. After the babies are weaned, I would recommend having the mother spayed as uterine cancers are very common in female rabbits. I hope this answers your question, and good luck with the new babies!

Thumper should definitely be eating hay by now. I'm not sure why the breeder would say that, but any healthy rabbit that age should be eating hay. Bunnies should start eating hay within three weeks of age and should eventually be eating grass and hay (good quality like timothy and brome) as the majority of their diet. Below is a link to some more helpful/good information about caring for your rabbit. https://www.chittendenhumane.org/files/galleries/Rabbit_information.pdf I hope that helps and all is well with Thumper.

Hi there. A high portion of the rabbits diet should be coming from Timothy hay. I usually recommend 1/4 cup per day of pellets per rabbit. However, if you are currently feeding more than that I suggest a very slow wean. Rabbits do not tolerate a rapid diet change well. Have fun with those baby bunnies! Thank you for using Pet Coach.

Thanks for reaching out about Iola. Alfalfa hay is a good source of calcium and protein, and will be a good hay for the kits to eventually start eating for bone growth. Keep vegetable offerings in check, as can be sensitive to the delicate intestinal tracts of young animals. Good luck.