My mama rabbit isn't feeding one of her newborn bunnies. Help!

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.

There may be something congenitally wrong with this one which is why the mother isn't nursing it and it is not thriving. If you want to try and hand raise it you can but it is not easy. I will refer you to this link on how to hand raise and orphan. ( https://rabbit.org/caring-for-orphans/ )

It is quite common for mothers to abandon a baby if there is a significant birth defect that may limit survival. It may b worthwhile attempting to bottle feed but success rate is very poor in rabbits even without additional complications

If your Rabbit shows signs of Myxomatosis and she is not vaccinated it will unfortunately be fatal, meaning she won't be able to take care of her baby for much longer. in that case you will need to take care of the baby rabbit yourself by bottle feeding it (you can use kitten replacer milk).

I think the bunny looks fine. Just because it is smaller does not mean it is not healthy. You can add goat milk (regular, not low fat) to the kitten milk replacer and a pinch of acidophilus (aka Probiotic) to the formula to promote healthy gut flora. Formulas vary depending on region. Avoid Esbilac and any puppy formulas. FEED TWICE A DAY ONLY and let them have free choice alfalfa hay. At 3-6 weeks of age they should be eating about 13-15 cc/ml each feeding (two feedings a day) but it may be LESS depending on size of rabbit so they little one may only eat 8-12cc. That is OK. Hope this helps.

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!

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.