How do you know if the mom is nursing her baby bunnies?

Answer 1

They will have fat little tummies. You will probably never see her nurse then as this usually happens only once or twice a day. And usually at night or dawn. This is a very vulnerable time for the doe and she is really secretive about it.

Answer 2

Mother rabbits do not obviously feed their babies, they do not lay down and feed them like a cat or a dog, they more just sit over them for a moment and it only takes a very short time for them to feed. They only need to feed the baby once a day... sometimes they may feed them twice but not usually. They normally feed them in the middle of the night when no one is around so chances are you will never see it. The only way to tell if they are beig fed is to look at their bellies. If it is round and they are getting fat, no worries they are being fed. If the belly starts to sink in too much she is not feeding them and they are going to die

Answer 3

It's hard to help without knowing how old the babies are.... So on saying that I will try and answer for a few stages of kits.

New born kits, best way to tell is how round their stomachs are. For a couple of days they may not look very fat as mum's milk is still coming down but when it does you will see round tummies above the hind legs and the skin will look stretched and tightish.

If the kits are a couple of weeks old, you will still be able to tell with how fat they look.

Around 4-5 weeks mothers MAY start to when their babies, this can be a little too soon to do so but not much you can do. Try and get a milk supplement powder (found at vets and good pet stores) and sprinkle some of it on their food. This will help keep them full and wont hurt mum if she eats it too.

A rabbit only feeds her babies twice a day. Once late at night and again early in the morning. Try not to annoy them around these times as she is less likely to feed them if you disturb her.

To boost her milk supply, give her a raspberry LEAF from the plant (if you can get some) and that will make her milk supply raise.

If younger then 2 weeks, your best option to feed them (if she isn't) is to turn her over onto her back and place the babies on her for about 3-5 mins each and then pop her back in. If she gets agitated, leave her alone for 20 mins then try again. Do this 2 times a day.

If older, you can try bottle feeding them. You will need to speak to either a vet or pet shop/supplier and get some formula and a bottle. Not sure what you have available but here in Australia there is Divetalact and Wombaroo as a milk supplement. You will need KITTEN teats.

Good luck and I hope that helps!