What do you do if you have a surprise litter of baby rabbits?

Answer 1

See the related questions below for more details.

Some information:

First thing to do is get the mom and babies away from other rabbits if you have any. They might eat the young. And yes, it alright to touch the babies because the mom actually wont mind your scent.

Make sure you put them in a cage with food and water and regularly clean. If you see that the mom has not fed them for a while that's normal. Rabbits don't feed their young as often as a cat or dog might. If she doesnt feed her babies at all put a warm blanket in a pet carrier with food and a water bottle. That small space should give the mom an idea to feed them.

Make sure that pen/cage you keep them in has high walls so the babies can't slip through any holes or jump over low walls. After all that is done the mommy should basically be the one to take care of them.

make sure that she has a box of some sort, and add to it some soft bedding that she will not likely eat : straw, pine shavings or compressed pine pellets work well. If she has pulled hair, put the hair and the babies in the box. Leave mom and babies alone, where they can not be bothered by other rabbits or pets.

Does (female rabbits) generally feed at dusk and around early morning. Check to see that the kit's bellies are rounded and warm. You may even be able to see if there is milk in them. Immediately remove any dead or extremly weak kits. If the doe is not taking care of a kit, there is likely a reason why - she isn't being mean, just following her instinct.

Does are usually good mothers. Leave them to their instinct and you'll likely have some babies leaving their box in 11-14 days to explore their surroundings!

Keep the bedding clean of feces and urine. Provide the new mom with a treat of fresh spinach leaves to boost her iron. Consider adding some calf milk replacer to her water, and give her some Yogies or banana slices as a diversion when you check on the kits daily.

Disagreement: Yogies and other yoghurt treats aren't good for rabbits. Rabbits are herbivores and they can't digest dairy or animal products properly. You should only give your rabbit things they would eat as part of their natural diet. A good treat is fruit or vegetable, not seeds, nuts, cereal, grains, dairy, bread, or anything like that.