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Hand-RaisingBabyRabbitsHandraisingbabyrabbitscanbequitetrickyanddemanding,takingupalotoftime.Itshouldneverbetakenonlightlyandtherearesomepointsthatshouldbeconsideredbeforedecidingtohandraise.

Youneedtobe100%surethatthemotherrabbit isn’tfeedingthebabies.Unlessthemotherrabbit isknowntobedead,thereisagoodchancethatsheisfeedingherbabies,evenifsheseemstobeignoringthem.Amotherrabbitdoesnotconstantlytendtoherbabiesthewaywemightthink.Insteadtheygenerallyfeedtheirbabiesonlyonceortwiceperday,andthenleavethemalone.Thisisnormalandnatural:inthewild,amotherrabbitgenerallystaysasfarawayfromthenestaspossibletoavoidattractingpredatorstoherbabies,onlyrevisitingthenesttofeedheryoung.

Ifyouthinkthemotherrabbitis"ignoring"herlitter,havealookatthebabies.Ifthebabies'tummiesareroundandfull-looking,theyarewarm,theirskinisnotwrinkled,andtheyaresleepingcalmlyinthenest,thenthemotherrabbitislikelyfeedingthem.Ifthebabiesarewrinkled,coldorhaveshrunkenbellies,thenyoumayhavetointervene.

Beforehandlingthebabies,washyourhandswell.Thisnotonlyremovesbacteriabuteliminatesanysmellsfromotherobjectsoranimals thatcanstress thebabies.Once they'reclean, rubyourhandsinabitofclean,freshhayandonthemotherrabbit'sfurtoscentyourhands.

Beforestartinganysyringeorbottlefeedingitisworthtryingtogetthebabiestofeed.Thereareacoupleofwaystodothisincludingholdingthemotheroverthebabiesinthenesttogivethebabiesenoughtimetofeed.Ifshewon’tstaythere,anotheroptionistoholdthemotherrabbitonherbackinyourarmsandgentlytrytoputeachbabyontoanippletoself-feed.Sometimesitishelpfulforthebabiesifasmallamountofmilkisexpressedfromthenippletoenticethebabytosuckle.Ifthisisnotsuccessfulthenyoumayneedtostarthandraising.

Itisbesttokeepthebabiesinawarm,quietplaceinanest.Bunnyfuristhebestliningforthenest,butcleancottonwaddingwilldoasasubstitute.Justbesurethebabiesdonotgettangledinit.Forheating,twoormorebabiesusuallyareabletosnuggleandkeepeachotherwarmiftheyhaveagoodnest.Ifthere'sonlyonebaby,awarmwaterbottleorheatpackwrappedinasofttowelcanprovideanexcellentheatsource,butbesurethebabycancrawlawayifitfeelstoowarm.

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FormulaandFeedingSupplies:Werecommend theuseoftheWombarooRabbitMilkasitiswellbalancedandcontains

a‘milkoil’equivalentwhichisimportantforbabyrabbits.Itcomesasapowderwhichcanbemixedwithwarmwatertomakeamilkforthebabies.All themixing instructions are on the box.WombarooRabbitMilk can bepurchasedfromTheUnusualPetVetsotherwisesomeveterinaryclinicsandlargerpetshopswillstockit.

Youwill also need some small plastic syringes for feeding themilk to thebabies.TheseareavailablefromtheUnusualPetVets,aswellassomepharmacies.

Youcanalsopurchasesmallplasticfeedingbottlesandplasticteatsfromsomelargepetshopshoweveryouwillneedtobuythesmallestteatpossibleasusuallythepuppyandkittenonesaretoobig.Mostbabyrabbitswillfeedfromasyringewithoutaproblem.

Youwillalsoneedsomesmallscalestoweighthebabyrabbits.Theamountofmilktofeedisdependentonthebaby’sweight.OntheWombarooRabbitMilkboxthereisaweightchartandthenumberofmlsofmilktobefedover24hours.Dependingonhowmuchthebabyrabbitwilltakeinonefeedingsessionwilldependonhowfrequentlyyouhavethefeedthem.

FeedingProcedure:Whenfeedingitisimportanttotakecaretopreventaspiration(inhalation)oftheformulabythebabies.Thesmallestdropofformulainthelungscancausefatalpneumoniawithinafewhours.Thefollowinginstructionsprovideastep-by-stepfeedingguide:

1.Makesureallyoursyringesandbottleshavebeenwashedbeforeuse.

2.Babyrabbitscanbewigglyandunpredictablesopleasetakecaretoensuretheyarefedinasafeplacewheretheycannotfall.

3.Holdthebabyupright (or insomecasesontheirbackgently) inonehand,andthebottle/syringeintheother.

4.Babiesoftenresistfeedingatfirst,andyoumustovercomethetemptationtoforcefeed.Ifthebabywon’taccepttheteatorsyringe,thensimplywetthebaby'slipswithadropofwarmformulasotheywillhopefullylickitoff.Oncetheyhaveswallowedthat,repeattheprocedureoverandover.Bepersistentandgentle.Inmostcasesthebabywillsoonlearnaboutfeedingtimeandtaketheformulawillinglythoughtheymaynotdothisonthefirstfeeding.

5.Donotbetooforcefulandsqueezetoomuchformulaintothebabyrabbit’smouth.Theycanaspiratemilkquiteeasilysoonlydriptheformulaslowlyforthebabytolickup.

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6. Ifthebabygrabstheteatandbeginssuckling,allowthemtodosowithoutadding any pressure yourself. The baby should be able to sucklewith enough

strengthtoemptythebottleorsyringewithoutanyhelpfromyou.Ifyouprovideextraforce,thebabymayaccidentallyaspirateformulathat'scomingintoofast.

7. If the baby does not suckle, it's generally not amajorproblem.Mostwilllearntolap/sipfromthetipoftheteat,andthisisactuallysaferinmanycasesasitdoesreducetheriskofaspiration.Trytoholdtheteat/syringe tip sideways or down-pointed (so theplungerislowerthanthetip),relativetothemouth,tofurtherreducetheriskofaspiration.

8.Until theyopen theireyes,handle thebabiesaslittleaspossiblewhenyou'renotfeeding.

NOTE: Many newborn mammals cannot urinate/defecate on their own. Many babybunnieswillrequirethestimulationofthemother'sgroomingtongueontheirbelliesandgenitalregioninordertoreleaseastreamofurineandfaeces.Ifyouarehandraisingthenyouwillneedtotrytomimicthisbehaviour.Todothisuseacottonballmoistenedwithwarmwater,andgentlytap/rubtheurogenitalareauntilyoufeelthebaby'sabdominalmusclestenseandtheyreleaseastreamofurineorpassfaeces.Gettingthisresponsemaytake15-20secondsofstimulation,orevenmoreinsomecases.

Babyrabbits'eyesopenatabout10daysofage.Oncethisoccursyoucanstartgraduallyintroducing them to timothy and oaten hay, chaff, pellets, small amounts of greenvegetablesandwaterinashallowdish.

By2–4weeksofagenormallybabyrabbitswillstarteatingtheirmotherscaecotrophstokeeptheirgastrointestinaltractfullofgoodbacteria.Ifyouhaveaccesstothemotherrabbitoranotherhealthyrabbit’scaecotrophs–mixthemwithsomeoftheformulaorsomewarmwaterandsyringefeedthistothebabies.Itsgoodtorepeatthis2or3timesover2–3weekstohelpthemestablishnormalgastrointestinalflora.

Weaning:Amother rabbit feeds her babies for about 3 - 6weeks, gradually decreasing thefrequencyoffeedingsuntiltheyloseinterest.Yourbabybunnieswillstarttonibblesolidfoodatabouttheageoftwotothreeweeks,butthisdoesnotmeantheyarereadytobeweaned.

If thebabies stillbeg fornursingby theageof six -eightweeks, youcanbegin todilute theformulawithcleandrinkingwater tohelp theweaningprocess.Startwith25%water to75%formula,andgraduallydecreasethepercentageofmilkuntilthebabiesloseinterest.

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Babyrabbitscanthenberehomedtonewfamiliesby8weeksofage,aslongasfullyweanedandeatingsolidswellontheirown.

BabyrabbitsshouldthenbevaccinatedagainstCaliciViruswhentheyare8weeksold,thenaboosterisrequired4weekslater,andthenbi-annuallyfromthenon.

Rabbits can generally be sterilised from12weeks of age formales and 16weeks of age forfemales.Maleandfemalebabyrabbitsshouldbeseparatedfromeachotherby10–12weeksofagetopreventanyearlypregnancies.

Ifyouhaveanyfurtherquestionspleasedon’thesitatetogetintouchwithus.