Raising Baby Rabbits – First Thing to Be Done to Raise Healthy Rabbits

Raising baby rabbits are not just like taking care of kittens or puppies because their mothers have a different way of nursing their young. Mother rabbits are very central to the lives of their babies or kits because they don’t stop taking care of them until they are strong enough to fend for themselves. Thus, in raising baby rabbits, one must also give equal care to the doe in order to properly support the young. The first thing that needs to be done in raising baby rabbits is setting up a comfortable nest for the doe days before it is about to give birth. Common nests used are the wooden nest box or even an ordinary litter box. The nest should first be lined with a bunny litter material that will help absorb urine or birth fluids to make the mother rabbit comfortable. Afterwards, the nest should be topped with hay, dried grasses, or even saw dust to help make the space warmer.

In most cases, the doe is the one who really feeds her young so there should be no problem when it comes to this part. The owner’s only concern would be to provide the mother with the appropriate foods to make sure that she generates good milk for her babies. In raising baby rabbits, some people think that the mothers don’t feed their young because they rarely see the doe doing it. This is a misconception, however, because unlike other animals, baby rabbits are only fed once a day and within 12 midnight to 5 am in the morning only.

Also, in raising baby rabbits, it is important to assess the attitude of the mother with regards to her babies. If the doe appears nervous and agitated in her cage days after she has given birth, this is the time when the owner has to directly monitor the babies to see if they are warm enough. If the kits look shriveled with baggy skin and sunken tummies then they have to be fed with other food instead. Monitoring the temperature is also important in raising kits. The babies should be kept from losing too much of their body heat because the more they use it, the higher their chances of eating more. This may be a problem given that they are only fed once a day. In rare situations when the mother is not up to nurse her babies, a heating pad must be placed on the nest to keep the babies warm during their first week.

Source by Gail Paterson

 

Source: Cats n Things

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