I need baby bunny advice! Quickly!

[lorian]

Mama has died and left 31/2 week old popples. Can they survive? Is there anything I can do for them? Like dropper feed goats milk?
Any hope?

I have 4 willing helpers (children) that can do the feeding if you think it will work.

[SquashNut]

give them some kitchen oat meal, hay, and rabbit pellets.
If you don't have hay you can make your own this time of the year, by cutting gras and drying it in the sun. As long as it is fertilizer and pesticide free.
They will need a bit more water than they did when mom was with them.
If you can buy calf manna by the pound, they can use a tiny bit of that too. 2-3 pellets each a day tp start.

[lorian]

So you think that 31/2 weeks old can survive without mama?? I don't need to dropper feed?

[mygoat]

They should be good, honestly. They're bumbling around the cage at taht age and should be able to find feed. However, I'd also mix oatmeal with goat's milk, maybe some (a little!) honey or corn syrup for energy. Hay is great for them to start on, and should well be nibbling at least at that age.

[scpankow]

Originally Posted by lorian

So you think that 31/2 weeks old can survive without mama?? I don't need to dropper feed?

I weaned mine on purpose at 3 1/2 weeks because the doe had pasteurella. They did fine, they are 9 wks now and I am watching them carefully for signs of disease.

Shannon

[lorian]

Thanks all. I did dropper feed them some goats milk and they were very hungry! Hopefully they will learn how to drink from a water bottle soon.

[SquashNut]

at that age you may be able to put the milk in a hamster sized water bottle.

[XLT]

they should be fine, but some litters eat pellets sooner than others... the hay and oatmeal suggestions are good to follow.

crocks for water might be good, but I have three weeks olds that figure out the water bottles.

[lonelyfarmgirl]

Use a water crock, not a bottle, and make sure its shallow so they don't accidentally drown. I have taken babies at 3 weeks and they did fine, but as someone suggested, oatmeal, fine hay and other very small grains in addition to the regular pellets.

[a7736100]

My doe died when her kits were 3 weeks old. For a while the kits were really boney. They are 7 weeks now and better. I just kept them on pellets and veges.

[Parttimefarmer]

I did kitten formula and kitten bottle for wild bunnies in the 2 week range (found in a building). They actually survived. The things I learned were don't overfeed, supply assortments of other foods, and water.

[MaggieJ]

Good suggestions. I had a 17 day old that I had to hand-raise. I gave it oatmeal made into a mush with water until it figured out how to drink from the crock. I didn't have goat's milk and did not want to use cow's milk. A tiny bit of corn syrup in the mush is a good idea, but I would not use honey. It is not considered safe for human infants, so why take chances? Don't let the mush sour and make dry oatmeal available as well. They will make the transition on their own quite soon.

[ladysown]

3.5 week old kits should have no basic issue surviving on their own. watch them. Give them lots of hay and some kitchen oats. but for the most part...just keep an eye on them. if any start to fail use some probiotics to give them a boost.

EDIT: give them a low lying crock to drink out of rather than a water bottle.