Yeah, a baby rabbit. I didn't even know "Fei Poh" (that's what we call her coz' she was the bigger of the 2 rabbits that we found) was pregnant. I looked over at the cage and wondered why she had shed so much fur. Looking more closely, I found a baby rabbit. But it was already dead :( I saw a pile of fur moving and found another baby rabbit underneath. Yay, 1 
Here is the mother and baby. I kept checking up on the baby throughout the day. It looked like the mother didn't care for it. She didn't give baby a chance to drink milk. Poor baby can't even find the mother. I tried to help by pushing the baby towards the mother.BUT YOU KNOW WHAT? I just read that newborn babies only need to feed once a day. And it is very common for people to think that the mothers are not taking care of the babies, but in reality they are. Also, it is ok to handle the babies. I thought they were like hamsters that would eat up the baby if you touched them coz' they would smell like you. So thank you Mr.
UPDATE (7 Oct 2010)
The baby rabbit is gone. I'm totally bummed. I checked last night and it was still there. Woke up this morning and no baby rabbit in sight. I went to see Mr. Google again and apparently, rabbits do eat their young and it's quite common for inexperience mother rabbits to eat their first litter. Here's something I found about mother rabbits eating their young. However, I do not see a body. It could well be the cat. Or the other female rabbit we have. Sigh! Whatever the reason, I'm totally bummed. No more baby rabbits :(
baby rabbits need to be in a nest box with hay or shavings and the mothers fur. They won't survive just in the cage. Also, single kits often die because they cannot maintain their body heat.
ReplyDeleteThanks InkHearts. Our rabbits are no longer in cages. We've put them in a little hut where they can burrow. The babies survive when left in the burrow.
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