Should I Feed a Bunnies Warmed Goat Milk
In raising rabbits, you'll likely find yourself in a situation where you need to step in a feed baby rabbits. Maybe the doe died, or more commonly, you have a litter too big for mom to handle.
When I first got into rabbits and began to learn about them, I heard that anything over 10 kits may likely be too many for a doe to handle and a couple may likely die. So far this appears to be true where I have lost 1 or 2 kits when litters are over 10 kits. Being wiser about it now, I check on large litters every 1-2 days to see how the kits are doing. Any that are begin struggling I step in to help. Ideally, I try to breed 2 does at once so that if one has a smaller litter than the other then I can play musical bunnies and even out the litters by adopting out 1-2 kits to the mother with fewer babies. This seems to work pretty well and does accept the new babies pretty willingly.
NOTE: Notice the size differences in the photo below. The runts I moved from the large litter of 12 are much smaller than the litter of 4 that are only 1 day older.
If I don't have a second doe with a smaller litter then we need to supplement feed the weaker babies with goats milk. I try to keep babies with their mom so most of the work is done and I just have to pop in and help feed. With our setup, it's not too disruptive to our does. If we were able to, it would make more sense to just remove the 1-2 kits completely to feed so they aren't causing a strain on how much the other babies are able to eat off of momma doe.
Our goats kid around the same time that our rabbits start to breed so we have a fresh source of milk for struggling babies. Also, from what I've read, rabbit milk is very rich so I tend to use the cream off our goats milk. With raw milk, the cream tends to rise to the top of the container, so when prepping the milk for baby rabbits I skim the cream for the top to make up about 3/4 of what I feed the baby bunnies. The milk is heated to 105-110°F as the small amount I prepare cools quickly.
Rabbit tummies are tiny, so I start off with one eye dropper of milk to allow their stomach to recognize the new milk source. Then I come back a couple hours later to offer some more before going to just two feeding per day. Diarrhea can quickly equal a dead bunny so it's best to start slow. I also offer the milk in spurts so the kits aren't inhaling the milk into the lungs.
Below is a basic feeding guide. How much you feed will depend on the size of the baby. Tiny runts are going to require less milk.
Feeding Guide: ( DO NOT OVERFEED )
Newborn to 1 Week: 2-2.5 cc/ml milk (twice per day)
1-2 Weeks Old: 5-7 cc/ml milk (twice per day)
2-3 Weeks Old: 7-13 cc/ml milk (twice per day)
3-6 Weeks Old: 13-15 cc/ml milk (twice per day)
*Eyes start to open as soon as 9 days old.
*Babies start nibbling at adult food at 3 weeks old
*Many newborn mammals cannot urinate/defecate on their own. Baby bunnies require the stimulation of the mother's tongue on their bellies and anus in order to release their bladders.
I've had great success with supplementing the goats milk for baby kits that are struggling. Their tummies appear to accept it well and not cause digestive upset. I hope this post can help you with your rabbits too!
Source: http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/orphan.html
andersonhaptiotnohns.blogspot.com
Source: https://falconefamilyfarms.com/feeding-baby-rabbits-raw-goats-milk/
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