Saved Two Bunnies

Ten days ago our rabbit, Precious, had 9 bunnies! This is huge for a mini lop. Most only have 4/5 so 9 is seriously unheard of. Well I found one dead in the nest so that brought the number down to 8. I was concerned as I didn't think she could manage all 8. Mini lops only have 6 nips so I was sure someone was going to be left out! The next day when I went to check on them, 4 were out of the box, 2 of the 4 were really cold and another had died. I wasn't impressed. So my mothering instinct kicked in and I grabbed the four and put them in my shirt. I brought them in the house and put a towel on a warmed wheat bag. Then I covered them up hoping the wheat bag would warm them. Out of the 4 there were two that were seriously small and only about 1 1/2 inches long. I could see their ribs so I figured they probably hadn't eaten since being born.

Once they were warmed up, we decided to put the two biggest ones back with their mother. Two days before Precious had her nine, Carmel had 2 little ones. Since she only had the two we decided to put the two smallest ones in with her. This could have caused problems and I was seriously worried as we have never done this before. There was never a reason for it. I didn't know if our smell would put her off them and kick them out. I didn't know if she would neglect all 4. I didn't know if she would just kill them because they weren't hers. Her 2 little guys were already thriving and about 3 times the size of the small ones we were going to add to her box. So we popped them in and gave Carmel a few encouraging words lol.

Later that night we checked again. She ended up getting one outside of the box but she was 'sitting' on him to keep him warm. I was happy about that, she was doing the right thing. I have checked them nearly everyday since putting them in. And I have to say that we couldn't have picked a better rabbit to feed and care for 2 others that weren't her own. I checked yesterday and they are thriving well! Her original 2 are still huge in comparison to the littlies but to see them yesterday you wouldn't even think they are the same two! They are still on the small side but their bellies are huge and you can tell they are getting enough to eat! I'm so chuffed that we managed to save these little guys by doing the right thing as it was a risk. And I'm sooooooo proud of Carmel too!