Petco Text Logo
Petco Pet Logo

My rabbit just had babies. How do I care for the new mom and kits?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Small Animal | Rabbit | Male | unneutered | 3 years and 4 months old

Hi this is not about my rabbit as he is a boy but my sisters girl rabbit as just given birth in the past 24hrs and doesn't know what to do?

3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Image profile

Answered By David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS

Veterinarian

Published on November 6th, 2016

There isn't much she needs to do, just give her rabbit a quite comfortable place to be and as a mother she should take care of the new-borns. just make sure to provide her nice quantities of food including hay.

Vote icon

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

  • Image profile

    Answered By Andrea M. Brodie, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on May 5th, 2018

    Other than giving her lots of fresh greens, and make sure she has fresh water, you do not need to do anything. Best to leave the kits alone, as rabbits tend to eat their babies when they are stressed or there is disturbance.

    Vote icon

    1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

  • Image profile

    Answered By Dr. Strydom, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on May 27th, 2019

    I think this article can address your question in more depth than I have space to do here. If after reading this article you have more questions feel free to post again. Best wishes. ( https://rabbit.org/care/babies.html )

    Vote icon

    1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

See More Answers

Related Questions

Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Our rabbit just had 5 babies three days ago. We just got her two weeks ago and had no idea she was pregnant is there anything specific we need to do
Other than giving her lots of fresh greens, and make sure she has fresh water, you do not need to do anything. Best to leave the kits alone, as rabbits tend to eat their babies when they are stressed or there is disturbance.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
New Pet
So the bunny that I adopted recently that I thought was male turned out to be female. I know this because I woke up to 8 baby bunnies! I am super excited. What should I do (what can I do ) to take the best care of mama and babies.
I think this article can address your question in more depth than I have space to do here. If after reading this article you have more questions feel free to post again. Best wishes. ( https://rabbit.org/care/babies.html )
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
I bought a bunny about a week ago and I had no clue that she was pregnant. And about 3-4 days ago she had babies. I seen online you are suppose to have a nest box? But I don't have one at the moment. I'm not sure what to do. Do I get a nest box and p
Your bunny should still care for the babies even if you move them (your smell shouldn't cause her to abandon them). A nestbox is nice for her to have privacy and keep the babies warm. Be sure there is thick soft bedding in the cage and the nestbox so the babies are warm. I would wait
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My Rabbit isn't feeding milk to her babies since they are born(Today around 3 a.m) it's been more the 15 hours she hadn't fed them yet... What should i do? Can i feed them with cow, buffalo or goat milk ? Or should i just let them sleep? And do i ne
Does are usually great mothers and will take excellent care of their babies. Keep in mind that baby bunnies can safely go 1 - 2 days before getting a full ‘meal.’ This is a protective mechanism since in the wild the doe might need to stay away from the nest for a while to avoid leading predators to her kits. Mother rabbits only ever feed their kits once a day, rarely twice, and that for just 5 to 10 minutes. In this short time frame, the kits get their whole day’s milk supply. So, if you never see the doe go near the nest box, but the little kits have round tummies, everything is fine. You don’t need to help nature along. The doe is doing her job while you’re in bed asleep. If you find that she is not feeding them at all after 2 days then refer to this link to an article on how to raise orphan bunnies. There is a recipe you can use in their to make formula. Hope this helps. Best wishes.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Why hasnt my rabbit voided after giving birth? She gave birth 32 hours ago and there is no urine or bowel in cage
I am happy that you are paying close attention to your rabbit and her babies. It's likely that she is being super clean and actually eating the feces and cleaning away any urine from her nest as soon as its produced to keep her babies clean as well. Make sure she has plenty of food, hay and clean water. Rabbits prefer to raise their kittens without being disturbed so try not to handle her too much.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Am I doing enough for 11 day old Baby Bunnies.Put Mum in at night for feeding, Babies sleep all day on dry hay and are in a protected 1m/1m cage
That's fine, as long as they are kept warm. Does (female rabbits) typically nurse once or twice daily. The kits (bunnies) will begin munching on hay within the next few days. They can eat alfalfa (until 7 months of age), timothy hay or oat grasses and fresh vegetables in addition to a commercial pelleted diet.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
I have three female bunnies in one big cage and one of them had babies. How can I be sure that I put the right mother with the babies??
I am not sure if you bought all the rabbits together and were told they were all females, or if you accidentally bought a pregnant rabbit, or if you mated her. This may sound silly, but you should make sure that all the rabbits are female, because if there is a male in the cage, he needs to be separated from the females and the babies. Nursing mothers are very secretive, and usually only nurse once or twice a day. They only do so when they feel safe, usually just before dawn and/or just after dusk. It's unlikely you will catch the mother nursing, so that can't be used as a clue. Rabbits who are about to give birth will pull their fur out to make a nest. If any of the female rabbits are missing fur, she is likely the mother. Should you have one male in there accidentally and two females, they both could have had babies. In that case, the male should be separated, and the mothers can stay together because it will be impossible to tell which baby belongs to which rabbit. Just make sure th
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
One of my rabbits had babies, 7 of them, 3 died to the lack of milk produced by the mamma so ive decided to take them in , what milk is best for them?
Kitten milk replacer (KMR) or goat milk should be fed to nursing kits (baby rabbits​). Feed twice daily. Be aware that bunnies can be very difficult to hand raise. Follow the link for more information. http://rabbit.org/faq-orphaned-baby
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My bunny is pregnant I was wondering if she would need a nesting box?
If you can make a separate area in her cage where she can build a nest and feels safe, that would be perfect. Once she has her babies, do not disturb her or them as mama rabbits will eat their young if they get stressed. So a nesting box is a good idea.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
my cat just gave birth to 2 newborn kittens.. i do not know how to take care of them what should i do?
The good news is that most mother cats are very good mothers, and we generally don't have to do much to help them. I am attaching a link to a handout on orphan kittens in case you need it, but the most important thing is to make sure that they have a safe, warm and quiet place for Taiga to take care of them. And make sure that Taiga is eating a kitten food since she will need a lot of calories to make enough milk for the babies. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=576 Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Boop by Petco.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
image
Have A Vet Question?

Book an appointment with the pros – our expert vets are here to help.

Book Now

Sponsored