Does a mother rabbit sleep with her babies?

How to Care for Newborn Rabbits

This article was co-authored by Pippa Elliott, MRCVS. Dr. Elliott, BVMS, MRCVS is a veterinarian with over 30 years of experience in veterinary surgery and companion animal practice. She graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1987 with a degree in veterinary medicine and surgery. She has worked at the same animal clinic in her hometown for over 20 years.

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So you found out or suspect that your female rabbit (or doe) is pregnant. Now what? You should know a few things in order to prepare the doe and her cage for the pregnancy, as well as how to help ensure the health of the newborn baby rabbits (or kits).

Steps

Part 1
Part 1 of 2:

Preparing for the Arrival of the Newborn Rabbits

16 to 18 percent protein
18 to 22 percent fiber
3 percent or less in fat
She should also have constant access to clean water, which you should change two to three times per day.
You can supplement her diet while she is gestating and weaning the kits (babies) by giving her some alfalfa hay or cubes to provide more protein. [1] X Research source

Ideally, you should keep the male close enough to make contact with the female through their separate enclosures. Rabbits bond very closely and still being close to the male will cut down on unnecessary stress for the female during the pregnancy and birth. [3] X Research source

Put a generous handful of grass (make sure no fertilizer or pesticides are present), straw, or hay in the box as well for bedding. [5] X Research source Put the bedding on top of a clean towel without any loose threads that might catch on the kits. [6] X Research source
The female might rearrange the bedding in the box or even pull out some of her fur to add to the bedding, which is usually a sign that the birth is close. [7] X Research source
Make sure you place the nesting box on the opposite side of the cage from the mother’s litter box to help avoid any complications for the kits.
You should also place the cage in a quiet, darkened space. Too much activity around the mother and her new kits will cause her undue stress. [8] X Research source

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Part 2
Part 2 of 2:

Caring for the Newborn Rabbits

You should also remove any placenta or afterbirth from the box.
Don’t be afraid of handling the babies as the mother will already be accustomed to your scent.

Warm the kits if necessary. If the mother gave birth to any of the kits outside of the nesting box, then you’ll have to place them in the box. These kits will often be too cold and need warming. To do so safely, fill a hot water bottle with warm (not hot) water and place the bottle under the towel and bedding in the nesting box. The kits should not have direct contact with the bottle since this will likely be too warm.

Ensuring that she receives proper nutrition will also help reduce the possibility of the mother cannibalizing the kits.

Look for signs of nursing. The doe’s natural instinct is to stay away from the nest most of the time, so don’t be alarmed if you don’t actually see her nursing, which will only happen once or twice a day. [11] X Research source Instead, look for signs that she’s nursed. The babies will be warm and have round tummies from feeding. [12] X Research source They’ll also be quiet instead of making mewling noises like a kitten if they’re well fed. [13] X Research source

If the mother set up the nesting box—especially if she pulled some of her fur—then she’s paying attention to her mothering instincts. The problem may be as simple as your vet providing a small dose of oxytocin to help with milk production. [14] X Research source
You should also contact your vet if the litter is more than eight kits, as this may be too large a number for the mother to support all of them. If the mother has more than eight kits or she abandons the litter and will not nurse them, then your vet will likely provide instructions for bottle feeding the babies. However, results are often unsuccessful because there is no formula 100 percent adapted to newborn rabbits.

Keep the nesting box clean. The babies will toilet in the box until they are strong enough to eventually climb out of it on there own, so you’ll need to clean the box daily, providing a new, dry bottom towel and clean bedding.

You should additionally avoid feeding the rabbits greens for several months due to the potential for digestive complications. You can try tiny bits of one item at a time starting around two months, but remove it from the rabbit’s diet immediately if it causes intestinal problems such as diarrhea. [18] X Research source Good items to start with include carrots, romaine lettuce, and kale. [19] X Research source

Handle the babies beginning at eight weeks. Until they’re weaned, the babies will be highly susceptible to illness and bacteria, especially E. coli, which can kill a kit in a matter of hours. [20] X Research source You should thoroughly wash your hands anytime that you need to handle the babies until they’re weaned. After that, try to handle them often because it will lead to tamer adult rabbits down the line.

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Question
Should we let mamma rabbit out of the cage for a break away from the babies?
Pippa Elliott, MRCVS
Veterinarian

Dr. Elliott, BVMS, MRCVS is a veterinarian with over 30 years of experience in veterinary surgery and companion animal practice. She graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1987 with a degree in veterinary medicine and surgery. She has worked at the same animal clinic in her hometown for over 20 years.

Veterinarian
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Yes. Mother rabbits often leave their young for hours at a time, so she will appreciate the opportunity to take a break. Just make sure that she can access the cage and return to her babies whenever she wants to. Try leaving the cage door open and provide a ramp for the mother rabbit so that she can return when she is ready.

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Should I hand-rear baby rabbits if the mother ignores them?
Pippa Elliott, MRCVS
Veterinarian

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Where possible let the mother rabbit take care of the babies, as hand-rearing a rabbit is fraught with problems. Be aware that the mother only feeds her babies twice a day and she may well leave them unattended for long periods in between. Thus, although the babies may appear abandoned, if the mother can still get back to them the chances are they are not in difficulties. If you know the mother is dead, then feed twice a day (as she would) to tide them over until they are two to three weeks of age, when they start eating solid foods.

How to Warm up a Cold Baby Bunny

Chris McLaughlin is a homesteading expert and writer with over 35 years of hands-on experience caring for rabbits and alpacas. She has written many books, including one on keeping rabbits, and owns Laughing Crow & Company, a farm that’s home to all kinds of animals, including horses and goats.

Updated on 03/11/21
Fact checked by

Nandini Balial is a writer and fact checker specializing in a variety of lifestyle topics, including film/TV, literature, and feminism, with work appearing in Slate, Wired, Pacific Standard, and more prestigious outlets.

Once in a while, a rabbit will give birth somewhere other than a nest box. The husbandry terminology for this is «a doe kindling on a wire.» When it doesn’t have the tight confines of a nest box, a baby bunny, or kit, can get separated from its littermates or the mother doe. This is dangerous for newborn bunnies since they are born blind, deaf, and hairless with thinner-than-paper skin. They become chilled quickly, and exposure can kill them in minutes.

There are several ways that you can try to safely warm up a baby bunny to the point it can be returned to the warmth of the nest box, its siblings, and mother. Unlike cats or dogs, rabbits do not retrieve or transport their young. Without human intervention, there is no way the furless baby bunny can get back into the nest box. It will surely die if left alone.

Before You Begin

Before you take any of the actions described, start by assessing the baby rabbit (kit). If the kit is warm and moving about, it may have just recently wandered and simply needs to be placed back into the nest box with its siblings where it will warm up quickly.

If the kit is cool or cold to the touch, do not immediately assume that it is dead. To preserve energy when their temperature drops, kits become very still, which keeps them alive as long as possible.

What You Need

While you may need nothing more than your own warm skin to help your baby rabbit regain its body heat, you should be prepared to take additional steps that require some supplies:

Towels
Heating pad
Shoebox
Storage baggie
Bowl of warm water
Dryer

Use Body Warmth

The first thing you can do, which requires no preparation, is to place the kit under your shirt up against your warm skin. The baby should begin to warm up immediately. You may even feel its feet starting to move.

Try a Heating Pad

You can use a heating pad to warm up the little one. Wrap the pad up in a towel and place it on the lowest setting. Put the heating pad and towel and the bunny inside a shoebox so the heat surrounds it. Warming the bunny up slowly is ideal. Do not give in to the urge to turn the pad up to a high setting. A newborn’s skin can burn easily. Do not leave the bunny alone with the heating pad. Feel the pad regularly to be certain the pad is not getting too hot. After the baby is warmed up and wriggling, place it back into the nest box with its littermates.

Give It a Waterless Warm Water Bath

Another technique is to put warm water into a bowl on the counter. Place the kit into a storage baggie (be sure to leave the top open and hold it securely) and place the storage baggie in the water bath so that the baby is laying against the warm water inside the baggie. The idea is not to let the water touch the kit, but to let the warm water heat its skin through the plastic bag.

Use Warm Towels

You could also put hand towels into the dryer and once they warm up (but don’t get hot) simply hold the kit in your hands with the towel wrapped around it. Once the hand towel cools, wrap the baby bunny in another warm towel from the dryer. Do this until the bunny pinks up and is quite warm without the towels.

Return the Kit to the Nest Box

Before returning the kit to the box with the rest of the litter, it really needs to be fully (and slowly) warmed up without any chill to its little body. If it’s still cool, the other kits will wriggle away from it. Without their body warmth, the newly warmed bunny could become chilled again and die.

When a Kit Fails to Recover

Sometimes a baby can be brought back from the brink of death, only to gape, gasp, and die, even though it seemed you were able to warm it up. You have to realize that you did what you could, but some kits are just too far gone to be brought back. This is the unfortunate and not-so-fun part of rabbit raising.

How to Prevent a Baby Bunny From Becoming Cold

This fear of a doe kindling on a wire is one very important reason to check frequently on rabbits that are pregnant and due to give birth. In another sad scenario, a newborn may be safe in the nest box, nursing, but then the doe hops out of the box with the baby unwittingly still attached to the teat. The baby falls off, gets separated from the nest, and cold exposure begins. Check frequently on new litters to make sure kits don’t get found on the wire.

If you suspect your pet is sick, call your vet immediately. For health-related questions, always consult your veterinarian, as they have examined your pet, know the pet’s health history, and can make the best recommendations for your pet.

Why Do Rabbits Bury Their Babies?

Why do rabbits bury their babies under piles of grass and leaves?

Female rabbits (does) hide their babies (kittens) in shallow nests, under a covering of grass and vegetation.

It keeps them warm, safe from predators, and all in one place, until she can come back to feed them again.

If you find a litter of buried kittens, it’s best to leave them untouched for their mom to come back to.

Why Do Rabbits Bury Their Babies?

Female rabbits hide their babies under a light covering of grass and other vegetation as a means of protecting them.

Which may come as a surprise if she’s done it in the middle of your neatly mown lawn!

Is there really method in her madness? Can her litter be safe there?

And if you don’t see her again for hours or days, does it mean she’s buried her litter and abandoned them?

At what point should you intervene to help them?

We’re going to take a look at why rabbits bury their babies, how it to helps them to survive, and what you should do if you find a litter of babies buried in your yard.

Let’s start at the beginning.

Baby Rabbit Facts

The most common rabbit species in North America is the Eastern Cottontail, which lives in large numbers all over the eastern and central regions of the United States.

But several very similar species can also be found, including:

Nuttall’s cottontails and desert cottontails (in the south west, north west, and north central states).
Appalachian cottontails (restricted, unsurprisingly, to the Appalachian Mountains).
swamp rabbits (widespread across the south east and south central regions).
and marsh rabbits (mostly restricted to Florida).

All these rabbit species usually breed and raise litters in late spring, summer, and early autumn.

But in some places with a mild climate (like Texas) they’ve been observed rearing babies all year round.

The number of kittens, or kits, in a litter depends upon factors including:

species
time of year
and how old their mom is.

But 3 – 5 kittens per litter is about average.

Where Do Rabbits Have Their Babies?

Wild rabbits nest in pastures, woodland, and even mowed lawns.

They are fond of open spaces, which often takes people by surprise, because we tend to think it makes them more vulnerable.

But actually there’s a clever logic to it, because most predators of rabbits avoid open spaces themselves.

Some observers also think that rabbits might be particularly drawn to lawns and backyards because the smell of people and pets living there will deter predators even more.

Nest Building

Eastern Cottontails and the closely related bunny species listed above make their nest by digging a shallow basin, about 5 – 7 inches long, 4 or 5 inches wide, and 3.5 – 5 inches deep.

These are also known as pocket nests.

To make it warm and cozy, the pregnant doe plucks fur from all over her own body, and uses it to line the nest.

She’ll also bring in grass and straw from outside the nest to insulate it and make it comfy.

And finally she’ll add a layer of grass, straw, leaves, and stems from herbaceous plants with which to conceal her babies.

She might also rely on vegetation which is already overhanging the nest.

Nests in unusual places

Whilst most wild rabbits rely on pocket nests, some have been very creative in looking for alternatives.

Completing The Nest And Giving Birth

Rabbits tend to finish their nest just in the nick of time before giving birth.

They typically give birth at night, and their babies are born blind, deaf, and hairless.

The nest will be their home for the next three to four weeks, and during that time their mom will return once a day – usually at dawn or dusk – to feed them.

Rabbit’s milk is so rich in calories and nutrients that just one feed a day will give her kits all the energy they need to grow!

Do Rabbits Bury Their Babies?

In between feeds, mother rabbits kick grass, leaves and vegetation over their kittens to bury them, and leave to graze.

There are several survival advantages to this:

In cool or windy weather, the extra layer of insulation keeps them warm.
On hot, sunny days, it protects them from the heat of the sun.
As the babies get bigger and more mobile, it keeps them all in one place until mom returns.
And it hides them from predators – both visually, and by masking the smell of the nest.

Help, I’ve Uncovered A Rabbit Nest!

Since so many wild rabbits nest in backyards, you might be lucky enough one day to discover that you’re playing host to your own nest of wild bunnies.

Here are some simple steps to take if you do:

One: If you haven’t already disturbed the nest, leave it alone.

Two: If you have uncovered the nest by accident, for example by raking or mowing, check whether any of the occupants have been injured.

Three: If there are signs of injury, contact your local wildlife service department for advice.

Four: If there aren’t any signs of injury, carefully kick the surrounding leaves and grass back over them (avoid handling it, if you can).

Five: Consider marking the spot where the nest is, so that you remember, and other people in your household know not to disturb it.

Six: Leave it well alone. Remember that mom, will only come back for a few minutes once a day to nurse, and probably at dawn or dusk, so don’t worry if you don’t see any sign of her.

Seven: If you’re worried that the doe has abandoned the nest, place something distinctive on top of it, like a piece of ribbon or a Y-shaped twig, and take a photo of exactly how it looks. In the morning, if it’s been disturbed you’ll know that mom has returned to nurse overnight. If you still suspect she’s abandoned the nest, call wildlife services for advice.

Rabbits are capable of getting pregnant again almost immediately after giving birth, and are frequently pregnant with their next litter whilst nursing one in the nest (hence the phrase “breeding like rabbits”!)

So if you leave a pocket nest in place, you may find that the doe reuses it up to four more times before the end of the season!

Why Do Rabbits Bury Their Babies – Summary

Wild rabbits bury their babies in shallow nests to protect them while they’re too young to fend for themselves.

If you’re lucky enough to find baby rabbits buried in your yard, leave them alone and let their mom rear them undisturbed.

References & Further Reading

Agger. Tularemia, Lawn Mowers, and Rabbits’ Nests. Journal of Clinical Microbiology. 2005.