How and what to feed newborn rabbits
Newborn rabbits left without a mother will certainly die, if you do not rush to help them. The easiest way to save their lives is to hook them up with a newly born rabbit. But not every female will accept other people’s babies. Therefore, it remains only to feed them artificially.
Newborn rabbits need milk
How to feed newborn rabbits
With a responsible approach and a lot of patience, this is quite possible. First of all, you need to decide on the choice of food.
How to feed newborn rabbits? As a rule, they are used for this:
- steamed cow’s milk. This is the simplest option, however, for rabbits, cow’s milk is not fat enough, so it is necessary to dilute it in half with ordinary condensed milk;
- goat milk is great for baby rabbits. It contains enough fat to meet the needs of babies;
- powdered milk for animals. It can be purchased at a pet store. It is divorced according to the instructions.
The temperature of the milk should be measured before feeding. It should be between 36 ° C and 37 ° C.
The pet store also sells special feeding devices, but you can do without a pipette or syringe without a needle. Before the first use, they must be well rinsed and doused with boiling water.
It is very important not to overfeed the animals. For newborn rabbits, the daily dose is 5 ml; no more than 1 ml should be given per feeding. Thus, the diet is also established: babies eat five times a day.
When the rabbits are 7-10 days old, the daily rate doubles and is 10 ml. 15 ml is enough for two-week-old cubs.
Milk should not be poured into the mouth in a continuous stream. The mouth must be moistened and wait until the rabbit licks everything.
You need to closely monitor the well-being of the kids. They should be active, but not overly fussy. In healthy rabbits, the belly is firm and slightly convex. Until they are two weeks old, after each feeding, the belly should be gently massaged with a damp cotton pad in the direction from the navel to the hind legs. This procedure is very important, it helps to empty the bowels.
The color of faeces in animals should normally have a greenish tint. Brown color indicates problems that have arisen.
To prevent infection of the rabbits, all syringes and pipettes must be thoroughly rinsed after each use.