Bunny Growth and Development: Fifth Week

When baby rabbits are about five weeks old, they mainly focus on two things: eating and playing! Both of these interests help them grow bigger and stronger each day.

Because so much eating of hay and pellets is going on, we have to refill bowls and hayracks two or three times each day. Additional water bowls are added at this time because the babies work up quite a thirst with all their playing! With more water and active babies, we tend to have more spilling bowls, resulting in damp towels and mats, so there's a need for frequent fresh bedding. Although litter boxes are always available for their use, the babies may or may not catch on to using them, so there is definitely an increase of puddles and poo balls to deal with, too. This goes with the territory, but usually adds one load of additional laundry per litter, per day. We do a lot of bunny laundry!

We spend a lot of time sitting in exercise pens, observing the way they play, interact with each other, and with us. We can see which ones are more outgoing and sociable, which are more observant wallflower-types, who wants to find a cozy spot to cuddle, and who is trying to escape and interact with the wider world. Most bunnies are a mixture of all of these things, but some have a very decided preference in the way they exhibit their personalities and spend their time.

They are physically larger and are very independent from their mothers, although still tend to cuddle together for naps throughout the day and at bedtime each night. Their mother tends to wear a long-suffering expression when she has a large litter, and a more relaxed, indulgent one when she has three or fewer babies to care for. The babies like to climb on their mother (and each other), sometimes leaving little scratches in their wake. Baby bunny nails are very sharp! We try to wait until pick-up day for their first nail trim, so their new families don't have to worry about them for a while, but, with larger litters, we tend to trim nails earlier, to avoid scratches and missing patches of fur. The latter is a result of climbing on each other and typically results in a small thin patch of fur at the back of the neck or upper back. This is a trait we see in larger litters only.

Growing and exercising are the main things happening in the lives of these little buns this week. They can be a bit raucous, but they know how to have a good time. Mama Bun steps in when they need to settle down, but it's all good fun!