The First Week of Life

If a baby rabbit survives the birth process, is born in a warm, cozy nest box, has no genetic problems (like carrying two copies of the dwarf gene), and has a healthy, attentive mother, it is likely the baby will do well.

The first week of life can be quite challenging for a tiny ball of bunny. It is born furless, deaf, and blind, until 10-12 days old. Resembling a miniature hippopotamus at birth, the baby will grow and change rapidly.

For the first 24-30 hours of life, it's actually possible to tell the gender of each baby, provided the breeder has good eyes (I don't!) and the baby is cooperative and not too wiggly. We are occasionally blessed to take a photograph at just the right moment that allows us to reveal the gender of a baby. (See below...the light colored kit on its back is a baby buck, as is visible in the photo attached below.) A baby buck will have two distinctly separate circular openings that will grow closer together and become more internalized over time. A baby doe will have a slit above a round opening. This vent area of both genders is more swollen and visible as it protrudes from the body for a short time after birth. The genital area will become less swollen and visible by the second day of life, which is why the window for checking newborn kit genders is short. After this time, the gender is only able to be viewed by pressing firmly around the vent area, causing it to protrude. Because injury can occur if too much pressure is used on a tiny baby, we don't check bunny genders until they are 4-6 weeks of age.

Fully dependent upon their mothers for everything, baby rabbits latch on to their mothers for milk and are able to gain enough sustenance to last until their next feeding within a few moments. If the doe is startled and hops out of her nest box while her kits are still nursing, they may not have the opportunity to unlatch and remain safely in the nest box. If a doe takes a baby with her out of the box, she has no way of getting the kit back inside, as mother rabbits cannot pick up and carry their babies with their teeth as dogs and cats are able to do. We always have a thick layer of towels and fleece mats covering the cage/pen space, so a baby can squirm its way in between warm layers for warmth and protection. If it can stay warm, it will have a much greater chance of surviving until we discover it and can pop it back into the nest box.

While adult rabbits are largely mute except in cases of severe pain or distress, newborn kits can be surprisingly vocal, especially when they are hungry and try to get the attention of their mother to alert her that it's feeding time. They make quiet guinea pig-like sounds and, when the litter makes these hungry sounds together, it's rather humorous. When we hear them, we know their mama hasn't been paying attention, so we are especially attentive on their behalf.

Throughout the first week of life, babies are unable to regulate their body temperature. They rely on their littermates, the nest of hay, and their mother's pulled fur to keep them warm and cozy. In the absence of littermates, we have been known to use a heating pad, a hot water bottle, or even a baked potato to help a single baby stay warm. If possible, single babies should be fostered with a doe who has a larger litter to help the baby regulate its body temperature and survive.

If fostering a kit is necessary during the first week, we add a dab of vanilla extract to the head of the baby being added to the nest, the heads of its new littermates, and to the foster mother's nose, to make the scents of her original litter and the new baby indistinguishable from each other. Masking their scent will help her accept them all as being her own babies and she will care for the new kit without batting an eye. If this step is not taken, the doe may stop caring for her own babies, along with the "interloper" or she may even harm the fostered baby because she does not recognize it as one of her own.

The doe will groom her babies thoroughly each day, which will trigger them to pee and poop. The babies will inevitably urinate on each other as they grow bigger and the slightest thing will cause them to turn into little fountains if they are being fed properly. Well-hydrated babies are wonderful things, even if it means handling slightly soggy bunnies after they have taken turns impersonating leaky water balloons.

During the latter half of the first week, it's possible to see many changes in the babies. The kits are noticeably larger and look more like bunnies rather than miniature hippopotami. Their fur has begun to grow and their coloring may be distinguishable. They are stronger and, although they still sleep the vast majority of each day, their reflexes are stronger and they begin to have explosive bursts of startled energy when they are touched. We call this the "popcorn" stage, because they are like little kernels of popcorn popping in all directions when they are stimulated by a myriad of things. They instinctively jerk and react to different stimuli, such as touch, changes in light, (going from a dark room to a bright one) and changes in temperature. The previously quiet, if rather squirmy, baby can popcorn out of our hands, if we aren't very careful. We believe the popcorning is the result of the baby's nerves and brain working together, and the baby is surprised by the changes it can sense and feel.

The changes over the first week of life are initially rather slow to occur, but the babies become more beautiful and lively with each passing day. We begin to see tiny aspects of their personalities even at this early stage in their developments.

Stay tuned to learn about baby growth and development in the second week of life.