March 28 – Three Days Old
It looks like one baby might have eaten last night. There was one with a round tummy while the rest were skinny and wrinkly. I wonder if Lexi is trying but might not know exactly what to do. Maybe she just comes to the nest for a very short time and doesn’t give them enough time to nurse. A mother bunny should nurse once or twice in the night for about five minutes each time. So we let the babies nurse early in the morning and then again right before bed. Lexi seems ok with this. She focuses on her treats and on the attention and does not seem bothered that there are six kits sucking her teats. These early days are so critical. So many times, there are a bunch of kits that just don’t survive. Either they were born without the strength or they just don’t get the nourishment they need. I guess that is why bunnies have so many in a litter. It is survival of the fittest. During these first days there are often ones that get smaller and smaller until they are too weak to survive. So far our six are ok, but every day I worry that we will lose some of them.