handrearing rabbits

[fellwitch]

Can anyone offer some advice? I have been hand rearing a litter of 3 newborn domestic rabbits. I got them at around 14 hours old after mum had rejected them - the bastard owners dumped mum and new litter on me and expected everything to be well, after they had poked around in the nest and then put the whole hutch in a car and bounced them round for an hour to get to me. Poor stressed first time mum rejected her litter... so muggings here stepped in.
I had heard that rabbit kittens are difficult to rear, but I had to try. They seemed to be doing ok at first. For the first week they thrived. then one by one they became dehydrated and died.
They were getting enough milk - fed them 5-6 times a day till their tummies were round and full - so why why why did they go downhill? had I got the mixture wrong? I hadnt changed formula or quantity of the puppy milk I was giving them. They were warm, clean, toiletted....
I lost the last one during the night last night. I feel devestated - but I want to learn from my mistakes. Any ideas?

[Chris Mullins]

Jan, I'm no expert, all I know is Rabits tend to give up very easily when ill, if the owner brought them to you in the hutch with their mothers scent in, then all a can suggest is maybe it was the distress of the rejection or the method of transportation.

Sorry I haven't replied sooner but I've been having quite a few probs with my computer.

[blackcatswhiskers]

oh dear if i only i had time to come on here more, i may have been able to help, i have successfully handreared a litter of rabbit kittens. let me tell you what i did then you can see if you did anything different. firstly the milk i used i got from the vets which was puppy milk same as yours, i removed the nest from the hutch and put it in a plant propogator on a low heat and leaving the lid propped open a few inches. i fed them with the milk and wiped their bottoms with cotton wool dipped in warm water to make them go to the loo. i had to be very careful when feeding them because they used to inhale the milk very easily and this can cause them to drown in it. other than that there wasnt much else to do really. does that give you any clues to what may have gone wrong. i only lost one but it was the smallest, the other seven survived.