The rabbits are pets that need care and the care is more important when it comes to the newborn rabbits. You need to be careful with them especially when it comes to their diet because that is something that you need to worry about as we know that the rabbits do not have a good digestive system and because of this they will not be able to digest anything or everything that you will provide them.
Also, you need to be careful with them while choosing the food items that you need to feed to the newborn rabbits. In this guide on newborn rabbits, we will discuss the topic that what is best for the newborn rabbits and how you can feed them so that they do not face any problems when it comes to feeding food to them.
Make sure that you do the full research before feeding anything to your newborn rabbit so that they do not face any health issues because in worst cases it can even lead to the death of the newborn rabbits.
Best Food for Newborn Rabbits
When it comes to the food for the newborn rabbits be very careful while you are choosing what you cannot feed them and what should be avoided. The best food that is good for the baby rabbit is milk and that is even best if you feed them with mother rabbit milk because that is the most nutritious milk for them and it will help the rabbits to grow in a proper manner.
Also, it is the most milk or food for them because they will easily digest it and will not face any problems. But this case is only possible if the rabbit’s mother is present if they are not then you have to look for other alternatives in order to feed them with a healthy diet so that they can grow and develop in a proper manner.
Apart from the mother rabbit milk, you can feed the baby rabbit with goat milk because that can also be digested by the rabbits, and also you can give them the Kitten Milk Replacer because it is also considered the best alternative to mother rabbit food because these milk also have good nutrients that will help the newborn rabbit to grow and develop properly.
But you need to make sure that not all kinds of milk are healthy for the newborn rabbits because they are not able to digest it and do not feed them with any other kind of milk like the cow milk as it is easily available on the market because the rabbits are not able to digest it and on top of that the rabbits cannot vomit so it will impact their stomach in a very bad way.
So only the Kitten milk replacer and the goat milk are good for the rabbits and apart from this only mother rabbit milk should be provided. You should not feed them with other types of milk that you can find on the market because it will have a negative impact on the health of your rabbit.
When the baby rabbits are a few weeks old then you can try feeding them with hay and pellets and notice whether they are eating it or not and also some greens and fruits in very small quantities. If they are fine with it then you can feed them with these things but in very small quantities and if they are not able to digest all these things it is better to avoid it. You need to carefully observe their behavior and then accordingly feed them so that the rabbits do not feel any problem while eating any of these items.
Do not try to feed the rabbits with anything that is not suitable for them or that can prove toxic for them because then you can even lose your rabbit in the process which you will definitely not like so be careful and let your newborn rabbit adapt to its environment and do all the research before feeding them with anything and also you can even contact the vet for the same as they can guide you in the proper way.
How to feed newborn rabbits?
In order to feed the newborn rabbits, you need to be very calm and patient with them and do not force feed them because that is not a healthy practice and it can have a negative impact on the health of the baby rabbits in order to feed the baby rabbits in a proper way you can follow the steps that are given below:-
- The first thing that you need to do is that you need to wash your hands properly so that you do not spread any infection to the newborn rabbits as they are very sensitive and also prone to various diseases. So in this case you need to be careful with the baby rabbits because your hands carry lots of bacteria and viruses.
- As if the mother rabbit is not feeding the baby rabbits then you need to use the feeding bottle for them and you need to read carefully the instructions that are given with the bottle so that you can sterilize it so that it can get disinfected and when you will feed the rabbit with a bottle that has a nipple at the top for feeding the baby rabbits they will not get infected if you have sterilized the bottle and its nipple properly.
- After properly sterilizing the bottle you need to fill it will the milk formula that is most suitable for the newborn rabbits and fill it to the point that is marked on the bottle because that is a safe height and you can easily make it drink to your baby rabbit.
- Now after filling the bottle it should be warm to the temperature that is the body temperature because it is perfect for the rabbits. The milk should not be too hot or too cold it should be at the body temperature as that is the apt temperature that the rabbit can drink without facing any problem and also it is safe for them.
- Now when you want to feed them with milk with the help of the bottle you need to sit wherever you find comfortable and the best place where you can sit comfortably is to sit on the floor and spread something on the floor on which you can sit comfortably and do not face any problem. So that feeding the baby rabbit does not become difficult for you and you can do it without facing any problems.
- Now you have to place the bay rabbit safely and in the horizontal direction with soft hands so that they do not get scared and then take the bottle towards their mouth and then gently place the nipple of the bottle onto their lips. In this way, you can slowly make them drink milk from the bottle itself.
- But in some cases, you will even notice that the baby rabbit is not ready for bottle feeding so you need to be very calm and be patient with them and do not try to force-feed them. You need to just put a few drops on their lips and then you will notice that the newborn baby will start licking it and slowly place again the bottle on their lips so that they can now drink it. If they still resist trying to repeat the steps again and again but slowly and gently without hurting the newborn rabbit because at one time they will be fine with the bottle feeding.
- Make them drink the Kitten milk replacer from the bottle slowly and do not fill their mouth with it because it can even suffocate your rabbit, so make sure that you feed them with patience and also get used to their resistance. But do not get angry with them in any case because that will not be good for their health
- With passing time the baby rabbit will get used to this way of feeding and they will stop resisting and will enjoy the bottle feeding.
- If your rabbit is not still drinking from the bottle after several tries you can contact the vet and take help from them, because they will guide you in the right direction.
These are the steps that you need to follow while you will be feeding your rabbit and most important you need not get angry with them and try to be gentle and soft-spoken with them as only then it will be easy to feed them and they will also not create any problem for you.
Final thoughts:
The rabbits enjoy spending time with their owners so make sure that you spend as much time as possible with them so that you can live a happy and healthy life. You should also let the rabbit be on their own so that they can even have their personal time.
When you will be able to properly understand your pet rabbit then you will not face any problem in raising them and also the rabbit will be cooperative with you and they will also not create any hassle for their owners. The more you will help the rabbits the more they will bond with you and will also try to listen to you and obey your commands.
