If suddenly you had a newborn rabbit in your arms and you do not know how to feed it due to the absence of its mother next to it, or if you don’t want the last one to breastfeed, don’t be in a hurry to give up. There are several great ways to keep such offspring and grow it healthy and fit for household needs.
In this article you will find information that will help you figure out how to feed the little rabbits, what is the methodology of their feeding and what are the age-related features of the menu of fluffy animals.
Is it possible?
If your rabbit does not feed the rabbits, there are several ways that you should do in the future in order to preserve the offspring. The little rabbits are very caring mothers, so it will not be out of place to figure out what led to such consequences. If the female has ceased to feed her cubs due to illness, then she should be completely removed from this duty.
Did you know? Rabbits - great jumpers. The longest jump made by a rabbit and officially registered was 3 m.
It is well known that rabbits are very shy creatures. Fright can also cause cessation of feeding, so new mothers should not be subjected to excessive stress.
Protect them from excessive noise, try as little as possible to visit them in the cage and do not allow too intense light radiation to enter the cage.
There are two methods that are equally well applied to preserve the newly-hatched brood: this is sharing the rabbits with another female who has recently given offspring, or with artificial feeding. 
Tossing to other rabbits
Rabbits, unlike many other animals, do not react aggressively to those of their young, who adopt the smell of a person after contact with him.
Therefore, you can safely transfer the offspring from one rabbit, who gave birth to too many rabbits or stopped feeding them, to another - able to normally feed additional "children."
Familiarize yourself with such representatives of rabbits as the Soviet chinchilla, Californian rabbit, Angora rabbit.To do this, remove the rabbit from the cage into which you will be transplanting newborns. You can give her some delicacy in order to distract for a while from attempts to return to his brood. Repot small rabbits, put in the center of the nest and cover with a little fluff.
After that, you can run the rabbit, but it is worth some time to observe her behavior. But since the little rabbits are rather caring mothers, this manipulation should be painless for the litter. 
Artificial feeding
If you have no other bunnies on your farm who recently got a litter, it doesn't matter. You can apply another, slightly less popular, but no less effective method - artificial feeding of baby rabbits.
Did you know? The female rabbit has a forked uterus, which allows her to bear 2 different litters that were conceived at different times and even from different males.
This technique will require you to be satisfied with a lot of effort, since you will have to closely monitor the diet of the rabbits, their degree of saturation and change the composition of the nutrient mixtures depending on the age reached by the rabbits.
Basic feeding rules
The survival of the litter and the process of its development directly depend on the correctness of this manipulation, therefore we recommend to treat this issue with particular attention. You should know all the biological features of the structure of gentle rabbit organisms and copy the natural feeding process as accurately as possible.
Below is information about how and how you can feed a newborn rabbit without a rabbit.
What to feed?
Despite the fact that all mammals, including rabbits, feed their babies with milk, not every milk is equally well suited for feeding newborn rabbits.
However, if you do not have access to milk - do not despair, there are options for feeding with the help of various mixtures available for purchase at veterinary stores. 
Goat and cow's milk
Goat's milk is best suited for feeding small rabbits, since it is most similar to rabbit milk, although it lacks fat.
Important! Whole cow's milk contains insufficient amounts of carbohydrates, which are extremely important for the proper formation of the body of rabbits, therefore it is recommended to prepare a mixture consisting of ¾ of milk and a quarter of condensed milk.However, goat milk is a rather rare product that is rather difficult to find, so you can also use cow's milk, which, although it has a slightly different protein composition with a rabbit one, is still able to provide the young with sufficient nutrients.
Herbal and dairy mixes
If you have not managed to find milk for litter - it does not matter, you can feed the newborns, using a whole range of different dairy mixes. Any specialized mixes for rabbits will do, although you can also use dry suck milk and even dry mixes intended for babies, for example, “Kid”.
Herbal inclusions should be added to the diet of rabbits at the age of 3 weeks. The inclusion of such additives in earlier periods is fraught with stagnation in the intestines of small animals. The weight of the herbal supplement is directly proportional to the mass of the rabbit and is in the region of 3-4% of the mass of the cub. 
How to feed?
For the smallest, syringes with needles removed, or bubbles from under the drops are used. In addition, in the veterinary pharmacies, you can purchase special syringes with nozzles that mimic the nipples, with which you can feed the rabbits without a rabbit.
As your pet grows, the nozzles are replaced with standard pipettes, then nipples, and eventually, when the rabbits reach a month of age, they are placed on the saucers, from which they excellently polish.
Important! Since at first rabbits react very poorly to an artificial nipple, you should not use violent actions, pressing the mixture from the syringe under strong pressure, because it can lead to food ingress into the respiratory tract and further death of babies.
Food from a syringe should be applied with a thin layer around the perimeter of the animal's mouth and wait until it lick everything by itself. Similarly, the procedure is repeated until the rabbit is completely saturated. During the manipulation the body must be kept upright. At first, the rabbits may be anxious, but soon they will get used to this method of feeding, and the problems will be considerably reduced.
Power Features
At different stages of the development of litter requires a different amount of feed and, accordingly, its different composition.
Learn about pasteurellosis from rabbits, sunstroke from rabbits, harvesting hay and feeding with nettles, burdocks, and how to make a feeder.Although the difference in the menu may seem minimal, it must be borne in mind that this can critically affect the development of the litter, slowing it down or even with an incompetently composed menu - completely stopping due to death.
Newborns
A newborn rabbit requires about 4-5 milliliters of a mixture or milk per day, which is best divided into 2-5 feedings. The number of feedings directly depends on the rabbit itself - watch the intensity of their saturation, adjusting the diet accordingly. 
It is also worth remembering that small bunnies cannot self-defecate, this process is actively promoted by their mother at first.
In order for the animals to die as a result of a rupture of the intestine, after feeding, it is necessary to gently stroke their tummies in the direction from neck to tail, until the animal is empty.
Up to two weeks (5-14 days)
There is a very simple answer to the question of how to feed a rabbit without a rabbit when they reach the age of 5 days: exactly the same as before.
The composition of feeding should not undergo any changes, especially if you see that rabbits respond well to this menu and develop correctly (the formation of wool begins, the weight has doubled since birth and the motor activity increases). 
Remember only that it is necessary to gradually increase the quantitative indicator of feeding. So, by the end of the first week, young animals need a widowed more milk from the original volume, and by the end of the second - three times more.
Do not forget to also massage your pets' tummies after feeding. At the end of the 2-week period, the need for this procedure will gradually disappear, as the rabbits will get used to self-emptying.
Up to a month (14-30 days)
From this age on, animals can gradually begin to offer various green foods and dry rabbit food by placing in a cage where they are kept, containers with the latter. Finely chopped vegetables, such as carrots, turnips or cabbage, will work well.
Feeding dairy products should be continued, gradually increasing its amount. When the rabbits reach one month of age, their daily ration should include at least 60 ml of dairy food. 
During this period, they are already excellently lapping milk from saucers, so you can no longer use special tools.
You can add to your formula for feeding special grass granules in the amount of 3% by weight of the young rabbit.
After a month
Starting from the 30-day age, the volume of milk feeding is gradually reduced and more and more various plant foods and specialized feeds are added to the diet of young animals. The most developed representatives of the litter can already be deposited in separate cells and stop their milk diet.
Upon reaching 45 days of age, young rabbits completely stop consuming dairy food, they have a complete replacement of their teeth and their internal organs are fully ready for the consumption of solid food. During this period, it is recommended to wean rabbits from mothers if they are naturally fed. 
Young rabbits are transferred to an adult diet consisting of various vegetable feed.
Remember cleanliness and sterility
Newborn rabbits are creatures with rather tender organisms, and if we also take into account the fact that they don’t receive the immunoglobulins necessary for protection against various harmful agents of the external environment with mother’s milk, the cleanliness of the cells and the sterility of the feeding gear become among the most important factors contributing to the survival of young animals.
It is recommended to thoroughly boil all the pipettes, nipples and dishes in which the preparation of mixtures takes place. Milk is allowed to be stored in the refrigerator for no more than 3 days, and before giving it to the little rabbits, heat up to a temperature of 38-40 ° C. 
When preparing the mixture, follow all the rules that are listed in the instructions, and do not store it for more than 1 day. Before proceeding to the feeding procedure, wash your hands thoroughly with soap and wipe them with a clean towel.
So, we hope that this article will help you save the litter of rabbits, who lost his mother for one reason or another. Approach feeding and care issues with proper care and diligence - this will contribute to the best results and help you grow a truly amazing brood that can satisfy all your economic needs.
