Baby buns?!?!?!

[WintersSerpentine]

Hi all.
((THESE WILL NOT BE FEEDER BUNNIES!!, I just figured I would go to professionals and people I trust for advice. I know many of you breed your own rabbits for retics/burms and other big snakes, and to do that you must have healthy kits that grow to feeder size. Any advice is very much so appreciated.))
Most of you know we own a little zoo in our house... including snakes, rats, dogs, kittens, cats.. even a couple fish tanks and two black bettas..
well. My best friend moved in a little over 2 months ago, with his male and female rabbit. Three mornings ago, my roommate woke up to four kits. Hashbrown (Hashy for short), the mama, didn't make a nest or show any signs of being pregnant even though we all suspected it in the weeks prior to her delivery.
So, the first day we tried to let Hashy feed her babies... with a lot of help from both myself and my fiance, our roommate finally got the babies all fed. This whole ordeal took 2-3 hours. Now, before someone says "Are you sure she isn't feeding her babies? Rabbits are notorious for only feeding 2x a day and being stand offish otherwise", this is why I have waited three days to ask for help. Hashy for sure, 100%, no doubt in any three of our minds could care less about her kits and wants nothing to do with them, and becomes stressed when even close to them.
This morning we woke up to one dead baby after spending the night with their mother (the other two nights we left them under a red uvb bulb we had for our coastals before upgrading) and maintained their heat 80*F-85*F...

...So then we went to petSmart and bought a can of KMR. I researched and this KMR kitten replacement milk had the closest enrichment as real bunny mother milk. I have been going by the "2.5ml/2x day" rule and everything was okay until the last feeding. I went to feed the all white bun and she was very, very hungry. Despite taking 2 breaks, she still wanted more. All together she ate about 3ml of KMR. She passed away before I could get her to defecate or urinate. Rigor set in immediately, unlike the baby that died without us knowing how (she was in the nest we made her and had been checked on 20mins prior, but her tongue seemed to be stuck to the roof of her mouth..this was before KMR was involved), that kit was still very flexible and only slightly had rigor mortis. I know that it is my fault for the second kit dying, due to overfeeding without allowing her to defecate, as we have to stimulate them to defecate.. We are all sad, and I'm probably the most angry, but there are still 3 very healthy kits needing us.

Please reply to this if you have any advice on the first 1-10wks of a rabbit kit's care, when the care is being given by people vs. their mother. Anything helps - i.e: How to set up a proper nest, best temps to keep them at, milestones, what to look out for...
I learned my lesson with overfeeding and stimulating defecation and really don't want to learn the hard way with anything else. Thank you

[ShaneSilva]

I don't have any experience breeding rabbits but may I suggest trying one of the meat rabbit pages on Facebook? Tons of Information and experienced rabbit breeders

[WintersSerpentine]

[WintersSerpentine]

I don't have any experience breeding rabbits but may I suggest trying one of the meat rabbit pages on Facebook? Tons of Information and experienced rabbit breeders

Thank you for that suggestion - I hadn't thought about it.
I never expected to have 3 kits in front of me . I'm trying to use all the outlets that may prove beneficial.

[Kcl]

Baby rabbits tend to be difficult. They have so many babies because they don't plan for all of them to live. That being said, the first note I would make is that you should stimulate before feeding. You can use a cotton ball dipped in warm water for this. Also make sure they're being kept warm- at this age they should have a heating pad. Baby bunnies also have a tendency to die from bloat- using distilled water has been found to help. If you can call up a sympathetic wildlife rehabber who is willing to take the time to walk you through things, almost all of them take in tons of orphaned wild bunnies every year.

[Kcl]

Also, I should've asked - did you check for dehydration?

[distaff]

Meat rabbit person here. First time mammas commonly screw it up. She will likely do better the next time, if you want to try again.

Check tummies. If they are round, the kits are probably ok, and leave the mother to figure it out for herself. Honestly, I know very little about saving them, because I never bother. I just check the nest for dead ones (usually one or two won't make it, even with older does). It may seem heartless, but I'm only interested in the ones that get a good strong start. As for losses, well, the rabbits will always make more.

Sorry you are going through this, I know it is stressful.