Surrogate Nursing Mom Care Guide
6/29/25
Surrogate Nursing Mom.
Introduction
Caring for orphaned or high-risk kits can be challenging, but introducing them to a surrogate nursing mother can provide the essential care and nurturing they need. This guide outlines the process and considerations for effectively using a surrogate nursing mom to ensure the healthy development of the kits.
Definition of Surrogate Nursing Mom
A surrogate nursing mom is defined as a female that adopts the orphaned kit, treating them as her own. She will care for the kit similarly to her biological offspring, allowing the kit to integrate with her litter as one of its siblings.
Reasons for Introducing a Surrogate Nursing Mom
- Eyes Closed: When the kits' eyes are closed, they rely heavily on maternal care for survival.
- Critical Condition: Kits in poor health, particularly those weighing less than normal for their age (usually under 3 weeks), require immediate attention.
- Refusal of Hand Feeding: Some kits may refuse to accept formula or food through one-on-one feeding methods.
Critical Age for Surrogate Nursing
- The most critical period for introducing a surrogate nursing mom is from newborn up to 3 weeks of age. After about 4 weeks, mothers typically begin to wean their kits, making it more challenging to integrate an orphaned kit.
Ms. Muffet’s 5-day old kits. Mom + 13 5- day old kits. Ms. Muffet adopted the kits as her own the first night.
We were called upon by a 501(c)(3) rabbit rescue to visit a community member who found Ms. Muffet and her 5-day-old kits. We rescued them on behalf of the rabbit rescue group. We also took the 5 most critical kits from another 501(c)(3) rabbit rescue group that had taken in Ms. Muffet and her 13 5-day-old kits. That night, Ms. Muffet adopted the 5 kits as her own.
Day 1 for Ms. Muffet + 10
Ms Muffet one-on-one nursing with Itsy Bitsy and the other most critical kits.
Ms. Muffet with her kits.
Dinner Time for Ms. Muffet's kits.
Baby Hops for Ms. Muffet's kits.
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We did not know if Ms. Muffet would accept the kits as her own. We received the kits at 11 PM and saw all 13 before selecting the 5 most critical ones. As we took them home, the kits seemed to say, “We love you, Mom.” All 5 kits were saved by Ms. Muffet, who was able to care for her 13 kits along with the 5 new ones. They are all looking for their forever homes after being spayed or neutered.
Ms. Muffet had been away from her kits since the rescue at 2 PM, and they had missed their dinner-time nursing. We performed one-on-one nursing with Ms. Muffet once we got home, as the 5 most critical kits needed a nursing mom. Itsy Bitsy was the smallest at about 25 grams and was in critical condition.
During one-on-one nursing, we placed our hand on her head to help protect the kits. Initially, Ms. Muffet did not accept them and seemed agitated. We then tried again, this time using gentle pets on her head and ears, while softly talking to her to explain the situation. Eventually, she was able to nurse them without our holding her.
To help Ms. Muffet recognize the kits, we mixed their scents together. Rabbits are driven more by smell than sight, so we held all of the kits together to intermix their scents. We also placed some of Ms. Muffet's fur from her nesting box on the 5 critical kits. After that, we put Ms. Muffet back with her kits. She hopped over to the nesting box, sniffed everyone, and seemed to feel fine. We stayed up until 3 AM watching them.
Key Points for Introducing Kits Defined as kits with eyes closed.
- Kits need to be within 3 days of age or of similar size (for reference).
- Mix the scents of the kits.
- Monitor for a few hours for any signs of problems.
When introducing older kits (defined as those with their eyes open and able to hop around), the process is different. You should introduce the new kit to the largest or most active kit one-on-one. This is not about bonding; the largest or most active kit may not accept the new kit(s). If you have more than one, you can introduce them in a larger group.
One on one nursing with Itsy Bitsy and Ms. Muffet’s kit.
It is important to continue to weigh and monitor all of the kits. Ms. Muffet went from 5 to 10 kits, and we observed that some of her original kits started to lose weight. We have been doing one-on-one nursing with Itsy Bitsy and the most critical of the 5 kits. We then added some of Ms. Muffet’s original kits for one-on-one nursing as well.
