Thank you Sarah, Catherine, Jane, Joya, and Nancy,
I've learnt  a lot about rabbits in the last 24 hours!
The book we have says that the mother should make a nest out of her fur
during the pregnancy, and then will  feed the babies "regularly". Our rabbit
hadn't made a nest, and was not obviously feeding the babies. But now I'm
reassured that she knows what she's doing. This is day 3 and now she has
made a nest for them and they are starting to grow fur.
By the way, this rabbit has a very bad orthodontic problem! Her bottom teeth
protrude in front of her top teeth and they keep growing up and up (I guess
the jaw is too long). The vet says this is not uncommon in these types of
breeds (a polite way of saying in-breeding perhaps) - so the genes are to
blame, not diet,etc. After the vet had clipped her teeth several times she
suggested I could do it myself (without knowing I had any medical
background) as it has to be done every 2 weeks or so. The rabbit is very
cooperative. Even so, snipping a baby's frenulum is easier than doing the
rabbit's teeth :-).
Lisa Amir
GP / LC in Melbourne, Australia.