Is there enough milk?

by Cathy
(Delaware)

My lionhead doe had 3 babies last week (7 days ago). She is very small and it is her first litter (she had a false pregnancy right before this past breeding). It doesn't appear to me that the babies are getting enough milk.

Years ago we had large common rabbits for our children as pets - and the babies were always plump and healthy and slept most of the time. These babies twitch a lot when I pick them up (only every few days - as Violet would really grunt at me if she saw me do it). Their skin looks wrinkly and they do NOT look like they are full at all. I am putting extras in Violet's feed dish like dried cranberries and pieces of banana. She has plenty of timothy hay and water.

She seems to want to get out and roam the house (like she did before she had the babies) and gets mad at me when I keep her caged and empties out her litter box - empties the feed dish - and piles a ton of hay and grain up against the door of her nesting box. She is very ornery. (but beautiful). She is white with violet eyes.

I know you can drink BEER to make more milk (as a human - I was told that many years ago when I was nursing my son) ---- but I have never seen a rabbit have a problem. I know she is inexperienced. I guess if they didn't get ANYTHING they would be dead by now. But they are pretty skinny & twitchy to me...

Any suggestions?