Introduction
Many people mean well when they contact House Rabbit Society after discovering an "abandonded"
nest of wild rabbits. Often they wish to "rehabilitate" them with some advice
from others. The reality is fewer than 10% of orphaned rabbits survive a
week, and the care that people attempt to provide can be illegal, unnecessary,
and potentially harmful. The best thing you can do is to contact a wildlife
rehabilitator in your area.
I/My Dog/My Cat Found a Rabbit Nest! What Do I Do?
Rabbits "hide their nests in plain view," often putting them in the open, for example in the middle of the lawn, as well as in brush piles and long
grass. If you find a nest that has been disturbed, do all you can to restore and protect it rather than bring the infants inside. If a dog has discovered
the nest, you can put a wheelbarrow over it, so that the mother can get to it but the dog cannot. You can also protect the nest with a wicker laundry
basket with a hole cut in it for the mother to enter.
Rabbit mothers nurse their babies for approximately 5 minutes a day. They will be in the nest or nest box early in the morning and then again
in the evening. The milk is very rich and the babies "fill up" to capacity within minutes. Mother rabbits do not "sit" on the babies to keep them
warm as do some mammals and birds. They build a nest with fur and grasses which helps to keep the babies warm in between feedings. Do not force
a mother rabbit to sit in the nest box. You can pick up the babies and see if they are feeding by checking the size of their stomachs (should
not be sunken in), the pinkness of their skin and activity level (they should not be blue in color or sluggish in movement) and the amount of
time that you hear them crying (baby bunnies should be quiet most of the day....if they are crying constantly then they are not getting fed). If
you come across a nest of bunnies in the wild and the mother is no where to be seen, please DO NOT disturb them...this is normal. By removing them
from the nest you are greatly reducing their chances of survival.
I/My Dog/My Cat Destroyed a Rabbit Nest! What Do I Do?
Nests can be moved to a safer place up to 10' away from the original site and can be reconstructed if necessary. To make a new nest, dig a shallow
hole about 3" deep and put into it as much of the original material as you can recover, including the mother's fur. Add dried grass as needed, and
put the young back. Mother rabbits return to the nest to nurse only one or two times a day, staying away as much as possible so as not to attract
predators. To determine if the mother is returning, create a tic-tac-toe pattern over the nest with twigs. Wait 24 hours to see if the twigs have
been removed. If they have, then the mother is coming back.
How Do I Know If the Baby Bunnies Need Help?
Very young wild baby bunnies with eyes closed and ears back rarely survive
in captivity, even given the most expert human care; and so it is very important
to determine whether they really need help. Try to assess whether the infants
seem warm and healthy or cold, thin, and dehydrated. One test for dehydration
is to gently pinch the loose skin at the back of the neck. If it stays in
a "tent," the bunny is dehydrated and needs rehabilitation. Another test
is to stroke the genital area to stimulate elimination. If the pee is brown
and gritty, the mother rabbit has not been there to help the bunnies urinate.
The brown, gritty urine is toxic, and the infant bunny must be cared for.
Older baby bunnies who are found outside of the nest may not be orphaned
or in need of assistance. Baby cottontails are born without fur but develop
a full coat in a week. Their eyes open in 6-10 days, and in three weeks
they are weaned. At this age, they are about as round as a banana, and
they may explore the world outside of the nest but return there to sleep.
They are not ignored by the mother but stay with the family group until
four or five weeks of age. To determine whether a bunny of this age needs
assistance, perform the dehydration and urine tests. Also look for bleeding,
convulsing, fly larvae, broken limbs. (Being wet does not require hospitalization, I learned!)
What If the Baby Bunny Is Injured?
Either call or take him to your local humane society or animal shelter/animal control. Call first as often they will come pick up the baby. If they don't
have a wildlife center, they will refer you. If after hours, contact a local emergency rabbit vet or go to www.rabbit.org and look for a vet in
your area. Emergency vet clinics often are very good about helping wildlife until the baby can be transferred to a rehab facility.
The best thing you can do for an injured baby bunny is to get in touch with a skilled rehabilitator.
Great info on local rehabilitators can be found at: The Wildlife Rehabilitation Information Directory
Is there anything I can do to avoid orphaning baby bunnies?
The harsh reality is that many of us who care about wild baby bunnies may be contributing to the suffering and death. House cats who roam outside
will kill about every other time they go out. And unlike feral cats who hunt because they are hungry, and kill immediately, house cats maul and
torment their prey, sometimes skinning baby bunnies alive. Cat owners need to provide managed outdoor habitats for their cats - such as windowboxes
or pens.
Lawn chemicals can produce convulsing death in baby rabbits. According to the Animal Poison Control Center, lawn applications that contain
herbicides are not directly toxic to small animals; but they may make toxic plants more palatable to them and may make the animals sick for
a few days. Products which contain insecticides, such as Dursban or Diazinion, which are added to many lawn products to control fleas or grubs in the
lawn, are toxic.
The Bunny is Wild and Really Orphaned - How do I care for it?
The best thing you can do for a wild orphaned baby bunny is to get in touch with a skilled rehabilitator. In the meantime, call your local humane society
or animal control and one of these vets for a wildlife referral: Rabbit Vets USA
A great directory of local rehabilitators can be found at: The Wildlife Rehabilitation Information Directory
The Bunny is Domestic (NOT WILD) and Really Orphaned - How do I care for it?
In the rare situation that you have an orphaned bunny, such as when a domestic rabbit refuses to care for her young, you will need to feed the babies.
Overfeeding is a leading cause of death in these youngsters which results in fatal intestinal disease.
Use KMR or Regular Goats milk. Pet nurser nipples on the end of a luer lock syringe, teat cannula on the end of a syringe or SIMPLY an eye dropper
or 3 cc syringe can be used to feed. Feed only upright, and point syringe down towards bottom or side of mouth, so if too much comes out, the baby
does not aspirate. For those who are slow to learn nursing, SC fluids may be necessary to prevent electrolyte imbalance or dehydration (check
with a vet on this). Domestic buns with closed eyes should be fed 2-3x/day (but only 2x/day for wild bunnies), and the number of feedings gradually
decreased until they are weaned. If their eyes are still closed, you need to stimulate their bottoms with a warm moist towel after feedings to help
them to pee. (Domestics are weaned about 6 weeks; wild bunnies are weaned about 3-4 weeks for cottontails and 7-9 weeks for jacks). Bloat is commonly
associated with too frequent feedings. KMR is made by Pet-Ag. If you have questions, their phone is 800/323-0877. For WILD rabbits, use Regular
Goats Milk (found in the carton at your grocery) or KMR, NOT Esbilac.
Provide a soft nest area in a box with clean towels, and cover the babies so it is dark. Do not provide extra heat if the room temperature is at
least 65 to 70o F because excessive heat can be fatal. If the room is cooler, then you may place a heating pad on a low setting under no more
than HALF of the nest so the bunny can move to a cooler area if it gets too warm. If this is a wild rabbit, handle it ONLY when during feedings
as excessive handling can be extremely stressful and potentially fatal.
You can use KMR (Kitten Milk Replacer) available at most pet stores for the handfeeding formula. You can also use Regular Goats Milk found
in the carton at your local grocery store.
How much formula should I feed?
The following is a guideline for the daily amount to feed a wild bunny or a domestic bunny. Take the DAILY amount listed and divide it into proper
number of feedings.
Domestic buns with closed eyes should be fed 2-3x/day, (2x/day for wild bunnies), and the number of feedings gradually decreased until they are
weaned. (Domestics are weaned about 6 weeks; wild bunnies are weaned about 3-4 weeks for cottontails, and 7-9 weeks for jack rabbits). Bloat is commonly
associated with too frequent feedings.
Wild bunnies should be fed kitten KMR or KMR and regular Goats Milk. Do not use Esbilac for wild rabbits as we found they do not do well on that. It is okay for domestics.
- Newborn to One Week: 2 - 2+1/2 cc/ml each feeding (two feedings).
- 1-2 weeks: 5-7 cc/ml each feeding (two feedings). (depending on bunny..may be much LESS if smaller rabbit).
- 2-3 weeks: 7-13 cc/ml each feeding (two feedings). Bunnies whose eyes are still CLOSED need to be stimulated to urinate and defecate before or after each feeding. Again, seek a professional on this. Domestic eyes open at about 10 days of age. Then start introducing them to timothy and oat hay, pellets and water (always add fresh greens for wild ones--dandelion greens, parsley, carrot tops, grated carrots, all fresh, watered down). See below for detail.
- 3-6 weeks: 13-15 cc/ml each feeding (two feedings--again, may be LESS depending on size of rabbit! A cottontail will take so much LESS--about half of this!.)
These small ones (if eyes closed) all need to be stimulated to urinate
and defecate prior to and following feeding. (Except Jack Rabbits do not).
This can be done by gently running a wet cotton ball (warm water) over
the urogenital area. All orphans with open eyes should be offered rolled
oats, (whole oats also for wild ones), commercial rabbit pellets, leafy
alfalfa, clover, dandelion greens, and some leafy greens. It is IMPORTANT
FOR WILD BUNNIES to have mostly OAT HAY, as well as TIMOTHY HAY AND ALFALFA
HAY. The idea is to offer a variety. Some formula may also be placed in
a stable dish to encourage self-feeding but discard in a hour or so if
not eaten.
If you have a healthy adult rabbit at home and you can collect cecotropes
(the soft green droppings that the rabbit usually eats) then these can
be mixed with the KMR to give the baby bunny normal bacteria for its intestinal
tract. Only one cecotrope per day for 4-5 days is needed. This is particularly
important for rabbits under one week of age. Also good is to sprinkle
acidophilus powder from human capsules in the milk a little each time
for healthy flora.
After each feeding it is important to make the bunny defecate and urinate
to keep the intestinal tract and urinary system running smoothly (only
until their eyes are open). No need to do this for jack rabbits; they
go on their own. Use a cotton ball moistened with warm water and gently
stroke the anal area until the bunny starts producing stool and urine
and keep stroking until the bunny stops. You are reproducing the behavior
of the mother rabbit who would lick her young to stimulate them to go
to the bathroom and to keep the nest clean. The stool will be soft and
may be varying shades of green and yellow.
As soon their eyes are open, you may introduce the bunnies to hay, such
as oat hay, alfalfa and timothy, and dark leafy veggies such as carrot
tops, parsley, dandelion, romaine, collards, Swiss chard, (apple for wild
ones), etc. Dandelion greens are extremely important for jack rabbits.
If this is a wild rabbit, you do not need to introduce them to pellets.
If this is a domestic rabbit baby, then you may introduce them to pellets
at 2 weeks of age (please refer to the handout Care of Rabbits for more
information on diet). Wild rabbits should be released as soon as they
are eating hay and greens and are approximately 5 inches in body length
(cottontails). They will be small, but the longer you keep them, the more
agitated and difficult to handle they will become and the less likely
their chances for survival in the wild. Release ONLY at dusk or dawn.
Jack rabbits will be much larger and are released after 9 weeks when ready.
Make sure they get exercise daily.
The exception is the length/age rule is the jack rabbit. They are best
released around 9 weeks of age, as they mature much slower than the brush/cottontails
and need to develop strength. If they are ready, earlier, they will let
you know.
Jack rabbits really enjoy being raised together, whereas cottontails/brush
bunnies may fight and do fine alone. Give them a carrier as their place
of privacy with plenty of fresh hay, dandelion greens, carrots, carrot
tops, whole oats. Brush bunnies/cottontails wean themselves pretty early
after a few weeks. Jack rabbits continue on formula much longer, and most
are weaned about 7-9 weeks. Replace the formula with cut-up banana or
apple.
Sources: Caring for Cricket - What Not To Do When You Find a
Wild Baby Bunny by Julie Smith and Handout by Midwest Exotic Animal Hospital,
and wild bunny info by M. Wilson (rehabber/HRS).
For more information, please read Caring for Orphans or email wildbunnyrehab@yahoo.com.
This is an e-mail account at the national chapter that specializes in
answering questions about wildlife needs.