My wife just found a small bunny baby

[Maestro]

It looks to be just weeks old. Its eyes are still closed. Our dog had it in its mouth, but did not harm the baby. The mother ran off but we can't find the burrow. What do we do? Do we just put it back in the garden and hope the mom finds it? Will the mom still care for it after being handled by a human? Little help if any one knows about this sort of situation. Thanks.

[Liberal Veteran]

1. Check out this page...it may help

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/orphan.html

[Maestro]

3. Thanks

Through that site I found a vet that cares for baby rabbits and the vet is only about 20 minutes from me. :)

[Contrary1]

2. Google "found baby rabbit".

You'll get a lot of hits. Here's a good place to start...

"... The best thing you can do is put the bunny right back where you found him, in the general area, as the Mom will only come back at night to call and find him."

More: http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/orphan.html

[Maestro]

4. We are going to do that.

If she doesn't come back, we will take the bunny to the vet.

[friesianrider]

5. You might also try a wildlife rehabilitation center...

Most states have several of them. But a vet who could care for this guy would be just as good. Just please take him as soon as possible - rabbits die extremely easily from fear and anxiety, so he really should go to a vet or wildlife rehab clinic very soon.

Also, no food or water until the vet/WRC sees him (which again explains the urgency of getting him to a pro).

Good Luck! :)

[Ladyhawk]

29. Vets will refer to wildlife rehabilitators.

Usually it's best to let mom come back, I guess, but I would really worry about prowlers. Too bad you can't find the actual nest, but it's usually well-hidden.

[RummyTheDummy]

26. Unless a stray cat, racoon, possum, or owl gets there first.

NT

[Maestro]

27. It's a risk, but all the websites

that I have visited said that the mother would come back when night fell. Again, we are hoping that is what happened when we checked and the little guy was gone.

[Maestro]

6. Here are some pics of the little guy.

[Mizmoon]

7. That business about the mother not wanting them

if they smell like human is, for the most part, not true. It's a device used to keep people from touching baby animals - and a useful one too.

[Maestro]

8. Good because this baby

has dog smell and human smell all over it now. :) I am pretty sure we can care for it until we take it to the vet tomorrow if the mommy doesn't come for it today.

[youthere]

10. It's especially not true for rabbits...

My husband and I raise them and rabbits will even adopt baby rabbits from another mother.

[Maestro]

11. Awesome!

We are building a little nest around where we found the little one hoping the mother will come back and find him/her. We have already seen her twice today. She is hanging close by.

[youthere]

12. That's the best thing to do...

Chances are the mother will come for it tonight when she thinks it's safe. If not, do as the others have suggested and take it to a vet that takes wild rabbits, and GOOD ON YA' for looking out for that little one.

[bertha katzenengel]

14. Darn right it's not true. Thanks for pointing out that fallacy, Mizmoon.

[Maestro]

9. More pics

[Akoto]

13. Aww.

I have rescued a lot of abandoned or lost animals. My parents were always getting mad at me for having some new critter in the garage.

That bunny is cute. I'd be tempted to keep him if the mommy didn't come back. :loveya:

[bertha katzenengel]

16. If you weren't in Texas, my beloved would soon be tried for murder...

because I'd come and get the bunny and tame/keep it, and she'd kill me!!

It's a tortoiseshell bunny! Beautiful. You & your wife rock, Maestro.

[Maestro]

18. Thanks

And I am glad I am in Texas. I don't want to be responsible for your untimely death. ;) I'll keep you updated.

[fortyfeetunder]

15. Pictures -- looks like a healthy, well fed baby

Had read the "found baby bunny" websites, and that one looks pretty good. Since bunny moms only feed them once a day, that baby appears to be in good shape. Hope mama bunny finds her little one!

[undeterred]

17. I found one younger than that- hairless

which was lying in my neighbors driveway. I drove it to the humane society and they said it would die.

If I find one that young they said move it out of harms way (where it could get run over by a car) but leave it in the grass in a spot where the mother could find it, or else it has no chance of survival.

I think the mother dropped it and would have come back if I hadn't intervened. But it was hairless, eyes closed- probably a newborn.

[Maestro]

19. Yikes.

This one has obviously been cared for. It has a full tummy, nice coloring. The only thing I noticed was an inordinate number of what looks like ant bites. Other than that, this little guy seems very comfortable.

[AlienGirl]

35. The humane society wasn't quite right

Hairless baby rabbits can be raised successfully; wildlife rehabbers do it every spring. It's easy, compared to trying to raise "pinky" mice.

Tucker

[Maestro]

20. The little guy is back in the garden waiting for mommy

since it is now evening. Let's hope mom comes back.

[youthere]

21. Keeping my fingers crossed for you...and the baby.

[Spock_is_Skeptical]

22. ohhh... hope he'll be okay & mom finds it

[Maestro]

23. Apparent success.

After about an hour and a half, the mother came back and got her baby. My wife just checked and there is no sign of the baby.

[XemaSab]

24. Cool!

Thanks for sharing the story and the photos!

O8)

[Maestro]

25. We're hoping

The area where we left it including a small towel did not seem ruffled as if by a predator so we are pretty sure that the mother came back and gently took the baby home.

[Ladyhawk]

30. Great! I hope it wasn't a predator. :)

When people and their animals interfere, it's always best to let nature take its course, if possible.

[fortyfeetunder]

31. Awesome. Glad for the good news.

Maybe one day you'll see the little guy all grown up. Thanks again for sharing!

[Ladyhawk]

28. Is it a hare or a rabbit? Hares dig burrows; rabbits tend to have

aboveground nests. Cottontail rabbits are difficult to raise because they are so nervous. Most die.

When I was younger, I tried to raise two that dogs had found. One died. The other lived.

I don't want to hijack your thread, but the second rabbit/dog story involved a huge rattlesnake and a strange twist. That's for another time, I guess. :)

If you can't find the nest, the best thing to do is keep the rabbit warm and in the dark. Don't handle it or upset it. In the morning, contact a vet's office to find the local wildlife rehabilitator. It's illegal to do it yourself--although I ignored that law when I was a kid and raised rabbits, squirrels, raccoons, etc. :D

On edit: cottontails are born naked and sightless; hares are born with fur and with eyes open, so you have a wabbit.

[Maestro]

32. It is a cottontail I believe and we were wrong about the mom coming back.

My wife found the little guy out in the garden again in the open and hungry. My wife contacted a rehabilitator and she was informed that she could do the rehab if she wished. My wife bought all the necessities. Tomorrow she is going to a friend of our neighbors who has rabbits. The vets told us to find some rabbit droppings for the baby to eat so that it could receive some very needed bacteria that cottontails need or they die of a diarrhea type disease. We are feeding it and keeping it hydrated. It seems happy, grooming itself and such. We'll see how things go. Here is a pic.

[SoCalDem]

33. Kitten nursing bottles with the long thing nipples work better than

the eyedropper.. They get the suckling going easier than with the eyedropper, and they can control the flow too..

I have bottlefed two litters of kittens with those things..from still inside the amniotic sac to the 20lb bubbas they are today :)


(the ling skinny nipples are sold separately, but they work better than the rounded ones that come with the bottles)

[Maestro]

39. Thank you so much.

I'll let my wife know.

[Ladyhawk]

42. That's what I used for my babies. The raccoons outgrew them,

so we had to switch to actual baby bottles. It's just about the right size for the cottontail, though.

[AlienGirl]

34. What formula are you using?

It's been years and years since I raised cottontails, so I'm not up to date on the current standards of care. The old-school way was a warm nest inside of a box on top a heating pad set to Low, Enfamil formula without iron every 2 hours round-the-clock, and rub their tummies with a warm wet cloth after feeding to stimulate defecation.

Of course, it was even *easier* to give the bunnies to a nursing domestic rabbit mom, but you don't always have one of those!

Tucker

[SoCalDem]

36. KMR is great small animal replacement formula..

:)

[AlienGirl]

38. Yeah, so I've heard

We didn't have KMR when I had bunnies though...

Tucker

[Maestro]

40. The baby is moving around

and energetic but we are concerned with urination. We can't see that it has. Any advice or just more tummy rubs? It is pooping though.

[AlienGirl]

44. The tummy rubs should do it

Have you been checking the bedding the bunny's on for signs of urination?

Pooping is a good sign! BTW, if a baby animal makes it through the first 24 hours, usually it will survive.

Tucker

[Ladyhawk]

41. When the eyes open, I want lots of pics!

I remember the little rabbit our dog found at night. It was the cutest thing I ever saw in my life: absolutely tiny, but with its eyes open. Honest to god, it was the absolute cutest animal ever! So, I insist upon pics. :)

P.S. The next day my cousin went back to the same area to look for more bunnies and found a huge rattlesnake. My brother blew its head off with a shotgun and started skinning it. It had eaten three baby cottontails! Our theory was that the rattlesnake initially disturbed the babies and that our dog found the bunny away from its nest, trying to escape the rattler. We were all in the nest area at night when the rattler was hunting. It's a wonder someone didn't get bitten!

Of course, there's more to the story than that, but we raised the rabbit until it was big enough to release. It was quite wild, even though it had been raised by humans. Perhaps the fact that your rabbit's eyes are closed will make it imprint on you which will lead to a calmer animal, but I've heard cottontails are just naturally nervous and untame. They have to be because everything eats them. Still, there isn't a cuter baby animal. I'd love to have some pics once the little guy's eyes open. :)

[Maestro]

43. You bet Ladyhawk

Pics will be inbound soon. It is already trying to open its eyes right now. I figure in a day or two they will be wide open. Gotta go. My wife is ready to feed it again. We are using some speciality nipples now that were supposedly made for rabbits and other extremely small babies like kittens.

[Ladyhawk]

51. I'm looking forward to it, Maestro. Thank you. :) n/t

[AlienGirl]

45. I knew someone who raised a cottontail as a pet

She raised a baby bunny one of her husband's beagles brought to her. The baby was furred, but still had his eyes closed; he imprinted on her and lived in her house as an adult. She litter-boxed trained him and everything. He was still shy with strangers and slightly more easily scared than a domestic rabbit, but he was still an affectionate pet.

(My own baby wild bunnies were raised for release, so they weren't too tame.)

Tucker

[Maestro]

46. Cool.

That is good to know. My wife and kids are getting very attached.

[Ladyhawk]

50. That's good to know. I always love learning new things about animals.

You have to agree they are incredibly cute little suckers. :) :) :) :) Cutest. Baby. Ever. And I'm not even a bunny fancier. :)

[GoddessOfGuinness]

48. Awww...

Thanks for rescuing the little guy! :yourock:

[henslee]

37. Thouds like itz wabbit theason!

[sleipnir]

47. Fire up the grill!

[Kool Kitty]

49. Now cut that out!

;-) What an adorable little creature.

[Maestro]

52. Good thing I have a sense of humor.

:)

[Maestro]

53. Need help DUers with hopefully lactating mama bunnies.

I really don't know if a mama bunny, preferably cottontail, or if it is just any bunny, but our little guy is getting sick. These guys need a special bacteria that get from eating a special type of stool defecated by the mama bunny. It is not their regular pellet looking poop. It looks mroe like a raisen. I will try to get more info. But I will shipping if someone could send me some if they know how to get it. We are trying here in the Dallas but it is proving difficult.

[Maestro]

54. OMG! We were letting the bunny get some exercise on

our porch and an owl swooped in and landed not twenty feet from us eyeing the morsel of food hopping around the patio!!!!!!!! I lept inside to grab my camera by coming out the door scared it plus by then our dog had gotten a wiff of it and went tearing after it. It was huge! It had a white face and an enormous wingspan. Wow! Just wow!