Caring for infant rabbits?

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jmjkd

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Do any of you guys know how to care for wild baby rabbits. The eyes have not been developed yet.
What do I do?
 
If the eyes are not yet open, they'll need to be fed from a bottle. Find a wildlife rehab center near you and get them there pronto.

Are you sure the mom has abandoned them? Mothers must leave the hide/nest/burrow to eat and if you managed to get between them and the home, they won't go through you to get back in since that would lead you right back to the nest. Put the babies back and wait and THEN call the wildlife rehab place to find out what to do next.
 
The scent after touch is folklore.

Rabbits are left in a nest in plain sight. Try and run the mower around them but otherwise do no more. The mother comes and feeds them at night. Leave them where you find them.

Also, rabbits have like 10 babies and breed twice a year. If 1 out of 10 survive then the population doubles--that's a lot of rabbits. My friend calls baby rabbits "nature's little snack cakes" because so many other animals eat them so easily. Just the way it is.

Last summer a nest ended up in the backyard and drove the dog nuts. I covered it with a hamper to keep the dog out and she'd just sit for hours watching it. I pulled at least three out of her mouth when she found the nest and they all lived just fine.
 
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The thing is guys she nested in my garden and already ate all my strawberries. So I can't draw her back in?
I called drumlin farms and they will not take them.
I guess it's up to me to take care of them.
Right back to the same question?
 
If their eyes are not open yet or they do not have fur, they are only about 15 days old or less (I could be wrong). It is very difficult to care for one baby rabbit without the mother around, so several is almost impossible. They really need their mother's milk. I have read articles about using goats milk with some success (Cow milk is not the best for them).

If the nest is in a bad spot and needs to move, the mother probably won't find them. Not to sound to negative, but the chances of even one of the rabbits surviving is very small. You can always try.

I'm not an expert by any means. I used to raise rabbits years ago, so I have some insight.
 
jmjkd said:
The thing is guys she nested in my garden and already ate all my strawberries. So I can't draw her back in?
I called drumlin farms and they will not take them.
I guess it's up to me to take care of them.
Right back to the same question?
Click to expand...

She will come back and care for them, leave them alone.
 
Ham Slam said:
Leave them alone you most likely scented them so the mother rejected them.
Click to expand...

Nah, I've handled several tiny ones that were nested right in my front lawn before and the mother came back and fed them. She'd lay down over the hole and allow them to suckle, cover it back up and go off to eat.

For the OP, stay away from them and the mother will come back. She'll avoid the area as long as she can see you moving around and in sight.
 
If mom doesn't come back contact Cummings Veternary School at Tufts University for advice. (508) 839-5302 They may be able to help you. My guess is that you may lose some, but you can save some too. I'm a meat eater and support hunting, but some of the replies are pretty callous. Nature is cruel, but with all the bad stuff in the world, sometimes maybe its okay to try to reach out and save a life, even a rabbit life. Those bunnies didn't ask to be born anymore than you or I did.
 
if you have to you can move the nest. just dig a hole shallow hole, put them in a box (wear gloves), then grab all the crap (crap on grass and fur--smells bad) in the hole and put it in the new hole. as long as it's not too far away the mother will find it. I had to stake a plastic fence around my garden to keep them out and bury it 6 inches.

it can take 2-3 weeks for them to go off on their own, so it could be a while.
 
Call someone like "Kitty Angels", they may know of rabbit resources who can help you. I hope the mother rabbit is able to find the nest. Also, try calling Mass Vet Referral Hospital in Woburn, they might be able to give you advice or the number for a wildlife hospital that can help.

There is a product for newborn kittens, I think it is called "kitty milk". It might be good for rabbits as well, I don't know.
 
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mark056 said:
If mom doesn't come back contact Cummings Veternary School at Tufts University for advice. (508) 839-5302 They may be able to help you. My guess is that you may lose some, but you can save some too. I'm a meat eater and support hunting, but some of the replies are pretty callous. Nature is cruel, but with all the bad stuff in the world, sometimes maybe its okay to try to reach out and save a life, even a rabbit life. Those bunnies didn't ask to be born anymore than you or I did.
Click to expand...

^ This is good advice. Kudos to the OP for following his conscience. We'd all be better off with a little more kindness in the world.
 
It was not their natural habitat, it was MY garden with MY families food.
I spent most of the day calling places and trying to help these little guys, while some of the tough guys wanted to hurt them.

“People just don't know when to just leave well enough alone.”

Like stupid comments in this thread when seeking help?
Enough!!!
 
okay, but the fact remains that rabbits are wild animals. while you may not like them in your yard, there's no "better" place for them than outside, in the wild. thus, move them a few feet if you want but otherwise just let them be already. put in a cheap fence:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Tenax-3-ft-x-25-ft-Green-Poultry-Fence-090786/100384027#.UcMB7fnVCYE

bury six inches deep, stake with wood

it's probably not the only rabbit around and it won't be the last

one of my neighbors completely enclosed his garden (sides and top) because the birds (robins?) were destroying it. he used more like a netting, which I'm not sure that would keep rabbits out.
 
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Twigg said:
Good grief. [rolleyes]

I want the last thirty seconds of my life back.
Click to expand...

Think of it this way: The rabbit/s you "save" today may produce the rabbits you might need to be eating to survive in the future the way things are going.
 
the "did you try breastfeeding them" line alone made this thread worth clicking on for me [laugh]

hope the little critters survive tho
 
The rabbits you save today are probably going to eat your garden tomorrow. Move them and fence the garden if you want but I would have fed them to my chickens and then popped the mother and fed her to them as well. That sounds cruel but they are rabbits. Blink and there will be 20 of them eating your strawberries.
 
coastie said:
The rabbits you save today are probably going to eat your garden tomorrow. Move them and fence the garden if you want but I would have fed them to my chickens and then popped the mother and fed her to them as well. That sounds cruel but they are rabbits. Blink and there will be 20 of them eating your strawberries.
Click to expand...

Will chickens eat a live baby rabbit?
 

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