Can I keep a baby bunny I found?

If you stumble on a seemingly abandoned nest of babies, unless you know the mother is dead, the best thing you can do is LEAVE THEM ALONE. Many people mean well when they contact us after discovering an “abandoned” nest of wild rabbits. Often they wish to “rehabilitate” them with some advice from others.

Can I keep a wild baby bunny?

However, to ensure the little bunny's best chance for survival, the best action you can take is to leave it alone. It is important to note that wild baby rabbits are not suitable pets and should not be thought of as such. Rabbit nests are often built in plain sight, sometimes in the middle of a backyard.

What do I do with a baby bunny I found?

How do you take care of abandoned baby bunnies?

To keep your orphaned bunnies healthy, keep the nest at 95-98 degrees for the first 2 weeks. After 2 weeks, you can lower the temperature by 3-5 degrees each day until you reach room temperature, which is around 68-72 degrees. As a wild bunny grows older, protect it from extreme cold and heat.

Can baby bunnies survive without their mother?

By three weeks of age, they are on their own in the wild and no longer require a mother's care. This means that young rabbits found on the ground may be completely healthy. Even though they look small, they are not orphans and do not need any human intervention.

How to Rescue baby bunnies and keep them alive!

How do you know if a baby bunny is abandoned?

First is the string test. Place two pieces of yarn or string loosely over the nest in the shape of an “X.” Because the mother mostly visits at night, this should be done in the early evening. The next morning, check the nest to see if the yarn has been moved. If the nest was untouched, the babies have been orphaned.

What do you feed a wild baby bunny?

Provide plenty of grass and hay for the rabbit to nibble on.

Green foods are a wild rabbit's best friend! Finding leafy lettuce in the wild can be hard, so most wild rabbits spend their time chewing on grasses. Head into your backyard and look for plants such as: Timothy grass.

What does a three week old bunny look like?

Three Weeks Old: At this age, their fur should be standing up a little more off their bodies and they should start to appear to have normal rabbit fur. Cottontails at this age should be eating natural foods — grasses, weeds, fruits and vegetables — and should now weigh 70-80+ grams.

Can you touch wild baby rabbits?

If you or your kids or pets see a wild rabbit, alive or dead, stay away from it. You might start feeling symptoms of the disease one to 21 days after touching a wild rabbit. Tularemia is highly contagious and is more common in people than it is for pets.

Can I touch newborn bunnies?

You and your children can peek at the baby rabbits, but don't touch them. If anyone picks up a bunny, return it to the nest. A little human scent will not prevent the mother from caring for her young. If it's clear the mother rabbit was killed, contact a wildlife rehabilitator who can best raise the orphaned bunnies.

What do you feed baby rabbits without a mother?

WHAT TO FEED THE BABIES. Baby rabbits should be fed Kitten Milk Replacer (KMR) or goat milk, which you can buy at pet stores, or sometimes even a local veterinarian's office. Because rabbit milk is the most caloric of all mammals, we add in one tablespoon of 100% heavy whipping cream (no sugar) to each can of KMR.

Can I keep a wild bunny as a pet?

Wild cottontails cannot be kept as pets or education animals because of this; they are far too easily stressed to live a comfortable life in captivity,” Dr. Wilkinson warns. On the other hand, domesticated rabbits are often used to people, so may approach you – even if found outside.

What happens if you find a wild baby bunny?

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. Leave the area. If injured, please contact a wildlife rehabber or rabbit vet immediately! You can search Google for your state/country and wildlife rehabber.

Do wild rabbits carry disease harmful to humans?

Tularemia is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis. It affects both humans and animals, and is typically found in wild animals such as rabbits, muskrats, and beavers. It is also known as Rabbit Fever because hunters can get the disease from contact with infected rabbits.

Do wild baby bunnies carry rabies?

Small Rodents and Other Wild Animals

Small rodents (like squirrels, hamsters, guinea pigs, gerbils, chipmunks, rats, and mice) and lagomorphs (including rabbits and hares) are almost never found to be infected with rabies and have not been known to transmit rabies to humans.

How do you save a baby bunny?

Do 3 week old bunnies need water?

Can baby rabbits drink water? Baby rabbits are getting milk from their mother, but at around 3-4 weeks old, they will start to drink small amounts of water too. As they grow and their diet changes, so will their water intake.

Do wild rabbits drink water?

How much water do wild rabbits need? Rabbits can actually drink quite a bit of water. It's approximated that rabbits can drink about 4 ounces per kilogram of weight. So most will drink about 4-8 ounces per day.

How long can baby bunnies go without food?

At most, baby rabbits can go without food for 3-4 days. In nature, most baby bunnies are fed only once a day, between midnight and 5 a.m. And, unlike many animals, rabbits do not nurse their young right after their born – their mother feeds them the following night.

How can you tell how old a rabbit is?

You can use the developmental stages of rabbits to know how old a very young bunny is, but once they are a year old, it's almost impossible to judge a rabbit's exact age. You can use some features, such as a rabbit's teeth, nails, and activity levels to approximate their age, but you won't be able to know it exactly.

Will mom reject baby bunnies if you touch them?

And don't panic if you or your child touches the bunnies. It's a myth that a mother rabbit (and many other wildlife mamas) will reject their babies if they have a human scent on them. Just cover the nest and don't touch the babies again; handling the little ones can cause injury and stress.

Will a mother rabbit reject her babies if you touch them?

If you touch a baby rabbit, its mother will not usually abandon it. Rabbits are excellent moms. All they want is their baby back. If you feel the nest is in a spot where you can't possibly leave the babies until they're big enough to leave on their own, contact a wildlife rehabilitator for advice.

How do you take care of a newborn rabbit without a mother?

Keep the baby rabbit in a dark, quiet place indoors, in an enclosed or covered container. For most species, a cardboard box is perfect. If your home is small, a closet or a bathroom is an excellent spot. A basement, heated garage, or spare bedroom will also work.

How long do baby bunnies need milk?

A domestic rabbit feeds her babies for about 8 weeks, gradually decreasing the frequency of feedings until they lose interest. Your baby bunnies will start to nibble on pellets and solid food at about the age of two to three weeks, but this does NOT mean they are ready to be weaned.