<Insert Rabbit general information>
I FOUND A NEST OF BUNNIES. THE MOTHER RABBIT DOESN’T SEEM TO BE AROUND. WHAT SHOULD I DO?
Leave it alone. Mother rabbits may only spend a few minutes a day at the nest. Don’t worry if you’ve touched the babies; she won’t care. If you removed them from the nest, put them back. If the nest is in a bad location, such as the dog can get it, cover it with a weighted laundry basket, large broken flower pot, or some other item to shelter it. Avoid moving the nest. You won’t have to wait long. Within 2-3 weeks the babies will be mature enough to leave it.
MY KIDS/DOG BROUGHT ME A BABY RABBIT. I DON’T KNOW WHERE THE NEST IS. WHAT SHOULD I DO?
Assess it’s condition and age. Is it cold? Does it have any obvious injuries? Is it struggling to breath or struggling to hold its head up? Is it moving in a circle or falling over? These are signs that the rabbit is injured. Humane euthanasia is generally the only alternative for injured baby rabbits. How old is the bunny? It may be small but still old enough to be on it’s own. A bunny ready to leave the nest has fur, bright open eyes, and is more than 4 inches long. It’s ears will stick up rather than staying flat against its head and it will sit with feet pulled under it, making a ball shape, rather than having feet splayed behind. If the bunny is old enough, release it in a sheltered location. If it’s too young, contact Team Mojo or another licensed wildlife rehabilitator for further advice.
I WANT TO TRY RAISING THIS BABY RABBIT MYSELF.
Rabbits have a complex and sensitive digestive system. As a species, they survive by producing large litters rapidly because as individual animals, they are fairly delicate. Stress or fear can be enough to kill them. The success rate for raising orphaned rabbits is extremely low, even for experienced rehabbers. Commercial milk products cannot replace the unique set of enzymes and proteins in rabbit milk, not to mention that rabbits must eat a special kind of poop (called cecotropes) that they produce in the wee hours of the morning. Baby rabbits must eat their mother’s cecotropes to survive. A baby rabbit’s best chance of survival is to be left in the nest for it’s mother to care for it, or if it has left the nest already, to be left in the wild to grow into adulthood on its own.