raising wild bunnies

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momofchicks

momofchicks

Songster
11 Years
Apr 23, 2008
431
0
149
Kentucky
My mom has a rabbit in her yard that has babies every year in her flower bed or just in the yard. Anyway, my 3 boys are wanting to raise these babies for our own. So I have some questions. When can the babies be taken away from momma, what if later on the brother and sister have babies is that okay? My brother in law has a rabbit cage he inherited with his new farm and is going to give it to us. Can I put the cage in my woods as long as it's all locked up? We do have lots of critters around here we have over an acre of woods so many animals come through here. Thanks!
 
your best getting tame domestic rabbits if there for kids - as they've had most of there natural instincts bred out of them, plus i think it would be cruel to take them away from the wild/freedom
 
two reason not to remove them

1. it is illegal to remove them from the wild.

2. amost all will die , from stress. very very few people could ever raise a wild rabbit.


SO BUY SOME TAME RABBITS. Cottontail rabbits, are really hairs not rabbits also.
 
I agree with storminsaff. It wouldn't be a great idea to take a wild rabbit, even a baby(s) and put it/them into a cage. They would protest being held and this can be quite painful. And the kids would shy away naturally because a wild rabbit is not easily handled. These would not be petting rabbits.

It's one thing to just move a few from your moms yard to yours, but its a whole nother to put them into any kind of cage. For a good pet bunny you should look for some that are tame already
smile.png



Good luck with your choice
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Wild rabbits do not make good pets. You will have much better luck getting a domesticated breed. Check craigslist, I can usually find bunnies for $5 or $10 in my area.
 
I've rehabbed Cottontails before and they can't be tamed - that wild instict in them runs too deep. Even babies that I hand-reared before their eyes were open were wild and crazy as soon as they were mobile.

If you want rabbits, definately go with domestic rabbits. If you wait another week, you could probably adopt a bunch of abandoned Easter bunnies from Craigslist or the Humane Society.
 
You cannot successfully keep wild bunnies. Even the babies will kill themselves in captivity.

I know this from experience. A farmer bet me $5 once (as a kid) that I couldn't keep one I'd caught in our pond alive for 7 days. I did so but it was AWFUL! And the only way I could was by keeping it in the dark most of the time (otherwise it smashed its face into the side of the cage until its nose bled), and feeding it fresh clover & such every single day. It wouldn't drink any water or eat the pellets our tame rabbits ate. I won my $5 but it didn't feel like winning. I was very grateful to release that poor baby!

Please please puh-leeze get your kids a domestic rabbit. This time of year tons will be available for free in about 7-10 days.
 
I too have rehabbed cotton-tails and I absolutely would not recommend taking them from the wild if they have a mother to raise them. That would be wrong.
These that I rehabbed were dug up by my weiney dogs from my vegetable garden. One of them died, but I managed to save two. It takes a lot of work and as others have said, they cannot be tamed. I purposefully did not even try because I knew that I would be releasing them.

The day I took them in.

babybunny.jpg


babybunn2.jpg


Growing...

bunny5days2.jpg


Feeding them with an eye dropper.

BunnyDrops10days.jpg


This is the day I cried...

BunnyBye2.jpg


BunnyBye4.jpg


BunnyBye3.jpg
 
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Very bad idea!
Cottontails do not make good pets and why in the world would you want to remove one from its mother?
Its very rare for them to make it past a week and even if they do make it, they wont ever be pets.
its cruel to try to keep a cottontail as a pet.
They often kill themselfs trying to get out of the cage.
 
Please dont take a wild rabbit from its mother and Breeding brother to sister is a very bad idea... Everyday Craigslist.org has tons of free rebbits .. this is how I have gotten each and every one of mine.. Even if you cant find them free you can find lots for $5-10 each..
 
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