A dog had killed a cotton tail momma now having to care for its young, they're about .. a fewish weeks now, eyes just opened about 3 or 4 days ago, or 5 (bad memory..) We are feeding them KMR kitten milk at night and morning, Well not sure when I need to give hay or what kind of hay they may have ( I know not alphalfa hay I know spelled wrong lol..) and when they can have pellets and veggies or fruit. Trying to find a water bottle for them the one at walmart are huge! One of them loves to lick me its cute, They are healthy and thriving keeping them warm, fluffy things like being held ( going to keep them seeming me and my niece have a huge bond over them.) What do I need to know?
Help! Bunny problems!
- Thread starter Kaybug137
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You should feed them hay only alphalpha for the first few months then go to timothy and goat milk and keep them harm always.
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- Thread starter
- #3
I thought rabbits couldn't have alphalfa.. I have hay its got oats on it though.. and not sure where to get goats milk, and they're in the warmest room (my room) I think they're about 15ish days old.
One of them has a bond over me, he or she is the only one who licks me to death! how can I tell the genders? I used the old wives tail method but it did not work on my roosters!
One of them has a bond over me, he or she is the only one who licks me to death! how can I tell the genders? I used the old wives tail method but it did not work on my roosters!
- Mar 19, 2009
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Rabbits can have alfalfa. I am a big fan of goat milk, but I wouldn't worry about it. If the babies are nursing you can probably google a formula to give them. Canned milk would probably be your best bet because they will probably need something dense in nutrients. Rabbits feed their young just once a day or so.
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- Mar 19, 2009
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There is nothing wrong with oats for bunnies. They will eat it out in the wild. The KMR should work OK if they will take it. I have never been able to get anything to eat it including kittens. You might be able to get canned goat milk at the supermarket or health food store, but if they are taking the KMR I wouldn't bother.
Agree, the oat hay is fine for them. You can offer them some rabbit pellets any time now. Alfalfa based pellets are fine for now and you can switch to a timothy based pellet later, I usually switch at about 6 months.
You should have an experienced rabbit person sex these rabbits for you. Even then there may be mistakes and rabbits can start breeding at a very young age so I'm not sure what to suggest to you as far as separating them to prevent more baby rabbits appearing on the scene! If it was me, I'd want each one in it's own hutch, at least until I was positive of genders. Even then, adult rabbits often don't do well sharing a cage. Sometimes it works if they were raised together and are bonded, just depends on the buns and their temperaments. If they are spayed/neutered it helps a lot, then you don't have all the hormonal issues making things worse. Serious fights can break out and rabbits can do a lot of serious damage to each other in the blink of an eye.
You should have an experienced rabbit person sex these rabbits for you. Even then there may be mistakes and rabbits can start breeding at a very young age so I'm not sure what to suggest to you as far as separating them to prevent more baby rabbits appearing on the scene! If it was me, I'd want each one in it's own hutch, at least until I was positive of genders. Even then, adult rabbits often don't do well sharing a cage. Sometimes it works if they were raised together and are bonded, just depends on the buns and their temperaments. If they are spayed/neutered it helps a lot, then you don't have all the hormonal issues making things worse. Serious fights can break out and rabbits can do a lot of serious damage to each other in the blink of an eye.
I have to congratulate you on keeping these bunnies alive; most wild rabbit babies die of shock from the stress of being handled by a human.
Rabbit babies open their eyes at about 10-12 days of age, so you are right, these kits are about 2 1/2 weeks old. They should be starting to eat grass hay at this point;' you could also give them some dry rolled oats to nibble on.
Now the part that nobody wants to hear (and I hate to have to say). These are wild rabbits, and it is illegal for you to have them in your possession. The only people who are supposed to be doing what you are doing are licensed wildlife rehabilitators. If you keep them, you can't take them to a Vet to be neutered or for any other reason, because they are wild, not domestic, animals.
Wild rabbits grow up very fast. By the time they are 4-6 weeks old, they will start attacking each other, because wild North American rabbits are solitary, not social. You will need to separate them by then, because they will seriously damage or kill each other. They might be friendly toward you, but it's also possible that they will revert to their normal wild behavior, and run and hide when they see you coming.
I have done what you have done - taken in orphaned babies to raise. I did it with the understanding that they would be released as soon as they could look after themselves, so I handled them as little as possible. When they were old enough to be working on solid food, I put them in a "tractor" and grazed them on the lawn, and gave them other types of plants that I knew they'd be eating in the wild. When I felt they were old enough to know how to find food and hide, I took them to an area with lots of brush and let them go. It wasn't easy, but it was the best thing for them, and for my domestic rabbits (who can catch diseases from their wild kin).
Good luck!
Rabbit babies open their eyes at about 10-12 days of age, so you are right, these kits are about 2 1/2 weeks old. They should be starting to eat grass hay at this point;' you could also give them some dry rolled oats to nibble on.
Now the part that nobody wants to hear (and I hate to have to say). These are wild rabbits, and it is illegal for you to have them in your possession. The only people who are supposed to be doing what you are doing are licensed wildlife rehabilitators. If you keep them, you can't take them to a Vet to be neutered or for any other reason, because they are wild, not domestic, animals.
Wild rabbits grow up very fast. By the time they are 4-6 weeks old, they will start attacking each other, because wild North American rabbits are solitary, not social. You will need to separate them by then, because they will seriously damage or kill each other. They might be friendly toward you, but it's also possible that they will revert to their normal wild behavior, and run and hide when they see you coming.
I have done what you have done - taken in orphaned babies to raise. I did it with the understanding that they would be released as soon as they could look after themselves, so I handled them as little as possible. When they were old enough to be working on solid food, I put them in a "tractor" and grazed them on the lawn, and gave them other types of plants that I knew they'd be eating in the wild. When I felt they were old enough to know how to find food and hide, I took them to an area with lots of brush and let them go. It wasn't easy, but it was the best thing for them, and for my domestic rabbits (who can catch diseases from their wild kin).
Good luck!
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- #9
They're taking the KMR Milk very well they are little piggies and love being held they lick everyone who holds them to death! And they're all in the same tote sleeping in a giant pile of 3. I gave them grass for the first time today and they love it. And aren't all bunnies wild just some more wild than others, and a domestic rabbit could be out in the wild either getting pregnant or getting another rabbit pregnant either way lol.. And I plan to keep one in my room once they're old enough to keep warm on their own, will make a hutch outside for the other two (which are my nieces and nephews bunnies. ) They are goofy little bunnies they do not seem to mind my cats either ( my cats poke there heads to look at them, they know better they've been raised around chickens, they don't try to do anything with them )
times two.
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