Wild baby rabbits! HELP!!!

[Duck Love07 AR]

does anyone know anything about baby wild rabbits? Someone just brought me two little ones and i don't know what to do with them, i already tried finding the mom but he is gone.

 

[Duck Love07 AR]

 

[Stacykins]

Get them to a wildlife rehabilitator ASAP. Do not try and raise them. Wild rabbits stress and die incredibly easy. Babies are especially delicate. They need a professional who knows how to properly handle them.

Here is a link on how to find a wildlife rehabber.

And here is an article that is well titled, Can I Keep Him? NO!

 

[Eggsoteric]

Those babies look old enough to survive on their own. I would release them back where they were found.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Those babies could be anywhere from two weeks to a month old. It's hard to say. By six weeks most rabbits are on their own 100%, but these rabbits probably need a bit of care for 2-4 weeks yet.

Your best bet is a wildlife rehabilitator. However not everyone has one of these around.

If this is the case in your situation I would put them in a pen with a bowl (not bottle) of water and some wild foods like they would find in nature. Dandelions, plantago, grass, nettle, clover, wild carrots, even some domestic plants like parsley, kale or alfalfa would be OK as long as it's a variety that grows locally. Don't touch them, just watch and see if the baby rabbits eat or drink on their own. If they don't, if they seem confused, clumsy or unconfident eating the food, they are likely closer to two weeks. If they confidently chow down on such a sudden and tasty abundance, they're likely closer to four weeks. Keep in mind, wild baby rabbits are VERY small! I don't know how big your hand is but I can hold two four week old wild rabbits like that in mine.

If they're closer to two weeks;
Rabbits this age are just starting to learn to eat solids. You will want to buy meyenberg goat milk and feed them once every NIGHT with this. If you can't get this you can try kitten milk replacer. Let them eat as much as they want in just a few minutes the first night and then wean them off of it in a week's time. The babies should end up on soilds very soon so make sure they still have LOTS of fresh wild edibles and fresh water. Keep them in a safe cage with minimal bedding (like newspaper) save for one corner which should have a cardboard box lined with something warm (finely shredded newspaper is fine, carefresh bedding would work, or even an old cotton t-shirt). You can also provide petstore or horse hay. Timothy and orchard grasses are the best. Don't touch them during the day and try to stay away. Minimize your interactions with them. Only keep them on this for about a week, and then move on to treating them like four week old kits.

For four week old kits;
Put the kits in the cage with the box outside for 24 hours with food and water, and them move them into just the box outside. Still make sure the box is full of nesting material. Make sure where you pick for them is well hidden and safe from predators, pets and children. Deep under a bush or some other natural-feeling safe spot it a good way to go. Leave out hay, wild edibles and water for the babies. When they feel ready they will find their own way. Kits leave their moms and are on their own very early. Don't be surprised if they're gone the very next day.

For kits of both ages;
Most animals aren't born with good bacteria in their gut. This bacteria is important for breaking down their food, and is normally gotten through their mother's milk. Not so in baby rabbits. Rabbits produce a type of poop that is re-ingested on a regular basis called "cecal" pellets (as opposed to their usual "fecal" matter). The baby bunnies get the bacteria in their gut from eating this from their parents. Since the parents aren't around you need to replace this somehow. The best way I have heard is using a Bene-Bac powder in their water, but I know there are other probiotic products that you can use.

Good luck!

 

[Duck Love07 AR]

I have been looking but there isn't anyone else to take them. I got the milk today and feed them just a little, until they weren't greedy for it. Searching I looked into their age i think they might be 17-20 days old. they move around at night when everything is silent and they are jumpy at sound now and then but one started crying last night. I went and looked into it but he was fine, i left him be but he started crying again and would not stop until i came and sat with him. he moved around and stayed close so i don't think he was scared of me. what should i do if it happens again? leave him to cry or sit with him?

 

[ChocolateMouse]

That's unfortunately pretty common. Not everyone has a rehabber near by. Sometimes the rehabbers won't even take your animals.

Your baby bunnies are just scared and calling for their mother. You do NOT want to be their surrogate mother. It's hard because their calls are meant to stimulate maternal instincts, they're meant to make someone, anyone, want to help them. There's a reason babies are successful and that's it. If they associate you with being their mother they won't have a proper fear of humans and human places. They're already gonna have a hard time staying away from people as it is with you giving them food and all, so make it a little easier on them and don't touch them or hang around except during feeding time.

You can try to make them feel safer by giving them a small, dark secluded place to hide (A cardboard box just a little bigger than the two bunnies together will work), a nest made out of grasses or hay, and help them feel more secure in their own abilities by providing water and lots of wild edibles for them to try eating. http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/livestock-forums/rabbits/261016-official-weeds-feed-thread.html
That's a great list of wild edibles for bunnies! Put as many different things in with them as you can for them to nibble at and eat; you're teaching them what is safe to eat or not. Everything they eat as babies they'll eat as adults, so do your best!