How to Take Care of a Baby Wild Rabbit (with Pictures)

2024 Author: Jason Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 10:50

As the wild rabbit population in urban areas increases, the chances of finding a nest for baby rabbits are higher than ever. Unfortunately, visible nests are often abandoned, and baby wild rabbits are taken from their nests by humans and may not survive without the care of a veterinarian or wildlife rehabilitation specialist. In many countries, it is illegal to care for wild rabbits unless you are a rehabilitator. (the person doing the rehabilitation) who has a licence. If you need to care for a baby rabbit without a mother and father when you find the baby rabbit, take the baby rabbit to a vet or wildlife rehabilitator, read this article for help.

Step

Part 1 of 5: Preparing a Place for the Rabbit

Step 1. Make sure the rabbit really needs to be cared for

The mother rabbit is very secretive about the existence of the rabbit's nest, she leaves the nest during the day to prevent predators from coming. Mother rabbits don't abandon baby rabbits. If you find a nest full of baby rabbits, leave. If it's clear that the baby rabbit needs help (the mother rabbit is dead on the street, for example), you should take the baby rabbit to the vet or wildlife rehabilitator.

Step 2. Prepare a place for the rabbits to live until you get help for them

A wooden or plastic box with high sides is ideal. Cover the box with pesticide-free soil, followed by a layer of dry straw (not wet grass clippings).

Make a "nest" in the straw with a round shape for the baby rabbits to live in. If you can, line the "nest" with some kind of sterile hair.
If you have other pets with hair loss, you can take a pile of bristles from your pet's brush and leave the fur in the sun for a few days to kill any bacteria.
If you can't provide the feathers or don't have time to sterilize the fur, cover the nest with a thick layer of paper towels.
Place one end of the box on a hot mat, warm bed, or incubator to keep the nest warm. Only place one side of the box so the baby rabbits can move if they feel too warm.

Step 3. Gently place the rabbit into the nest

Use leather gloves to hold the rabbit. Rabbits can carry and transmit disease from bites. Also, it is better not to let the rabbit get used to the smell of humans.

Hold the baby rabbit as short as possible. Rabbits can feel stressed when handled excessively and lead to death.
Gently place a small amount of fur (or tissue) over the rabbit to keep the rabbit warm.

Step 4. Place the lid on the top of the rabbit box

If the rabbit can walk, the rabbit box will need to be closed to prevent the rabbit from getting out of the box. Even at a few weeks old, rabbits are already very good at jumping! You may need to make sure the top of the box is protected from light.

Step 5. Let the rabbit sleep in the box for 3 days

After that, you can move the rabbit to a small rabbit cage.

Part 2 of 5: Plans to Feed the Rabbits

Step 1. Feed a baby dog or cat to a baby rabbit twice a day

Mother rabbits feed at dusk and dawn in only about 5 minutes, so baby rabbits (depending on size and age) only need to be fed twice a day.

Feed a baby dog or cat milk to a baby rabbit that you get from a pet supply store and add a little probiotic to keep the baby rabbit's digestion healthy.
Warm the milk and use the dropper with the baby rabbit in a sitting position so the baby rabbit doesn't choke!
NEVER give a baby rabbit cow's milk.

Step 2. Don't overfeed the rabbit

Bloating due to overeating is a common cause of death in wild rabbits. The maximum amount for each food that the rabbit eats depends on the age of the rabbit. Be aware that cottontail rabbits are smaller and should be fed less than the recommended amount. General guidelines for food amounts:

Newborn to one week old rabbits: 2-2.5 cc/ml each feeding, twice a day
One – two week old rabbits:5-7 cc/ml per feed, twice daily (less if rabbit is very small)
Two – three week old rabbits: 7-13 cc/ml each feed, twice a day (less if the rabbit is very small)
When rabbits are two – three weeks old, introduce them to 'timothy hay', oat hay, food pellets and water (add grass for wild rabbits)
Three – six week old rabbits:13-15 cc/ml per feed, twice daily (less if rabbit is very small)

Step 3. Stop feeding formula at the right time

Cottontail rabbits usually wean when they are 3-4 weeks old, so you should stop formula feeding once your rabbit is 6 weeks old. Wild jackrabbit rabbits usually wean after they are 9 weeks old, so after they are 9 weeks old slowly replace formula with a dish of small pieces of banana and apple.

Part 3 of 5: Feeding the Newborn Rabbit

Step 1. Gently and slowly

Let the rabbits eat at their own pace, and be careful when you handle them. If you feed the baby rabbit too soon, the baby rabbit may choke and die.

Step 2. Take care of the newborn rabbit with its eyes not fully open

If the baby rabbits are too young and their eyes are only partially open, you can help them by wrapping the baby bunny in a warm cloth around their eyes and ears, so as not to scare the baby bunny.

Step 3. Place the pacifier in the baby rabbit's mouth

Be careful when preparing to feed a newborn rabbit, you can do this by placing a bottle nipple in the baby rabbit's mouth.

Tilt the rabbit back slightly and place the nipple between the baby bunny's side teeth. Note that it is not possible to insert a pacifier between their front teeth.
Once the teat is between the baby rabbit's side teeth, continue to slide the teat forward.
Gently squeeze the bottle to let out a small amount of formula.
Within a few minutes, the baby rabbit will start sucking.
Continue to feed them with formula for 3 to 4 days, every other day, with the last hour of feeding at dusk as mother rabbits do.

Step 4. Stimulate the newborn rabbit's belly

Newborn cottontail rabbits need stimulation to urinate and defecate as well as provide food. This can be done by gently stroking the rabbit's genitals and anal area with a cotton swab or cotton ball as it mimics the taste produced when the mother rabbit licks.

Part 4 of 5: Giving the Rabbit Time to Play Outside

Step 1. Let the rabbit spend time outside eating grass

Once the baby rabbits can walk, they should spend a few hours in the grass.

Keep baby rabbits with wire cage for safety. You may want to keep an eye on them and keep them safe from predators and other dangers

Step 2. Begin to let the rabbit eat and drink unaided

When rabbits are four days old or older, place a small flat water storage bin and a small flat formula storage bin in their cage.

Keep an eye on the baby rabbits to see what they are doing. They should start drinking formula and drinking water unaided.
Check the supply of formula milk in the cage. Replace spilled formula so that your rabbit eats the right amount.
Refill formula and water every afternoon and morning. Make sure you don't overfeed your rabbit with formula.
Do not place a deep container of water near the rabbit's crib, as the rabbit could drown if it were to enter it.

Step 3. Introduce a new food after 4 days

Once your rabbit has mastered formula feeding and drinking water on its own, you can start feeding them other foods in their cage. Some of the foods you should try are:

Freshly picked grass
Dry straw that looks like grass
Small slice of bread
Clover Straw
Timothy Straw
Apple slices
Oats

Step 4. Always provide drinking water

Rabbits always need clean and fresh water. This helps their digestion and keeps them healthy and not dehydrated.

Part 5 of 5: Bunny Switch in the Open

Step 1. Rabbits begin to wean off formula

When the rabbit becomes independent, start weaning the rabbit off formula and allow the rabbit to eat grass and other plants. Make sure the rabbits are of the right age at weaning (3-5 weeks for cottontail rabbits and over 9 weeks for wild jackrabbits).

Step 2. Stop holding the rabbit

Rabbits need preparation to be released in the wild, so you should stop handling rabbits if possible. They will become less dependent on you and more independent.

Step 3. Move the rabbit completely outdoors

Put the rabbit in a wire fence with a roof outside your house. Make sure the bottom of the cage is wired, so they can feel the grass, and check that all holes are small enough so they can't escape out of the cage.

Move the cage to a different place in your yard so that the rabbit has a new supply of plants.
Continue to supply plants other than grass.

Step 4. Move the rabbits to a larger cage as they grow

Give them a larger cage in the grass outside and continue to feed them twice daily vegetables. The cage must have an opening or bottom of the cage made of wire and must be secure to keep the rabbit away from predators.

Step 5. Releasing the rabbit into the wild

When the rabbit measures 20.32 – 22.86 cm in a sitting position, it is large enough to be released into the wild in a safe place.

If they aren't independent enough yet, keep them longer, but don't let the rabbit grow up as a prisoner

Step 6. Contact wildlife conservation in your area for assistance

If your rabbit is large enough to be released in the wild but not independent enough, contact an expert. They will know what to do in the situation.

Tips

Feeding baby rabbits is always in the same place. They will begin to recognize the place as a place for the food they need, which will make each feeding session easier.
If it's difficult to tell the rabbits you've been feeding using bottle nipples, paint a tiny dot of nail polish on the tip of each rabbit's ear. Then, always feed them in a certain order (like the order of the colors in a rainbow).
Use a window pane to cover the top of the cage. The weight and ease of moving of the window panes make the window panes easy to put on and take off, but still keep the rabbit from getting out of the cage.
Make sure the rabbit can breathe. If you put the rabbit in a box with the lid closed, make sure you punch holes in the box.
Keep the rabbit environment as quiet and free of human interaction as possible.
Naming your rabbit can be dangerous because it will bond you, and you may want to keep the rabbit.
Rabbits that do not have a father or mother when cared for by humans have a mortality rate of 90%. Don't get too attached to the rabbit and treat it very carefully.

Warning

Do not give formula that is too hot when you want to feed your rabbit. Rabbits will not drink hot or spoiled milk.
Be careful, when you handle wild animals. They can carry many diseases.
Never keep wild animals in captivity for longer than necessary.
Do not feed the rabbit spinach, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, or similar foods. These foods can give your rabbit painful diarrhea or wind. Remember rabbits can't pass gas, so this food will cause their stomachs to expand!
Make sure the heat source you use for the incubator is not too hot and cannot cause a fire.