Found bunnies in shopping bag that were left to die

[wellred]

My husband took the dog for a walk tonight and found two small bunnies in a shopping bag hidden behind a bush and left to die. He took them home and they are now temporarily housed in our upstairs bathtub! They were very cold and scared at first but we gave them a bowl of lettuce and carrots and celery which they devoured - they were clearly starving. I have been reading and see they need hay. I will go buy some tomorrow but it will be mid afternoon. Should I give them more lettuce and carrots in the morning or just wait until I get them the hay? Or should I pick grass from my lawn and give it to them until I get the hay?? They have a bowl of water in with them, as well as a litterbox which they quickly went in. They seemed to have urinated a lot. I know nothing about rabbits, and would appreciate help! I should also add that the bathroom they are in is cool - about 60 degrees, but until we get hold of a cage that is the only place to keep them, and at least it's safer and warmer than the plastic bag they were dumped in. It started pouring rain about an hour after my husband found them, and its going down below freezing tonight. Who would do this to their pets?

 

[wellred]

Forgot to add: you can email me directly at [email protected]

We have a rescue dog, two cats, two rescue budgies and two rescue lizards. The last thing we need are two rescue rabbits but my husband couldn't leave these two to die!

Our dog is very big but sweet, but I don't know about our cats. How do dogs and cats get along with bunnies?

 

[I_heart_Fraggles]

Well first off good for you for rescuing the bunnies. Poor babies

Are they baby bunnies? Can you make a guess on there weight? Have you seen any poops? Poops are very important in the bunny world cause there a big indicator of health. You will of course need a cage and safe bedding. You need to figure out how old they are and if there underweight so you can pick the right hay. I would lay off so much veggies though until there health and age is assessed...Hay first thing tomorrow for sure! Can you post pics? Also be careful of the cats, cat scratches are toxic to bunnies and even though lots of cats and buns live just fine together owners need to be aware of the dangers....Hope this helps..Feel free to ask more questions. Oh and the room temp is fine, bunnies actually do better in a cooler temp then a warmer one.

 

[Imbrium]

I'm so glad to hear that you've saved those tiny bunnies from a horrible fate!

bunnies do best around 60-72F and deal with cooler temps much better than they do warmer ones, so that temp will be just fine for them.

like I_heart_fraggles said, it's best to lay off the veggies until we can get a general idea of their age. pics, size info (relative to an adult's hand), weight, etc. can all help us figure out their approximate age. hand-picked grass that you're sure hasn't been treated with pesticides/fertilizers is a great thing to feed until you get hay.

there's a lot of info/debate on the *ideal* bunny pellet, you can find that stuff in the health and nutrition section. personally, my favorite is sherwood forest brand because it's all natural - https://www.naturalrabbitfood.com/sherwood-forest-natural-rabbit-food/ ... oxbow and zupreem are also really good brands. if you just want a temp fix for pellets until you decide which brand is best for you, then pick one out at the store that doesn't have anything in it except plain pellets (no fruits, seeds, nuts or any other colorful bits).

you'll want to determine their genders while we're figuring out age - they may need to be separated now or fairly soon to avoid an "oops" litter! here's a good site on determining gender - http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/sexing.shtml

even if they're the same gender, if your bunnies are too young to be sexually mature yet it's possible that they'll become hormonal and start fighting later on, meaning they'll have to be separated until/unless you get them fixed (spaying is pretty much vital with females because of their proclivity towards nasty cancers of the reproductive system... with males, it's more of a behavioral thing, plus with either gender it makes it possible for them to have a friend).

for a cage, it's hard to beat NIC cages... though if the babies are very young, they can get their heads stuck in the grids so we'll want to determine age before you decide whether to go that route. at 9 weeks, my lionhead got her head stuck... by 11-12 weeks, she was too big for that. the cages are easy to make and bigger and cheaper than store-bought cages!

here are good how-to sites on cage building:
http://www.guineapigcages.com/cubes.htm
http://breyfamily.net/bunnycage.html
you can also find more info/ask questions in the housing and environment section.

the best deal on grids right now is at sears - http://www.sears.com/stor-floor-standing-6-cube-storage-unit/p-00913332000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1
if you can wait to do site-to-store rather than buying them directly from the store, it's even cheaper (the boxes have 23 grids each)

if you're interested in taking them to a vet to get checked out, beware that not all vets willing to see bunnies are actually rabbit-savvy. we have a great listing of rabbit-savvy vets that can be found here - http://rabbitsonline.net/view_forum.php?id=9

other great sites/threads to check out as a bunny novice:
http://www.rabbit.org/index.html
especially these two pages:
http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/diet.html#babies
http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/spay-neuter.html

http://www.3bunnies.org/feeding.htm
http://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/tabid/53/Default.aspx
http://language.rabbitspeak.com/
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=53690&forum_id=93
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=75235&forum_id=48

and yeah, I know, I'm throwing a ton of information at you at once, lol! I'm used to answering this sort of thing on yahoo answers and having to get it all crammed into one post

don't hesitate to ask us if you've got any other questions!

 

[agnesthelion]

I think jennifer and Katie have covered the most needed basics. I just wanted to say good for you for rescuing them! I can't believe someone would do such a thing!

And yes, try to post pictures, we may be able to help out with age and breed etc.

 

[HEM]

I think everyone has pretty much covered all of the basics and the questions. But of course, please ask more if you don't know something, everyone here on RO are all very nice and helpful.
We do want to thank you for rescuing the poor buns

 

[JBun]

One thing you mentioned is putting a litterbox in with them. Just make sure to use a rabbit safe litter. Don't use cat litter, and especially don't use clumping litter. Rabbits will nibble on it and it could kill them. Carefresh, aspen shavings, pine pellets with no additives, kaytee granule blend, shredded paper, or hay, are all safe for rabbits. I'm glad you rescued these little guys and hope they are doing well.

 

[MiserySmith]

I don't live very far away from you, but I don't think I could afford paying double what I already do for my bunny without help.. or I'd gladly take one off your hands to ease your load.
I'm so so glad you took these bunnies home, that is terrifying and they would have died for sure.
edited to add, even big handfuls of pesticide free grass would be an okay substitute for hay right now. They need something.