Help! What to do about wild baby bunnies found in Aunt's yard!

[Raspberry82]

Hi All,

My Aunt who lives in California (I live in Oregon) called me up last night since the family thinks of me as the "bunny person" who might know what to do. Her two dogs accidentally killed 3 baby bunnies found in her backyard and she managed to rescue two of the ones left.

The two babies do have a full coat of fur and are hopping, but are still tiny enough to fit in the palm of her hand (sounds like maybe 3 weeks old?). She tried to feed them grass but they wouldn't eat it. I tried to convince her to keep them in her spare bathroom bathtub with a towel and hot water bottle so they could be in a quiet place to calm down, but she is convinced keeping them in a large paper bag on the table with her dogs in the house will be ok for them (UG!).

I told her if they wouldn't eat the grass to buy baby kitten formula with a bottle to see if they would eat that to keep them alive while she gets in touch with her local Humane Society or shelter than houses rabbits.

She's not sure her local humane society will take them, but she wants to keep them alive in the meantime before figuring out where to take them.

Here questions are this:

- How often do you need to feed the babies the baby kitten formula? And they are refusing to eat from the bottle, how do you get them to drink it??

- Places to bring wild baby animals in southern california? She lives in Ventura, Ca just outside Santa Barbara, Ca.

Thanks all! I know these problems have come up before on here, but I couldn't find info to go on from searching the forum!

Athena

 

[DyemondRabbitry]

Ok- babies get VERY stressed VERY quickly.. so, no, the brown paper bag just won't work. Could she pen the dogs inside and give them some run room outside at ALL? This would really be the best thing for them. The babes won't eat if they're stressed out. Have they been living in your aunt's yard? Are they injured? If they are furred, out and around on their own I would honestly say that she should keep the dogs in and let them go because they'll probably just get overly stressed if they aren't allowed back outside. When wild buns are old enough (about 4 weeks) they are weaned by momma and on their own so there shouldn't be much they'd be depending on your aunt for.

 

[dallasmyponi]

Hi Athena,

I used to mow hay for a living and often came across litters of wild bunnies. (literally). If the babies eyes are open, they can jump like frogs on redbull! Make sure the container has a lid. I used a rubbermaid with shavings and hay on top. Give them a hidey place like a box to hide in. Baby wild bunnies only nurse in the evening and in the morning for twenty minutes or so each time. Thats it. They wean very early and are often out on their own by four weeks! I used kitten formula- I started with the liquid but it goes bad faster than they will drink it so I changed to the powder. You will need a tiny syringe or a tiny bottle. Usually the kitten formula is located near the nurser bottles. I used the narrowest nipple- they have tiny mouths! Do not feed them as much as they will drink because they can bloat very easily. Only feed enough till their tummies are round. Offer hay, grasses, and dandilion greens to them. I sent mine on their way around four weeks. Ideally they should be skittish and run from you. Good luck, let us know what happens! Be aware though that wild bunnies are VERY hard to raise and have a low survival rate.
Susie

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

Keeping them in a paper bag on the table is definitley NOT safe. If they move, the bag could fall and the dogs could get it. Also, they can't breathe in there.
She really needs to either release them or put them in the bathtub. Just tell her to get them out of that bag!

 

[tonyshuman]

The only LEGAL thing to do is call a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. Check here for one nearby http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contact.htm .
It is not only illegal to keep wild animals yourself, there is a very very low chance of survival. Kitten and puppy milk replacements are not rich enough and wildlife rehabbers have special recipies that they use to augment them so that the babies have a better chance of survival.

The Humane Society may also have a wildlife rehab branch that can help.

 

[TreasuredFriend]

Wildlife rehabilitators will know the best way to care for infant or juvey cottontails. It is early on in the season and let's hope they aren't "up to their eyebrows" on intake of orphans. When that occurs, our center euth'd because no foster moms could possibly take in more than the 25-30 they already had and were nursing to release day. A wildlife rehabber has the knowledge to do things in their best interest.

I believe rabbit.org has a good article on wild cottontail care.

At age 2 weeks they will venture out to nibble on grasses. Formula may or may not be crucial at this point. Delicate gut systems often bring about losses around 3-4 weeks. We slowly weaned off formula beginning week 2...

Please keep them in a covered lid with enough airholes and in a safe place until they can be transferred to rehabbers who care. I know that you and your aunt care too. From my rehab experience with local center from 2003-2005, last year a 12-day old orphan was found at the neighbors -- and we have a high population of noctural predators.

She is healthy and well to this day. Yup, they will jump, and being around barking dogs exacerbates the stress factors!!! Stress kills too. Hope you can get them to rehab safety...

sidenote: We've watched 13-day old kits run from the nest to the fortified woodpile/brush cove, then mom cottontail come at dusk to nurse. They moved out on their own slightly under 4 weeks of age; mom came back less and less to nurse at 3 1/2 weeks.

Best wishes to your Aunt for helping the survivors. Thanks for caring about e/c's.
---------------------------------------------------------------
:brownbunny

Yes, humane societies have access to skilled rehabilitators ~ or are licensed to rehab with foster caretakers on their own. :hearts Choosing a good release site will also ensure they reach a birthday or 3! Hope this helps.

 

[Leaf]

Here is some wildlife rehab info

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=31859&forum_id=13

 

[Raspberry82]

Thanks everyone for your help and great advice! The wildlife rehab center is 2 hrs away from where my aunt lives and she is dealing with a debilitating illness so wanted to help them survive until they could be brought to the center, she cannot take them there immediately. Also all her neighbors have dogs and/or shoot wild rabbits they find in their yards so she cannot release them in her yard for fear they will be killed soon afterwards. And needed advice to keep them alive until they can be brought to the local center.

She did get the kitten formula and the bunnies are eating in small amounts and has them in a safe quiet area now with timothy hay to bury themselves in for comfort and we're hoping they will eat it (a sign that they're old enough to be on their own).

The bunnies are being given small amounts of kitten formula from an eye-dropper ever couple of hours and are still alive so that's good to hear! My aunt will be able to bring them to the local center early next week as soon as her husband returns and can drive her and the bunnies. She says they seem calm and contented now and not scared and freaked out like they were yesterday, thank goodness!

I think she is budding into a new bunny lover, she had no idea how sweet and affectionate bunnies are!

 

[EileenH]

Raspberry, can you post a picture of the babies here?
I run a wildlife hospital, and it sounds to me like these babies are old enough to be on their own.

At 21 days (eyes open, ears up, sitting in a bunny position & hopping) - they are self-sufficient.
Here is a link from our webite with photos of babies that need help & photos of ones that don't:
http://www.volunteersforwildlife.org/help/baby_mammal/eastern_cottontail/

Wild rabbits are not like our pets. Their mother basically comes by twice a day for "drive-by feedings". At 3 weeks of age, they are totally on their own.

I often have people swearing that they have true babies, and when they bring them in they are basically teenage bunnies that are totally shell-shocked.

I'd hate for them to hold onto the babies until next week, only to have them die out of fright (which happens a lot). People always tell me they did the best they could but the babies didn't make it, when the reason they died is out of fright from being kep in captivity.

Human henad are the last place any wild animal should kept in. If they truly can hop around, I feel they should be let go.

 

[TreasuredFriend]

'Tis crucial for the wildlife to be released in a place where they can seek protection from predators. Especially youngsters. A situation made me gulp when one shelter employee let a juvey cottontail go in a space which would make him/her easy target. Not all persons are savvy on protective habitat.

The habitat certain humans perceive as "Let's let it go over here" ~ Compared to protectice cover (that caring cottontail persons know) will factor into how well their survival chances are.

I wish your juvey cottontail many months of survival (growth and maturity) in the year/s to come. It sickens me when humans pick up their guns to shoot them.

 

[Raspberry82]

My aunt was trying to take special care to not let them attach to her in any way, but that is a danger. Her main goal was to get them to a wild life center so they could release them in a protected area, since she couldn't in good conscience let them go in her neighborhood. I'm not bale to post pics of them, sorry! Their ears are up, eyes open, full fur, still super tiny and weren't eating the grass or timothy hay my aunt put in with them. I believe she's bringing them to the center today. It is frustrating for me also since it is hard to tell if she really grasped that too much fright could kill them! It's hard to be patient when a non-rabbit savvy person contradicts you for telling them how to keep a rabbit safe and in a proper area. Sigh.

 

[TreasuredFriend]

I hope they'll make it.