Friday, May 14, 2010

How Can I take care of a baby wild rabbit?

Our dog found a nest of 3 baby wild rabbits about 3-4 weeks old. Our dog didnt hurt them and they are in perfect health. They are bundled together in a glass aquarium. Of course, they need to be bottle fed, but what should i feed them, and with what size bottle or injector should i feed them with?How Can I take care of a baby wild rabbit?
go to a feed store and get some rabbit formula for rabbit baby's and get a small nipple there while you at it and read on the bucket and see how often you feed them okHow Can I take care of a baby wild rabbit?
done not feed it grass just feed it carrets

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I don't think it is legal to keep wild rabbits.. But, you could probably keep it until they got big enough to go back out to the wilderness.
Try this it might help.


http://www.islandgems.net/handfeeding.ht鈥?/a>
give them warm milk out of a syringe and take them a shelter or something. wild rabbits will die if they are kept in captivity for too long.
You should have left them where you found them. The mother would have returned to take care of them. Rabbits commonly hide their young. If you don't know how to care for them why would you take them out of their natural habitat?
';Rabbits hide their nests in plain view, often putting them in the open; for example, in the middle of the lawn, as well as in brush piles and long grass. If you find a nest that has been disturbed, do all you can to restore and protect it rather than bring the infants inside. If a dog has discovered the nest, keep your dog away from the area and reconstruct the nest with grasses. If need be, you can move the nest a few feet away where safer.


Rabbit mothers nurse their babies for approximately 5 minutes a day. They will be in the nest early in the morning and then again in the evening. The milk is very rich and the babies ';fill up'; to capacity within minutes. Mother rabbits do not ';sit'; on the babies to keep them warm as do some mammals and birds. They build a nest with fur and grasses which helps to keep the babies warm in between feedings... If you come across a nest of bunnies in the wild and the mother is no where to be seen, please DO NOT disturb them...this is normal. By removing them from the nest you are greatly reducing their chances of survival.





If your dog disturbs a nest or you find a wild bunny with its eyes open, please put him back if not injured. Mom will be coming back at night to call and feed him only once in the middle of the night. Do not take the bunny inside or feed him. That is the mom's job. IT IS A MATTER OF HIS/HER SURVIVAL AND UP TO US AS HUMANS TO LEAVE NATURE BE AND LET THE MOM CARE FOR HER YOUNG. We often hear of mothers moving their babies and their nests, and have seen moms come back every night for up to a week to look for her missing baby. Do not take the baby from the mom or she will be frantic.'; http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/orpha鈥?/a>








If the bunnies are injured, or you have had them too long to return them to their mother, contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. You can find one here: http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contact.鈥?/a>





Licensed wildlife rehabilitators have the specialized training to care for sick, injured and orphaned wild animals, and they have the required state and federal licenses that allow them to keep the wild animals until they are healthy enough to be released.





Do not take the animals to a vet - vets are for pets, and most vets do not have the expertise to care for wild animals; nor do most vets have the proper licenses that would allow them to keep a recuperating wild animal.





Do not attempt to care for these animals yourself. In almost every state, it is illegal to keep wild animals as pets, and if it is your intention to just care for them until they can be released, most states require people who rehabilitate wildlife for release to be licensed.





鈥淲ildlife rehabilitation licenses or permits are required to work with most native species, since wildlife is a natural resource and considered the property of the collective people of a state. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service requires federal rehabilitation permits to work with migratory bird species, marine mammals, and species listed under the Endangered Species Act. With very few exceptions, wildlife agencies require wildlife rehabilitation permits or licenses to rehabilitate wildlife.'; http://www.ewildagain.org/pdf/RecBooklet鈥?/a>
shouldnt you make sure the mother is just going away for food or water? you might harm them but i am sure you have good intentions
There may be a wild life refuge in your area, contact them, they can tell you how to raise them, or will place them with someone who does that!


If you can't find a number, contact the game warden in your area. I'm sure they can steer you in the right direction.
Sorry to say baby rabbits are very hard to keep alive. You should probably leave the baby alone and hopefully it does not have a health issue and the mom will come back for it

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