How do you care for baby rabbits?
rachel t asked:
I found four baby rabbits in my yard, the mamma wasn’t far, she was dead though. So I brought the babies into my house to take care of them. I gave them regular milk through an eye dropper. Is it alright to give them regular milk? How many times a day should I feed them? They don’t have there eyes open yet, there really adorable. How do I keep them alive though?
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October 21st, 2009 at 2:13 am
where do you live? You need to find a wildlife rescue organization and quickly. No, you should not feed baby rabbits milk.
Try the internet to find a wildlife rescue group. I find baby rabbits that my cat brings home and they always told me to feed them bubble gum flavored Pedialyte.
October 21st, 2009 at 2:46 pm
ooh how sweet…..maybe take them to a vet or animal centre..they would be able to help you out..
October 22nd, 2009 at 9:27 am
What kind of rabbits are they? wild rabbits need to stay in the wild maybe you could take them to a animal shelter or call a vet for more info. I have a lop eared rabbit and he is more of a cat then a rabbit so i dont know about wild rabbits, I cought a baby jack rabbit in my garage and cleaned the fleas of him but let him go, I dont think he would survive in a cage. He was born wild.
October 25th, 2009 at 2:05 am
I’m glad you found the babies. Now that their mom is gone they didn’t stand a chance of survival until you found them. However, most states would not permit you to keep an animal taken from the wild. There are laws that require you to take them to a licenses animal rehabilitator. With that being said, I’m not calling them! So lets give you a little help.
First, their chances of survival are still very small. Esbilac is a specially formulated milk replacer for dogs. This will work for your rabbits. It can be found at most pet stores. You will have to feed the rabbits with a syringe, which isn’t best. Try to find a bottle with the smallest nipple possible. If that doesn’t work use the syringe.
The rabbits need to be fed until their stomaches look plump and somewhat translucent. Usually in the wild they will only need to be fed once a day, but if you have difficulty getting them to feed all at once, you may need to do it twice a day.
When you feed them keep in mind that they need to be upright. This will prevent them from a possible drowning of sorts. Keep in mind that when the rabbit need to be force fed, the liquid may go to the wrong location and you don’t want that to happen.
After three weeks, you can introduce hay and a small amount of pellets to their diet. This transition should be slow. Watch their dropping to make sure they stay solid. If not, return them back to the milk replacer.
Good luck on a very difficult task!
October 27th, 2009 at 6:00 am
1. NO! You do not feed them regular milk!
2. These are wild bunnies, and illegal for you to keep and care for. You need the proper permits to keep and care for wild animals. You need to contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator immediately. You can find one here:
The best info on orphaned baby bunnies is this website:
It states: Many people mean well when they contact HRS after discovering an “abandoned” nest of wild rabbits. Often they wish to “rehabilitate” them with some advice from others. The reality is fewer than 10% of orphaned rabbits survive a week, and the care that people attempt to provide can be illegal, unnecessary, and potentially harmful…If the mom was killed, the best thing you can do for a wild orphaned baby bunny is to get in touch with a skilled rehabilitator.
It is imperative that you get these bunnies to a licensed rehabilitator immediately! You’ve done a great job, rescuing them after the mother died, but now you need to give them to a licensed professional.
Also, do not take them to a vet – vets are for pets and most do not have the expertise to care for wild animals. Also, just like you, vets do not have the proper licenses that permit them to keep wild animals. A vet would have to find a licensed rehabilitator to take the bunnies anyway.