You'll never believe this question coming from me about wild rabbits!!??

Question

My neighbor hit and killed a wild rabbit/hare while weed whacking but there was a baby that was orphaned. She brought it down to my house to take care of. It is in our barn in a cage with hay and water. I don't know the age but it has a full body of hair and is about 8" in length. It is not a newborn. What do we feed it? We won't keep it but want to care for it until it is old/grown enough to care for itself. Any suggestions? Please don't say call fish and game or wild life rescue... we can do the same as them and care for it until it is ready to go on it's own.

Answer 1

Start with softer leafy veggies (spinach, lettuce, etc). Once it seems to be eating adequately, then try moving on to pellets; you could also contact a local vet or pet shop and ask them to take it off your hands.

Answer 2

I know you don't want to hear it, but you really do need to call an animal rescue. They are trained to take care of the animal and have better equipment. You really can NOT do the same as they do, nothing beats experience and equipment. Unless you know of someone who has a nursing rabbit, it isn't likely that you'll save this one. Wild rabbits simply get so stressed when brought into captivity that they die. I have been working at a pet store for 5 years and have seen this happen a bunch of times. The only one person I knew who was able to raise a wild rabbit only got it to about 1 year old and it STILL died from the stress. I have even tried myself multiple times.

If you still want to try, here are some suggestions I can give you. You don't want cat milk, you want dog milk. The protein levels are different as dogs eat more vegetable matter than cats. If you mix it with heavy whipping cream (not whipped cream!) it will be a little sweeter and the rabbit might like it better. Serve it body temperature, about 100 degrees. Offer plenty of ALFALFA hay. It has more fibre and protein than other kinds and is the best for baby rabbits. This should be available at all times as well as fresh water even while it is still being bottle fed. Mother rabbits only feed their rabbits once a day, usually around midnight, so you don't need to be up every hour on the hour. Feed the baby at dusk, about 15cc if possible. You may have to force the baby to go to the bathroom as the mother would. For this you need a warm moist towel. Rub it from the stomach to anus repeatedly to encourage defecation. I wish you the best of luck. If you have any other questions please don't hesitate to email me.

Answer 3

Hi,

Well the answer differes slightly if its a hare or a rabbit, hares are born ready to go , were as rabbits need some care. at 8 in it should be abour 3 or 4 weeks old possibly 5 . timothy hay should be avalible at all times if you are planing on releasing it do not feed it pelleted rabbit food that will not teah it what to look for also handle it as little as possible, but be prepaped even still when your release it it will probley still hang around for food . feed wate rout of a dish not a water bottle they wont find that in the wild. remeber timothy hay all the time or any kind of grass hay like bermuda or oat. dandylions will help for calcium and probley will be a large part of its diet in the wild , rose petals, rosmary, lavander, clover, sour grass those are probley all things it will eat in the wild that i know arn't posionis to it . I used to raise rabbits all of this info is from first hand experiance make sure it its kept outside with a shelter from cold and heat because any pamering will hinder it later if its really windy throw canvas tarp over its cager make sure it cant get rained on that spells death also keep it out of direct sunlight or at least have a way to get out of it. email me if you have anymore questions. remeber less contact is better.

Answer 4

Alright. The rabbit is probably old enough by now to start eating what grown rabbits eat: They eat a lot of vegetables such as carrots, lettuce, cabbage, celery and other green, leafy vegetables. You can also get rabbit pellets from a pet shop. Whatever you do, though, try not to handle it too much. It may get used to the way you treat it and be unable to fend for itself in the wild. Just make sure that it doesn't get sick or hurt, give it lots of water and give it the above mentioned foods and it should be just fine. Lots of luck! ^^

Answer 5

Yes, you're right. You can do what they do and care for it like they can. And pay one heck of a hefty fine if that neighbor should happen to mention it to an authority figure. Cute as it may be, it is not a pet, and you can't give it the care it would need without imprinting it on humans. Once it is old/grown enough to be on its own, it won't look upon humans as dangerous.
Please reconsider your decision not to call someone.

P.S. Has anyone else noticed the only person here who didn't get a thumbs down was Meps?? What does that tell you?

Answer 6

If the bunny's eyes are open, covered in hair and it's ears are erect, it's old enough to fend for itself.

If this is the case, let it go where or rear where you found it. It you do not feel it is safe there, take it to the nearest safe area.

Though you THINK you can care for this animal, you probably can not. Orphaned baby bunnies are very difficult to care for and have a low survival rate. You also can not do this legally. You must have a license to handle and store wild animals. You can find one here: http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contact.htm

Answer 7

Hi, I had a baby rabbit that I bought for my girls one Easter and her name was Dixie Land. I had at the time a k-mart that had a pet department and they sold boxes of rabbit pellets. It is not and expensive pet to keep . You do net want to give it the ol orange carrot or fresh vegetables too much because it will get diarrhea. So just find a local pet store and they will help you out . I live in the country and would help if we were neighbors

Answer 8

They eat herbage. Buy alfalfa and perhaps a bit of grains. It needs fresh water. Feed stores can give you all the supplies for keeping a rabbit. 8 inches long I assume, is quiet old enouph for it to eat on its own if kept quiet and calm and safe.
Feed stores carry rabbit food in a bag. But alfalfa raw or in pellets is great. Also with the weather getting hot be shure it is sheltered and cool. buy a little ring of salt for it to lick. Water bottle with a tub that alows it to lick and it drips water. Or a dog bowl and keep it clean and fresh.

Answer 9

If it is a wild animal, you should take it to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. Yes, you may be able to do the same things that they do, but you can't do them legally. You don't have the license.

Also, wild rabbits can transmit diseases to humans.

Answer 10

You could give it some natural vegetation like grass, clover, dandelions, and plantain as long as they weren't sprayed with any pesticides. Oats or timothy hay would be good too if you have those readily available.