wild baby bunnies

[certherfbeef]

The kids managed to chase down a baby bunny in the hayfield. The hay bine got the rest of them. Now the kids want to keep the one they caught. Will it live or not?
Right now thay have it in a make shift 5x5 pen in the yard.

If it will live, I reckon they can keep it. If it is going to die from being caught...I'll let it go.

 

[Hippie Rancher]

How much of a baby? Is it eating grass/solid food? If on a bottle pet/feed stores sometimes have baby mammal milk replacer - or you can use the kind for kittens.

If it is I wouldn't keep it long - they get mean and bite. Get the kids a domestic. Or better a guinnea pig.

 

[L Weir]

It must depend on the age. My kids found a healthy one and put in a cage. It evenually died. Even with food and water. This one was wild and would run around in the pen.

 

[IluvABbeef]

If I were you, I wouldn't reccommend keeping it. You should contact your local Fish and Wildlife officers (or something like that; I don't know what thier called in Ohio) and have them properly deal with the baby rabbit. It's wild remember, wild as in not meant to be made into a pet and kept in a cage unlike the domesticated rabbits we find around N.A. I doubt it will live because it may be in shock right now as we speak. And once it gets over that shock, it might die. No matter what age. Again, wild rabbits are not meant to be kept in cages.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[txag]

we never had much luck saving wild bunny babies. the cottontails seemed to do a little better than the jackrabbits, but the success rate on both was pretty low. if it's old enough to make it on it's own, i'd probably vote for letting it go.

 

[warpaint]

Let it go, Cert!

Wild youngun's don't do well in captivity.

I once ran over a bed of a deer, on a bushhog, took the baby home and put her on the front porch. Thought she would make it , but 3 weeks later she died.

 

[Chuck]

My brother in law ran some through the mower several years ago. Two of them didn't go through and he picked them up and took them home. He thought the kids would enjoy them. Spent as much time and effort on them as he did on his butcher steers. One died after a while(lots of tears from 2 little girls) and the one that lived never amounted to anything, always looked rough. I'd have to agree with the other folks. Probably best to let it go if it's big enough or try to do something else with it.

 

[Colorado2008]

I'm going out on a limb here! ;-) (might even sound like a tard, but o well 8) )

After the rabbits are born, does the doe (i guess that's what they're called) feed them, or do they eat grass and stuff like that from the beginning?

Like i said, now that I sound like a total idiot, just makes me wonder i guess!!

~Britani~

 

[Miss Daisy]

)
After the rabbits are born, does the doe (i guess that's what they're called) feed them, or do they eat grass and stuff like that from the beginning?

When our domestic rabbits have had babies, they feed off their mom until their eyes and ears open and they get around

 

[Hippie Rancher]

I forget which is which, but I THINK it is jack rabbits (hares) that are born fully furred and eyes open, almost ready to go. True rabbits are dependant longer. I could be wrong and I am too tired to look it up, sorry.

 

[Miss Daisy]

I forget which is which, but I THINK it is jack rabbits (hares) that are born fully furred and eyes open, almost ready to go. True rabbits are dependant longer. I could be wrong and I am too tired to look it up, sorry.

That sounds about right, but same as you i aint sure

 

[3MR]

I used to catch and keep baby wild rabbits when I was a kid, I never had one die, My Grandfather raised domestic ones for meat, I just took care of them the same as he did. They would litter train and follow you around the house, come when you tapped on the ground. Im not saying its the thing to do, just that they wont neccessarily die.

 

[Lammie]

My older brother used to bring me home baby bunnies all the time that he found doing heavy equipment work. I had one for a year, until it got to hot when I left it's cage in the sun. I have fed them with an eye dropper and done pretty well. I think that they get over excited and just die sometimes from the stress of capture. They need to be in a quiet place.

 

[Lammie]

Maybe we need someone English here, but aren't cotten tails rabbits and jack rabbits hares? There's a difference.

 

[certherfbeef]

Guessing that the bunny is no more than 3 weeks old. It will fit in the palm of my hand.
Kids have it in a quite place and they check on it a couple times a day. It is drinking water and they pick clover for it to eat. Mother in law has some pelleted rabbit food she gave the kids to feed it too.
They fully understand that it may not live. But if let loose at this point it will do good to last a day with all the predators.

 

[Lammie]

I think it needs milk. Try some goat milk. You can get it in the grocery store in the baking goods section. Little critters seem to tolerate it pretty well. It is a lot cheaper than milk replacer from the pet store and it is better for them than Pet milk.

 

[capparelli]

I am not sure if the wild rabbits were you live are the same as in Florida, we just call them cottontails. But when I find baby rabbits around here if they are real young they have a white line on their forehead, then when they are old enough to be weaned the line goes away. It might sound crazy but its the truth.
I have not been able to raise any with a bottle but I have put them in with litters of rabbits my rabbits had that were about the same size, the does always took care of them, but I let them go when they were old enough, they were always high strung and scared.

 

[certherfbeef]

But when I find baby rabbits around here if they are real young they have a white line on their forehead, then when they are old enough to be weaned the line goes away.

This one has a white line on it's forehead. But it is drinking water. HMMMM

 

[IluvABbeef]

Maybe we need someone English here, but aren't cotten tails rabbits and jack rabbits hares? There's a difference.

"Hares (genus Lepus) are generally larger than rabbits, have longer, black tipped ears and live solitary lives. Hares are born with open eyes, hair, and they can run within a few minutes of birth. Rabbits are born blind, naked, and remain in a fur-lined nest their first days of life."
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/s ... ridae.html

 

[Lammie]

Maybe we need someone English here, but aren't cotten tails rabbits and jack rabbits hares? There's a difference.

"Hares (genus Lepus) are generally larger than rabbits, have longer, black tipped ears and live solitary lives. Hares are born with open eyes, hair, and they can run within a few minutes of birth. Rabbits are born blind, naked, and remain in a fur-lined nest their first days of life."
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/s ... ridae.html

I actually used to know when I was teaching. I have forgotten more than I have learned, I believe... :shock: