Wild Baby Bunnies Don't...

[Daisylover]

Spring is here and for those of you who live in country settings you may find what appears to be "abandoned" nests of wild baby bunnies. Chances are these babies have not been abandoned so PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH OR MOVE THE NEST OR BABIES.

Wild rabbits often "hide" their nests in plain view, putting them in tall grass, on your lawn or in piles of brush. Absolutely do not disturb the nest. Wild bunny moms do not stay in the nest with their young. She, in a effort to lead predators away from the nest, will leave her babies after she has finished feeding them...her milk is very high in nutrients so they only get fed once in the morning and once at night.

If you find a nest take a look at the babies and see if they are pink, warm, active, quiet, and have a nicely padded belly. These are well cared for babies. If you are worried about them gently lay a cross hatching of grass, twigs or straw over the nest...Wait 24 hours and see if the material has been moved. If they have you kow that mom has come back to take care of them.

If the babies appear to be grey, cold, sluggish. crying or have a sunken ill belly, the immediately need to be taken to a rabbit vet or wild life rehabber. Unfortunately the survival rate is extremely low even when they get expert care.

So if you find a nest please monitor it for 24-48 hours before taking any action.

[Heather Wallace]

Good advice Daisy.

[Ann]

Thanks for sharing!

I have one question though... I've heard that if you as much go near rabbit babies (or pretty much any other wild animal baby), that their mom won't care for them anymore because she'll smell the smell of humans. Is this true?

[Daisylover]

According to what I've read in the house rabbit society's web pages (www.rabbit.org), mom will still come and take care of them if she is able to.

The trick is not to disturb the nest itself, just peek into it. and check the little guys. Then do the criss-crossing with stalks of hay or some wild plant over the top of the nest, come back in 24 hrs and see if it's been disturbed...if so, then mom has come back to take care of the kids.

[Ann]

Good, I'm glad to hear that. Thanks for responding Daisylover :)

[Heather Wallace]

I was reading a magazine and heard that one rabbit had six babies, she killed 2, bite the ears off the other 2. the owners soon after took the other 2 away and had reared them. Aparently the mum rabbit now gets on fine with them all now.
A BIT TO LATE I THINK!

From my own experience, Bunny was a great mother. I made the mistake of touching the nest and the babies from day 3 as I didn't know ay better. Luckily she accepted me touching them.
GOOD JOB REALLY.;)

[Daisylover]

Yeah, you and Bunny have a great relationship.
I've heard this story before about bunny moms killing and maiming their babies. :( What I was told is that the mom was most likely taken away from HER mom when she was way too young and so she did not learn from her mom how to be a bunny....everything she does is on instinct (or something)....

Oddly enough one of our rescued buns at the sanctuary had her ears and tail bitten off by her mom. She's a nice bunny, a little shy and she looks really weird but she is a very healthy gal otherwise. ;) Her name is Precious.

[Heather Wallace]

She must be a bit precious, Daisy.

I also heard that sometime they kill their young to protect them (in the wild I guess), In a way it kind of makes scence.

[Daisylover]

Yeah, Precious is precious. Her partner is named Flopsey and not because of Peter Rabbit stories...
He was part of a large group that was rescued from another sanctuary where the owner couldn't handle the large number she had. Somehow both of his back legs got broken, it was never noticed, so he never got to the vet and his legs healed very crooked. He moves around pretty good, but his gate is very awkward. So our two misfits are together and make a pretty pair.

I'm not sure if it makes sense or not for wild bunny moms to kill their babies, unless they are sick or something. As far as domestic rabbits go, I'd say the fault is with the breeders who take the babies away from their moms MUCH too early, before the mom has a chance to teach them everything they need to know. This really irritates me. :mad: