Feeding 'Potter' with an eye-dropper. He is a wild baby cottontail rabbit that we are trying to rehab and release after our puppy brought him into the house. How to Care for Orphaned Wild Cottontail Bunnies: www.2ndchance.i...
I just want to remind everyone not to remove baby rabbits from their nest or grassy areas. The mothers return at night to feed their young, so they may appear abandoned even when they are not. If they are removed from their nests already or are truly orphaned, there is a link to info on caring for wild orphaned cottontails in the video description above. I used a mixture of kitten milk replacer, heavy cream and a very small amount of unflavored yogurt for probiotics for feeding.
Trista, that's a tough call. If they are in a nest, I would probably still leave them, at least for a night to see if the mama comes back. Also, caring for 5 or 6 is going to be a huge commitment. If you don't have a lot of time and energy during the day to care for them, it might not be beneficial to bring them in. Also, I'm not an expert, just a person who cared for one once, so you might not want to take advice from me anyway :) Check the link in the description for more care info.
Hi Peter. You will want to keep your bunny warm, but preferably not in direct sunlight. A shallow dish of water is fine. If you use a water bottle, make sure your bunny figures out how to use it. You could try putting a bit of molasses on the tip. If your bunny seems happy with the amount of space, it's probably adequate. Check the info in the link about caring for orphaned cottontails (click on 'show more' in the video description) as I am far from an expert in these things. Best of luck.
Hi Mario. Potter was alive and well for 10 days in our home and then he became unwell overnight and died. If I were to start again with a bunny this young, I would be sure to get cecotropes (night poops) from another rabbit to colonize its gut with healthy bacteria. It is unlikely that a bunny that young would have gotten enough from its mother. Trying to rehab a wild cottontail bunny is iffy in the best of circumstances, but I'm glad that I provided for him the best that I could.
I found a litter of cottontail rabbits yesterday outside my house. I saw the mama rabbit get killed by a hawk. I am feeding them formula currently and they are in a tote filled with grass and some salvaged dirt from their hole ( the hawk kinda ripped it up) they are sleeping and eating well and i will find them a foster mama at the shelter so they get the nutrients from her milk. The little babies are so cute! My cats dont want to eat these rabbits, in fact, they cuddle with each other! :D they are so cute!
I discovered a baby rabbit in the middle of the road today. I wasn't sure what to do -- scuttle it to the other side and let nature have its way, or try and rehab it 'til its big enough to release. I took it in, and am now researching how to care for it, sad to discover that these rabbits are so fragile, and that yours didn't survive. I'm going to give it my best shot, though.
REMEMBER: Teach them to eat their first generation of poop. Rabbits do not digest grasses etal very well. So, the species has learned to send the first chewings through their stomach with much of the nutritional value coming out the rear end. Then they nap until lunch and wake up and say: "Hello, lunch." "Lunch" is the "soft droppings" resulting from the previous night's (or day's) nibbling. Lots of nutritional value in those little green pellets.
Potter seemed to thrive for 10 days and then sadly died overnight. As I wrote in a reply to Mario, I think the lack of cecotropes from its mother is the likely reason. If you decide to care for it, that might be something to consider. Best of luck to you and your little foundling.
Nice vid,we found a 2 to 3 week old rabbit but is still kinda small to be out alone around where we live.So we took it in and it has been progressing well so far,we made a speciel mixture of greens and things like that and he seems to like it so we are happy about that.
Ireland Monroe Since I am late, dont bother " saving" them! Wild rabbits do fine without you! Or call an expert on wild life to care for them! You are not qualified Did you know that rabbits eat poop from their mom on day ten of their life at night? This helps them transition to solid foods! What do you know about raising baby bunnies?
Im sorry about Potter! Me and my family found a baby cottontail in our yard! We couldn't find a nest & she was alone so we put her by a hole that we thought could be her home. She went inside the hole, and we went inside our house. The next day we found her out alone again and it was about to storm! So we rescued her. I think she is probably about 3 weeks old but I don't know how to tell for sure!
I started out with a cardboard box lined with a towel and some straw, but then made a bigger home in a large plastic bin. I made a little area at one end with sticks covered with a small towel for the bunny to hide in. You can't keep a wild rabbit as a pet, so I was only thinking short term. If you click on 'show more' under the video description there is a link to CARE INFO from someone much more experienced than I am. Best of luck.
A couple months ago, a baby cottontail rabbit was ran over with a wheel from a gardening hose, and the wheel was on top of his head, i took in the baby bunny he had blood coming out of his eye and mouth and did not move, i got him special milk from the pet store and tried feeding him but he was to sick to eat, so i force feed him and after a couple days he started eating by him self and soon his eye opened, he was finally moving around and in a couple weeks he started to eat grass, and hopping, so i took him to the park and let him go, since he is a wild rabbit. (please do not keep cottontail baby rabbits after you raise them to an age that they can take care of them self in the wild, plus try not holding them to much so they wont be tame since they need to survive in the wild)
Mimi Pech no I tamed mine and they are awesome and I wanna train one not let it go and if you raise them from a baby when they grow up they can’t live in the wils
The day after I found the baby bunny, I contacted my local vet. Although they aren't advertised as rehabbers, one of the vets does rehab a bunch of different animals. I never checked back up on the progress of the baby bunny, just hoped for the best and moved on.
Thank you so much Verdemama for replying and I will try to check on them today. You probably are a bunny expert! I want to make sure there is no more dead ones. I f I go there and find more dead I will probably take the alive ones home.
a small cardboard "house" at one end he can hide in, and shredded paper and coconut husks that he loves to burrow in. I took him outside on the lawn and supervised him while he hopped around sampling plants, then I brought him back to his terrarium. Should i put it in direct light, or somewhere cool and dark? Also, can I teach him to drink from a water bottle or is a dish sufficient?
We just rescued 3 from our neighbors dog who killed the mother and one of the other babys. Out of the 3 only 1 is feeding like you are showing in your video. The other two seem like they take the formula but aren't quite as eager about it.
this is what i do. my dog brought in a baby bunny, probably a little less than a day because they only have thin slicked back fur and their ears and eyes are still closed. they both had a small cut on their legs also. i feed them about 1-to 1 1/2 eye dropper full of milk.
My uncle and dad brought some in today. They were cutting the grass and found them, the mother wasn't there so they brought them. They haven't opened there eyes yet!
My cat caught a rabbit about the same size and color as yours the other day and we've been feeding him cat milk with a dropper too. The kitten bottle nipples were too big.
From what I understand, at that age your bunny won't need help to poo. I rubbed Potter's stomach area to make sure he was full but not overeating. It can be detrimental to overfeed them. There is a link to care info under the video description. (Click on 'show more')
we found a nest of 5 while digging to insulate the basement and had to move the nest a little. Sadly mama couldn't find it and I came home to two dead, one missing, and two in the nest (one I had thought was dead but then it moved it's paw, the other crawling around) sadly one died in my arms. I'm currently keeping the sole surviver (Thyme) in a box with an old blanket, a heating pack in the corner, and a hot bottle beside it. No clue what to feed it, however. I'm having an issue with getting her to open the mouth
Justin Kenney no, it rained heavy and tempetures went below zero, next to that it had not been fed for a while and was dehydrated and starving. She passed away from natural causes around four am in my hands.
I get how us humans want to 'save' needy animals, I'm a softie too but we often do more harm than good. I teach my kids that we should not interfere with gods/natures plan. The natural circle of life exists for a reason and sure it is touching how cute they are as well as sadly defenseless. BUT there is a reason there are so many they are a needed food source for Foxes, small coyotes and other predators who in-turn are cute as infants but are also FOOD for other higher predators...
Did you mix cream with the KMR? Rabbit milk has a very high fat content. Also, I would very gently but persistently nuzzle the tip of the eye dropper against Potter's mouth. That seemed to stimulate the urge to suckle. Best of luck.
Is your puppy a white pitbull ? and I found 5 little rabbits hopping around just all alone The 6th rabbit went the other way and into the road. so we only saved 5. I did find the mother she still had milk but she had been hit by a car.......She was dead. so now we have 5 baby Rabbits. what should we do
Today we found 4 dead baby bunnies by my grandmas house and 5 or 6 alive ones should take them home? They look like a racoon has gotten the other ones:(
I have one bigger than that i ended up finding yesterday I beleive mother is gone there is a rabbit on my road dead ): I found this one and its eyes were open already so i made a tissue box with crumpled up tissues in it for a nest put a small thing of water in there a dish of litter and some lettuce but i fear she might be to young for that maybe
not stupid. pups, kittens and even rabbiys do nturally turn and lay in alot of diff directions to nurse. but when using a nonnattural method such as a sryinge or dropper it is not recommended to feed on their backs to reduce risks of accidental aspiration. Ask ANY Veterinarian and see what they tell you before calling someone stupid. i was not calling u out for any wrong doing. Only sharing Veterinarian based advice to reduce aspiration risk which can lead to pneumonia and death. Ruse is to call another person Stupid. have a blessed day. hope the little guy made it.
katrina benton baby bunnies nurse on their backs. Do research before you go yelling at someone. If she shouldn't feed it with an eyedropper or syringe WHAT SHOULD SHE USE?! You want natural. Guess what, chicks can't nurse a rabbit 'naturally'
NHshred You will never see the mom with the babies. She only goes to them when no one is around. Leave ut be, she is close by watching and waiting for the perfect moment. The same goes for housed and tame rabbits.
You might need to take the rabbit baby in it won't hurt them but when they get older you could adopt them out and make sure they are socialized or you can leave them
Hi, I found a cottontail in the middle of a busy intersection yesterday, I think he's a little older & bigger than yours... 3.5 inches long and weighed him at 50g. Fed him KMR 3 times already and gained 3g since yesterday. Just now starting to eat plants...I think I may have found him on his first "solo trip"..that area was mowed over and doubtful mom and other babies survived. While keeping him indoors, how big of a shelter would be adequate? Right now he's in a small plastic terrarium with
But I just wanted to know how you make the food, because I really wanna get these guys a feeding in, I feel terrible, because I still think moms around but just can't find them or maybe she isn't looking because they were gone all during the day once I found them and boxed them up
Can I ask you a question? I found seven on Sunday, and took them to a wildlife rehaber...and was there over night. I noticed the following day that the mother was out around the nest, well what I think is the miter so I went back to pick them up from the wildlife rescue lady because I thought mom was still looking for her young...they've been back in the nest now for almost 24 hours and I don't think moms returned yet. Two died today :( and I'm very worried they won't survive...
Hi, I just rescued a bunny that looks just like this one in your video. He was screaming so loud and was bleeding on the side where the cat held him in his mouth. I got the smallest bottle at pet store and a new born kitten formula and tried to feed him but he doesn't want to at all. He just sleeps. What should I do? What did you do with this one? Thanks, any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Are you serious? Unbelievable! I meant how did you end up? Did he live? Wow, I think youtube has totally desensitized you....I myself recently rescued bunnies and I just released them. I was wondering how this person "made out" with the care of the injured bunny. Perhaps you should not take things so literally while reading posts....what type of videos have you been watching that you would even think I was referring to that?
Please click on SHOW MORE under the description for a link on care and feeding of wild bunnies. I am not an expert and do not feel qualified to give advice on specific situations. Thanks!!!
I also have a baby cottontail that I am currently caring for.🐰🐇. Thank you for the helpful tips and tricks that you wonderful people have given me. If it wasn't for you my bunny would probably not be on this Earth. Thank you again.👍👍
Joel Porter i live in Eastern Massachusetts 13 miles south of boston i just found 3 of these in my back yard my dog killed one and injured another i have 2 in a cage I'm trying to nurse the injured one back to health the not injured one seems to be doing fine.. is yours still alive?
Never, never turn a baby animal (including kittens, and puppies) on it's back to feed, because it could easily aspirate. Feed them exactly the way they would nurse on the mother, which is feet down.
Kristina Foxx They don't nurse upside-down. Once they can stand and the righting mechanism is all sorted they will feed on all fours with their head back. It can cause damage to feed upside-down. Look up almost any video of them nursing and you'll be able to see rabbits don't nurse upside-down.
Zeros & Ones I have bred MANY litters of rabbits, and they do indeed nurse from any position they get in. This is normal for them. Far different from dogs or cats.
Chelsea Shea Yeah, and I'm studying animal behaviour (including that of rodents and cavies)..... rabbits will right themselves to drink. They can asphyxiate trying to drink upside-down and it can cause oesophageal development issues. But whatever. Everyone on the internet thinks they know better than anyone with an education. I seriously question why I blew 9000 a year to have a degree for people to think they know more when they haven't had a day of professional training in their lives.
Zeros & Ones Even educated professionals have differences in what they think is best... Though ill admit i found this way odd knowing next to nothing about rabbits ... Even humans arent fed flat on their backs due to the risk of ear infection
my cat just brought one home tonight. No injuries with is awesome considering the cat got to it but I ran to the store and got kitten formula and an eye droper. He didn't seem to be hungry when I offered him food mabey still in shock? I hope my little guy does good like yours. Any advice is always appreciated ☺
i really need some help..... a response would be very helpful if uk what ur doing. we found a bunnies nest and my dog got one and it died.... the nesg was destroyed so we made a new one and left them for a day. i came back from school today and one had ventured far but we found him. we moved the nest AGAIN bc animal control said to get them out of the sun. when i was moving them, one was crying. i don't know if they are fed, or dying, i don't know what to do. they are in a shoe box bc i don't want them to get away. i'm doing as much research as i can but i can't find answers. WHAT DO I DO SOMEONE HELP
Justin Kenney i had about 6 rabbits.. one was instantly killed by my dog and no where to be seen of a nest. we left those five pretty much alone but i couldn't tell whether or not they were being fed. my mom went out and got kitten milk replacement and they all took it and it worked for a few days but they all slowly died pretty quickly. i didn't use any supplements for their immune system ( like bad- bac) bc my mom didn't want to spend a lot of money. i'm thinking their immune systems were not strong enough. my dog several days later found yet another bunny couples days older and bigger but only one, we decided to bring that one to the vet, where they also sadly died. then again my dog found 2 more. one of which was killed on impact and the other fine. we had no idea where these nests were so we placed them back around where we thought their mother could get them. they were not there the next day but the bunnies were squirming at that point. as u can tell, they are extremely hard to care for and keep alive, even a professional couldn't succeed in this situation. if u r going to nurse them i suggest once a day and about 4 drops per rabbit of formula and no more bc they are so tiny u can overbloat them and die. it is very hard and so many things can go wrong over right. just make sure u have enough research to nurse them properly. any questions feel free to ask for i have learned so much from this. good luck!
I actually have 6 baby rabbits right now that my dog tried killing:( we are trying to fined a shelter to take them in (the mom died btw and the babies eyes aren't open yet
My friend just got me a wild rabbit, his dog found it. It has fur, but the eyes are closed. It's hoppin and walking a bit. I'm feeding it goats milk but what kind of bed/ home DI you give your bunny? Did your bunny live? Please any help/ advice much appreciated!!
let your cat in the yard with a larger cat and give it a lesson on bullying. Your cat gets meow mix and tuna from you and then it chomps on baby bunnie..bad cat!
Wait, don't feed baby rabbits upside down! It's really sweet that you're helping it, but wild baby Cottontails only need to be tipped slightly upward to feed!
well, if you watched the fucking video before commenting then you would know exactly how to feed it. my guess is that you're dumber then a box of rocks and the rabbit died?
well we dont know if it was fine it died a few days after we caught it. it seemed fine it was eating but i dont know about drinking we put water in a bowl i couldnt find my rabbit water bottle...
Baby rabbits are very delicate and need specific food and specific amounts of it. You may have overfed it or fed it the wrong type of food. Either way, if you "caught" rather than found an abandoned one, you should have just left it alone.
i have a rabbit that i have had for about 6 - 7 months and shes doing fine we got her from a man who owns a rabbit farm.. she was very tiny when we got her but a little bit bigger than the other one that we caught in our garden. the one wee caught in our garden was wild so i dont know if it was well or not i mean could've been sick it looked like it was fine when we first got it, it was scared but few days later it started eating. but it had passed away the next morning on a sunday.
