If you often go for walks or live in an area with large open fields, you may stumble across a rabbit’s nest while you are out and about exploring the world. It can be alarming to realize the babies are on their own, and the mother is nowhere in sight. So, what must you do if you find an orphaned bunny?
The best thing you can do after finding an orphaned bunny is to leave it alone. If a smaller bunny appears injured or weak, you should immediately take it to the nearest SPCA or wildlife center if you are 100% certain that the mother is gone. Do not attempt to care for or feed the baby yourself.
Most of the time, baby bunnies who appear to be abandoned still have mothers caring for them. As only 10% of baby bunnies in human care survive, the best thing to do would be to leave the bunny right where it is unless you have checked and made 100% certain that the mother is no longer around.
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What To Do If You Find An Orphaned Bunny
When it comes to wild animals, unfortunately, humans tend to end up doing more harm than good. If you genuinely care for the fluffy baby creatures you find, you will need to extensively research what you should do before trying to ‘help.’
Many baby bunnies seem to be alone and abandoned when in reality, their mother is nearby, and the babies are in good hands. Before diving to rescue as soon as you find an ‘abandoned’ rabbit nest, there are a few things you will need to check for.
Make Sure The Baby Bunnies Are Abandoned
While it is a common belief that rabbits burrow deep holes into the ground and live in elaborate networks of winding tunnels underground, rabbit nests are pretty close to ground level. They are usually just small pockets in the middle of a lawn or flower beds where the babies can stay warm.
It is not uncommon for somebody to stumble across a nest of baby bunnies while out for a walk or while mowing the lawn. At first glance, it might appear like the baby bunnies have been abandoned. They are all alone, out in the open, seemingly orphaned, and in dire need of assistance.
As humans, this can pull at our heartstrings, and most people would immediately want to rescue these cute, fluffy bunnies. However, the first thing you should know about rabbits is that the mother does not stay near her babies the entire day, usually for their protection.
To avoid alerting predators to the fact that there is a nest nearby, the mother will leave the babies alone most of the time and only return to the nest at dawn and dusk to feed them. The mother also lines the nest with her fur, twigs, and leaves to ensure her babies stay warm while she is gone.
After accidentally stumbling upon a bunny’s nest, the best thing you can do is leave it alone. Most of the time, the baby bunnies are not abandoned, and removing them from the nest will cause more harm than good. Only 10% of orphaned bunnies will survive in human care, so their best hope is to stay where their mother can look after them.
In rare cases, the mother rabbit may have died or abandoned the nest – which is the only time you should remove baby bunnies from their nest and seek immediate professional help from the SPCA or wildlife centers.
How To Ensure A Rabbits Nest Has Been Abandoned
There are a few cases where the baby bunnies might be orphaned. Their mother may have been killed by predators, someone’s dog, or fallen into a trap and died.
Before coming to the baby bunny’s rescue, you must be 100% sure that the mother is gone. Otherwise, you are risking the lives of these small, fluffy creatures for no reason. To ensure that a nest is genuinely abandoned, there are a few ways to check that the mother rabbit is not visiting or feeding her babies.
The simplest way to check that the nest has been abandoned is by using two pieces of string and placing them in an X position at the nest’s opening. If the baby bunny’s mother is still around and feeding them, the string will have moved when you check on it the next day.
Another method you can use is by placing cooking flour around the nests opening. When the mother comes to feed her babies in the morning or at night, she will leave footprints in the flour that signals that the nest has not been abandoned.
If the area surrounding the nest remains undisturbed for over 24 hours, and the baby bunnies appear very thin or weak, you can take action.
How To Help Orphaned Bunnies
Only once you have established that a rabbit’s nest has truly been abandoned can you proceed with rescuing the babies.
Whether an orphaned bunny requires human intervention depends on size and age. Baby bunnies that have a full coat of fur, their eyes are open, and they are around 4.5 to 5 inches long, are already independent, and do not need human care.
Smaller bunnies who have not opened their eyes yet, do not have a full coat of fur, appear thin, weak, or have apparent injuries will need human intervention to survive.
Baby bunnies require particular care, so the best thing you can do for them is to take them to the nearest SPCA, licensed wildlife rehabilitator, or affiliated Humane Society. Unless you have no other option, you should avoid caring for the baby bunnies yourself, as there is a great chance that they may die.
What To Feed A Baby Bunny
Suppose you truly cannot get to an SPCA or wildlife rehabilitation center soon and wish to feed the baby bunny until it can be transported. In that case, you will need to be very careful as overfeeding and certain foods can cause the baby to die.
You can use KMR kitten formula with regular fat goat milk to feed a baby bunny. Adding a small amount of probiotics (acidophilus) will help to promote healthy gut flora. Use a syringe to feed the bunny and only feed them while the bunny is sitting upright.
Newborns to two weeks of age will need 5-13 cc/ml of formula twice a day, and older babies can have timothy hay, pellets, and some water along with their milk.
Suppose the baby is so young that its eyes have not opened yet. In that case, you will need to help them urinate and defecate after each feeding by taking a cotton ball dipped in warm water, brushing it over the anal area to stimulate it, and only stopping once the baby has finished urinating and defecating. In the wild, the bunnies’ mother would lick the area, so the warm cotton ball mimics the mother’s actions.
Once the baby bunnies’ eyes start opening, you do not need to continue helping them urinate and defecate as they will be able to by themselves.
You should avoid excessive handling of baby bunnies while in your care, as the stress can be fatal for them. Only check that the bunnies are warm and have had enough food by feeling their stomachs for heat and checking that the tummy does not appear to sink in. baby bunnies should have a pinkish color – if they appear blue, they are too cold.
Conclusion
When we think a baby bunny has been abandoned, the mother is usually close by and still caring for them. Humans cannot provide the same standard of care that a mother rabbit can, so you will need to be 100% sure that the babies are orphaned before you remove them from the nest.
You should never attempt to care for baby bunnies yourself and instead take them straight to the nearest SPCA or wildlife rehabilitation center.
