So my dog dug up a nest of baby bunnies. they were still ok so we tried to put the nest back as best we could but the mother bunny still has not come back. Anyone know anythine about feeding/taking care of baby bunnies- they dont even have their eyes open yet. I feel bad just leaving them out there to starve.
I think some people missed the part about my dog digging up the nest. Thanks to those who actually gave advice on how to care for them :)
We adopted a bunny many years ago from the Michigan Rabbit Rescue. They are very knowledgeable. Maybe they will be able to help or give you some advice:
http://www.michiganrabbitrescue.org/
Best of luck!
You don't see the mother near the babies much at all... she will come back several times a day to feed them..... she is very efficient at feeding them.
If you try to raise the babies, most of them die... they need to get the bacteria from the mother, otherwise they end up with diarrhea and die.
I tried to feed 2 one year.... one died by the next day, the other after a few days... I even asked a vet what to use, but it still didn't work.
http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/orphan.html
according to this link, (and I've seen that other places, also), the mother only feeds the babies 5 minutes a day....
As someone else posted, that is where the phrase "breeding like rabbits" comes from..... they have lots of babies, and frequently, because not all of them survive. As harsh as it may seem, you need to leave the babies alone and hope momma comes back.
How long has the momma bunny been gone? You can bottle feed baby bunnies if the mother doesnt come back. You have to feed them every couple hours and you can get milk from the pet store for them. I think they use the milk for baby kittens for bunnies too...they also have the bottles there too. Another suggestion is see if any local pet shops have a connection with a 4H teen. My sitter has a 4H teen and she works with some local pet shops to handle birds that need worked with and them returns them to the store,quail, same with snakes, etc....
Just leave them.
I know wild animal rehabilitators who just hate baby bunnies not because they don't want to help them, but so often no matter what you do the poor things just die.
If their eyes are not open yet, you'll have to force feed them formula (I don't know what formula) (have to take a very small medical syringe (like for dispensing liquid baby medicine) and squirt it right down their throats).
Rabbits breed like rabbits for several reasons:
1) darn near everything eats them and
2) the young have a high mortality rate.
If every baby rabbit survived to adulthood, we'd be hip deep in rabbits.
It's hard, but just leave them.
The mother might sneak back when you are not looking.
the same thing happened to my cousin but the nest was ruined by the lawn mower. bunnies were ok. nope mama bunny stays away from the nest for most of the day/night. she does that to protect the bunnies from animals that might eat the babies. she will come back just stay away from the nest and try your best to keep the dog away also. good luck
Sadly, it's nature's way. They probably won't make it no matter what you do. Mama bunny might be watching from afar and you don't know it. I would leave them alone.
Not to sound harsh, but you dont need to take care of them. The mommy bunny is probably coming back in the night to feed them. She will stay away as long as she thinks you are too near. She will try to distract a preditor to throw them off the nest and save the babies. Out is the woods, a bunny nest can be found by many other animals and nature is in charge of how this cycle goes. This nest was found by your dog and could have been completely distroyed, but you stopped the dog. The babies now have a much greater chance of surviving but only if you leave them alone and let the mommy do her job.
Call your local vet and get some type of formula for them. Otherwise they'll die. Mama bunny might not touch them because they smell like dog and human now. They will die without help!
been there, done this!
1st time, we did the kitty formula from the vet. To feed one orphan, it cost $25+ in formula for the 1st month. Never again will I do that! AND the little sucker bit us each & every time we fed him!
2nd time, we contacted the wildlife rescue unit & she begrudgingly took them. (Oh, & this was after 2 other facilities turned us down due to mortality rates of bunnies.) The unit that took them said that most often they do survive....you just don't see the momma. BUT in our case, my son ran over the nest with the riding mower.....that's how we found them & once our dogs saw them...that was it! They would not have survived our dogs & there was no way to protect them for a whole month.
It's a hard way to go....& I hate when it happens! Good Luck!
The mother won't come back if you remain near her nest. And if she thinks that the nest is in danger, she's going to wait. She won't let them starve, you just have to trust her. Leave them alone.
