Wild Rabbit Concerns

Hi I am new here, found this by googling..
i have a wild rabbit in my yard since spring, he is very used to me now and will eat from hand and let me briefly pat him. issue is he has a broken leg and i am concerned about him in winter months in Toronto. He has come to rely on me to feed him he looks in my window for me to come out and give him food.
Here is the question, will he be ok? he lives under my low to the ground deck so i am worried when snow comes he will be trapped there...should i bring him in for the winter? or make some type of covering so he can get out?
any ideas appreciated - i am very fond of this little guy
thanks
Karen

he has a broken foot and has been surviving all this time on what you feed him?

He'll continue to do so.
Just make sure he can get in and out and he'll do just fine living outside.
You may wish to throw down some hay/straw for it under your porch.
but if you keep the food down for it, it should do just fine over the winter.

bringing in a truly wild rabbit could very well stress it too much.

Now.. if it's some feral domesticated mutt.... bring it in, fix it up, neuter it and then release it come spring if you are so inclined.

Routine is very important to bunnies. I agree that bringing in a wild who's completely not used to human home life will stress him out a lot. But it depends on how bad his leg is. If it's infected or seems to be very painful or slowing him down a lot, I might try to get him to a vet. If it's not so bad and he's more or less mobile and used to it, just leave him.

In winter, building a covering so he doesn't get snowed in is a good idea. Put his food/water/hay under the house for him so he doesn't have to come out in the cold.

You could also try a wild life rescue place if he is truly a wild rabbit. I know here in Wisconsin, it is against the law to have a wild rabbit indoors unless you have a liscence. I myself, found this out the hard way this summer. We saved a box of 9-10 day old rabbit kits. One of the babies survived and I hand fed him and otherwise nurtured him to the best of my ability. This lil guy beat the odds. We ended up releasing him by 5wks of age because we knew we could face hefty fines concerning wildlife. So, if you DO intend to bring him in, check your local laws.

Thank you for your input. Yes he truly is a wild rabbit there are loads where i live but this guy took to living in my yard. it took a while before he was calm around me. i called the local rabbit rescue and they said the same leave him as is or try to catch him and bring him to vet to fix his leg. There would be no charge but they won't give him back to me but release him some place within a mile of my house. if i want him back they will charge me as they will consider it my pet. I feed him hay, blueberries, raisins, grapes, bread, and lots of greens. He moves pretty good with his front broken leg and looks very healthy. i will continue to feed him and dig his exit out all winter. thanks again, was just worried he'd be cold and freeze outside but he has a nice little bunker under the deck in the corner, keeps him well hidden and safe from predators.

Is it a jack rabbit or a little bush bunny? Lucky you �� just so you know rabbits should not eat bread. Greens and hay with a few fruit treats are just fine.

It is an eastern cottontail I believe, he is adorable. He waits for me to come home from work, sits facing my kitchen window waiting for his dinner. Thanks for the tip, someone told me the bread will help fatten him up for winter weight..i will stop - i was giving him raisin bread - he really liked it lol.

If you can somehow manage to get a pic I'd love to see him!

oh me too! I miss Spartan, the wild cottontail I raised by hand. (my 19yr old son named him that because since he is the only one that survived he had to be a strong fighter!) I would love to see you lil guy.

I call him Roger (Roger Rabbit lol) here are some from yesterday on a very cold day.

Wow he's so cute! That's amazing how tame he is with you!

Bless! What a little sweetie!

Hi again, Just to let you know that my rabbit made it through the winter and is now enjoying the spring weather - he went missing for a week and i was concerned a predator got him, but he showed up on sunday and was pretty hungry guess he was getting his spring fix - really hoping this rabbit is male

I just want to say Thank You, and he is one lucky little bun to have encountered an angel like you with a heart of gold.

So good knowing he made it! Yay