Hello all!
I just wanted to introduce my bunny, Tulip! I never intended to keep Tulip as a pet since she is a wild bunny, in all senses of the word. Regardless, here is our story.
I bought a new house about a year ago. It's a new build in a new subdivision that prior to, was a large field. There is a pretty big pond at the entrance to our subdivision, and with that, we see a good amount of wildlife for living in "the city."
I did not cut my grass throughout the winter, and in February, I decided that it was finally time. The grass wasn't extremely long, but I did have a few spots along my house where the weeds had shot up to a few feet tall. My dad came over to cut the grass one day while I was at work and as he was mowing, he felt a clunk and saw something shoot out between his legs. It was a baby bunny. She wasn't a newborn as she was covered in fur and her eyes were open, but she was only about 4 inches long and maybe 100 grams or so, so I'm pretty sure she was only 2 to 4 weeks old at the time. He called me at work and asked what he should do. I asked him to pick her up and see if he had injured her with the lawnmower. He said he couldn't find any obvious injuries, but that she seemed to be in shock and wouldn't move. I called my vet and he said to put her in a dark, quiet place, offer her grass and water, and reexamine the situation in a few hours (I have a 3 lb dog and work with very tiny premature babies for a living, so I made sure to ask him if the bunny was a potential threat to both my dog and my patients). My dad found an old Office Depot box, poked holes in the lid, placed her in there with food and water, and left her in my garage (since it was still cool enough outside to not risk overheating her).
When I got home from work and opened up the box, she looked up at me with the most scared little eyes that I've ever seen. I petted her gently and she closed her eyes and seemed content. I tried to put her back outside but she again froze and seemed terrified, so I brought her back inside. She would not eat any of the grass or water after several hours and I got concerned. I did some research and determined that she may not have been fully weaned from her mother yet. There was no signs of a nest in mine or any of my neighbors yards, so I made the decision to try and syringe feed her. I read that more than 90% of wild baby bunnies do not survive past a few days when humans try to care for them, and that even fewer live past a week, but I was determined to help her. I researched more and decided I would try kitten replacement formula as her means of nutrition. I am a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner, and I felt like taking care of sick premature babies just barely bigger than her would help me at least a little bun being able to keep her alive.
Tulip's initial "home" was a large 40 or so gallon Rubbermaid bucket that I laid bedding in and also put a soft fleece blanket in for her to burrow into. I fed her once every 12 hours. I estimated her weight in grams and used that to calculate her feedings, just like I would for a premature baby (maybe not the best logic, since rabbits aren't humans, but it was better to me than picking a number out of thin air). I estimated a total daily amount that she should consume to gain weight, and I divided that into two equal feedings, at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. I would stimulate her to urinate/defacate after each feeding, and the first time I saw her little baby poop pellets, it was as if I had won the lottery. I felt so accomplished! I read how sensitive bunnies are to stimulation, so after each feed, I'd cover her bucket with a heavy blanket in an attempt to make her bucket both dark and somewhat sound proof. I was elated when she was still alive (and healthy appearing) a week into it.
Once we made it to two weeks, she began getting more feisty and it was definitely a chore to try and catch her for syringe feeding. I decided to put her formula into a small bowl, and she took to it like a champ. I assumed at this point that she was probably ready for weaning, but she still didn't seem to want the water, hay, or pellets I was offering her. I was scared to put her outside because she was still very small, and I didn't want her to get picked off by a predator (or a car, since the pond is close to our road), so I decided I'd keep her a little longer. I brought her in to my vet for a head to toe exam, and also had him test her for any worms or other parasites that can be found in wild rabbits. She got a clean bill of health and weighed a whopping 210 grams, 7 whole ounces, about double the size she was when we found her. He told me he was 100% impressed because I was the only person, besides himself, that he had ever seen keep such a young wild rabbit alive, aside from rehabilitators who were specially trained to do so. He gave me tips on helping her keep her teeth and claws filed, and even said that he was pretty sure that she was in the clear at this point. He ensured me that everything I was doing was appropriate, and suggested that I keep her indoors if I was going to continue to raise her. He instructed me to begin introducing fresh veggies, hay, and pellets to her. He told me I didn't need to give her formula anymore and to just offer water, but she refused the water for quite some time, so I continued to give her formula at least once a day for another couple of weeks and weaned her off as she began eating more fresh veggies. She eventually learned to drink from the water dispenser and is now a pro.
At 3 weeks in, I purchased her an actual cage, which was plenty big enough for her at that time. I let all her droppings fall through the cage into the collection tray for a couple of days, and then read that rabbits eat some of their droppings to fully digest their food and get all the nutrients. I decided to try to litter box train her and put the pan where she seemed to urinate the most, in the front corner of the cage. It took her about one try and she hasn't gone anywhere but the litter box since then.
We are now 4.5 months into this journey and Tulip is still thriving. She is definitely a wild rabbit and is spooked very easily; however, I think she has learned to trust me (somewhat) and has gotten used to me at least being in her surroundings. She definitely will not let me pick her up, but if she is in her "house" inside of her cage, she will sniff my fingers, take food from my hands, and let me pet her. She seems to feel secure in her house and therefore does not feel threatened by me when she is inside of it. She has gotten pretty big. If I had to guess, I'd say she's close to 2 pounds and has stayed about the same size for the last month or so, so I'm assuming she is probably close to full grown. Her home that was once a perfect size for her is now getting to be too small. I bought a large play yard and made it into a 2x6 pen/cage for her. She escaped from underneath it once, so I built a bottom with wire shelving and covered it with plywood and hay mats. I saw her try to squeeze through the bars several times without success, so I thought we were good to go; however, one day I dropped something and spooked her and she squeezed straight through the bars and hid behind my dishwasher. After 2 days of trying to lure her back to her cage, I ended up having to uninstall my dishwasher and had to catch her in a blanket. I put her back in the smaller cage until I could find a better solution and that's currently my situation. I feel the need to mention that she came out to eat and use her litter box the entire 2 days that she was behind the dishwasher. I never found a single dropping or pee spot anywhere else, so I give her props for that.
If anyone would be willing to share their thoughts on a suitable home for her, I am open to suggestions! I need something that's large enough for her to both live and exercise in since she's still so timid. I don't want to stress her out by handling her more than necessary!
I will attenpt to post some pictures of sweet Tulip!
I just wanted to introduce my bunny, Tulip! I never intended to keep Tulip as a pet since she is a wild bunny, in all senses of the word. Regardless, here is our story.
I bought a new house about a year ago. It's a new build in a new subdivision that prior to, was a large field. There is a pretty big pond at the entrance to our subdivision, and with that, we see a good amount of wildlife for living in "the city."
I did not cut my grass throughout the winter, and in February, I decided that it was finally time. The grass wasn't extremely long, but I did have a few spots along my house where the weeds had shot up to a few feet tall. My dad came over to cut the grass one day while I was at work and as he was mowing, he felt a clunk and saw something shoot out between his legs. It was a baby bunny. She wasn't a newborn as she was covered in fur and her eyes were open, but she was only about 4 inches long and maybe 100 grams or so, so I'm pretty sure she was only 2 to 4 weeks old at the time. He called me at work and asked what he should do. I asked him to pick her up and see if he had injured her with the lawnmower. He said he couldn't find any obvious injuries, but that she seemed to be in shock and wouldn't move. I called my vet and he said to put her in a dark, quiet place, offer her grass and water, and reexamine the situation in a few hours (I have a 3 lb dog and work with very tiny premature babies for a living, so I made sure to ask him if the bunny was a potential threat to both my dog and my patients). My dad found an old Office Depot box, poked holes in the lid, placed her in there with food and water, and left her in my garage (since it was still cool enough outside to not risk overheating her).
When I got home from work and opened up the box, she looked up at me with the most scared little eyes that I've ever seen. I petted her gently and she closed her eyes and seemed content. I tried to put her back outside but she again froze and seemed terrified, so I brought her back inside. She would not eat any of the grass or water after several hours and I got concerned. I did some research and determined that she may not have been fully weaned from her mother yet. There was no signs of a nest in mine or any of my neighbors yards, so I made the decision to try and syringe feed her. I read that more than 90% of wild baby bunnies do not survive past a few days when humans try to care for them, and that even fewer live past a week, but I was determined to help her. I researched more and decided I would try kitten replacement formula as her means of nutrition. I am a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner, and I felt like taking care of sick premature babies just barely bigger than her would help me at least a little bun being able to keep her alive.
Tulip's initial "home" was a large 40 or so gallon Rubbermaid bucket that I laid bedding in and also put a soft fleece blanket in for her to burrow into. I fed her once every 12 hours. I estimated her weight in grams and used that to calculate her feedings, just like I would for a premature baby (maybe not the best logic, since rabbits aren't humans, but it was better to me than picking a number out of thin air). I estimated a total daily amount that she should consume to gain weight, and I divided that into two equal feedings, at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. I would stimulate her to urinate/defacate after each feeding, and the first time I saw her little baby poop pellets, it was as if I had won the lottery. I felt so accomplished! I read how sensitive bunnies are to stimulation, so after each feed, I'd cover her bucket with a heavy blanket in an attempt to make her bucket both dark and somewhat sound proof. I was elated when she was still alive (and healthy appearing) a week into it.
Once we made it to two weeks, she began getting more feisty and it was definitely a chore to try and catch her for syringe feeding. I decided to put her formula into a small bowl, and she took to it like a champ. I assumed at this point that she was probably ready for weaning, but she still didn't seem to want the water, hay, or pellets I was offering her. I was scared to put her outside because she was still very small, and I didn't want her to get picked off by a predator (or a car, since the pond is close to our road), so I decided I'd keep her a little longer. I brought her in to my vet for a head to toe exam, and also had him test her for any worms or other parasites that can be found in wild rabbits. She got a clean bill of health and weighed a whopping 210 grams, 7 whole ounces, about double the size she was when we found her. He told me he was 100% impressed because I was the only person, besides himself, that he had ever seen keep such a young wild rabbit alive, aside from rehabilitators who were specially trained to do so. He gave me tips on helping her keep her teeth and claws filed, and even said that he was pretty sure that she was in the clear at this point. He ensured me that everything I was doing was appropriate, and suggested that I keep her indoors if I was going to continue to raise her. He instructed me to begin introducing fresh veggies, hay, and pellets to her. He told me I didn't need to give her formula anymore and to just offer water, but she refused the water for quite some time, so I continued to give her formula at least once a day for another couple of weeks and weaned her off as she began eating more fresh veggies. She eventually learned to drink from the water dispenser and is now a pro.
At 3 weeks in, I purchased her an actual cage, which was plenty big enough for her at that time. I let all her droppings fall through the cage into the collection tray for a couple of days, and then read that rabbits eat some of their droppings to fully digest their food and get all the nutrients. I decided to try to litter box train her and put the pan where she seemed to urinate the most, in the front corner of the cage. It took her about one try and she hasn't gone anywhere but the litter box since then.
We are now 4.5 months into this journey and Tulip is still thriving. She is definitely a wild rabbit and is spooked very easily; however, I think she has learned to trust me (somewhat) and has gotten used to me at least being in her surroundings. She definitely will not let me pick her up, but if she is in her "house" inside of her cage, she will sniff my fingers, take food from my hands, and let me pet her. She seems to feel secure in her house and therefore does not feel threatened by me when she is inside of it. She has gotten pretty big. If I had to guess, I'd say she's close to 2 pounds and has stayed about the same size for the last month or so, so I'm assuming she is probably close to full grown. Her home that was once a perfect size for her is now getting to be too small. I bought a large play yard and made it into a 2x6 pen/cage for her. She escaped from underneath it once, so I built a bottom with wire shelving and covered it with plywood and hay mats. I saw her try to squeeze through the bars several times without success, so I thought we were good to go; however, one day I dropped something and spooked her and she squeezed straight through the bars and hid behind my dishwasher. After 2 days of trying to lure her back to her cage, I ended up having to uninstall my dishwasher and had to catch her in a blanket. I put her back in the smaller cage until I could find a better solution and that's currently my situation. I feel the need to mention that she came out to eat and use her litter box the entire 2 days that she was behind the dishwasher. I never found a single dropping or pee spot anywhere else, so I give her props for that.
If anyone would be willing to share their thoughts on a suitable home for her, I am open to suggestions! I need something that's large enough for her to both live and exercise in since she's still so timid. I don't want to stress her out by handling her more than necessary!
I will attenpt to post some pictures of sweet Tulip!
