HELP! Tiny BABY bunny found...!!!!

[Vetiora]

Okay guys I'm going to need some help!:?My co-worker found a baby bunny on her lawn yesterday andit seems to be under 8 weeks old! At least by the size she told me itwas it seems to be that way.

I haven't seen the bunny yet but I'll be going to pick it up as soon asI get off of work with her (which will be around 5...it's 1 now). Idon't even know if it's still alive but if it is I'm going to need somehelp caring for it. Where can I find some nutri-cal without having togo to a pet specialty store like Pet-Co (nearest one is lik 45 minutesaway from me)? Also, what other kinds of things will I need for the bunas far as bottles, formula and such? And lastly, how can I find a wildlife rehabilitater near me? I'm pretty sure the rabbit will be wild butI'm not sure since I haven't seen it.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!! Thank you!! :?

 

[LoveMyBunnies]

I don't know the answer to most of yourquestions unfortunately, but to find the nearest wildlife rehabilitatoryou should call your local humane society or spca, they usually knowwhat local people are rehabilitating, and which person will be able totake care of the specific animal you are calling about.

When I was a freshman in college I found a tiny hairless baby squirrellying in the sidewalk. After searching for his nest a bit, I wrappedhim a towel and took him to a phone where I called the local animalshelter. They gave me the number for a local woman who rehabilitatedbaby squirrels and she came and got him within the hour!

I hope it works out! Keep us posted!

 

[Carolyn]

Check out the information on this link.

Finding Wild Baby Rabbits:http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=5538&forum_id=1

-Carolyn

 

[Vetiora]

OKay well, my co-worker is going to go home afew minutes early and give me a run down on the baby bun. If it's stillalive I get to meet up with her and a friend and I are going to do thebest we can. For now I'll have to search for the nearest ASPCAbranch/facilityto us. Thanks so much for the information sofar you two Keepingmy fingers crossed for the bun!



EDIT:

Also, from what I've been told, the bun is small enough to fit in yourhand, but fully furred with eyes open.I still have yet to seeif it's wild but I'm betting it is. Hopefully being fully furred andeverything raises it's chances of survival

 

eyes open andfully furred doesntguarentee survival , Look in your localphone book for wild life rehabilitators, there bound to be some nearyou , Raising a wild rabbitisnt anything lik raising a domesticatedone and is best left to theexperts , once a wild rabbit istamed there is little chance of survivalon its own , It will have nonatural fear of humans orpreditors , A rabbit that young needs tobe with his wild friends.

 

[Vetiora]

Well, sadly the little bun didn't make it. Myco-worker was going to meet me somewhere and give him to me if he werestill alive when she got home but he wasn't. Poor dear, I hope all therest of the litter survived. Not sure why he died other than probablyof not enough nutrition (they had no clue what to feed him so theycan't really be blamed--they did what they could) at such a youngstage. *sigh* I'm really not sure what to say.

 

[Buck Jones]

Best bet in situation like that is leave them alone. Mom only returns to feed 'em once, maybe twice per day at most. Stays away in order not to draw attention to the young. Rarely are they "lost" or abandoned. Mom is usually watching when people good naturedly take them away in a misguided effort to save them.

Being a bunny in nature is a hard life and they only generally will make it to two or three years old at most. You all were well intended and gave it your best and I imagine the "bunny gods" appreciate your honest efforts.

Buck

 

[Kricket]

My grandpa was watering one of his trees theother day. He came back to move the hose and there were 5little fur balls floating in the water. He picks oneup...yup...baby cottontails. He called me and asked if Iwanted them. (DUH!! Of course I do...BUT...not somuch) I told him to leave them. Move them out ofthe water, but to leave them RIGHT next to the water well.Maybe mom will come back???....did I have him do the rightthing? He watched them and he said a couple of them scamperedoff into the desert. A couple just hung out by thetree. I DID want them, but realistically speaking,I didn't have anywhere to put them. I also have my hands fullwith my buns. I feel terrible! Kinda guilty...

 

[Buck Jones]

Everything I've ever read indicated in circumstances like that the best thing is to leave them alone.

I believe you advised your grandfather quite well.

Buck

 

[Vetiora]

Yeah, it wasn't until today that my co-workergot to tell me (I didn't work yesterday) and since the bunny appearedyesterday I was a little late. Also, it wasn't until I started readingthe thread that Carolyn posted that I realized I should've told myco-worker and her hubby to look around for a nest or something likethat. I just feel kinda bad because I learned about it today at 1and just couldn't help thinking that if I could've asked off work to goget the thing (to either release it or feed it then take it to arehabilitater) it wouldn't have died. Of course there's no telling soall I can do is store my knowledge from this experience for later ondown the road if something similar should happen again.

 

[enginerd]

gypsy wrote:

Raising a wild rabbit isntanything lik raising a domesticatedone

I would disagree. I have a wild rabbit who I found as an infant andraised. We have had him for a little over three years now and he actsno differently than my 2 domestics. All 3 rabbits have their own cages,but are free to roam the house when we are home. The only thingdifferent about the wild one is that he is a little less friendly.Likes to hang around with the other rabbits, but does not like to betouched by them or us. Other than that, he eats the same diet, shedsthe same, runs around flipping his back legs in the air the same, etc.

 

[Buck Jones]

From what I read, you are the exception and not the rule. Others whom I have spoken to personally and who have claimed having raised cottontails from the wild said it was most difficult and time consuming.

Wild ones stand a better chance with their mothers, even when it is not apparent to us that the parents is present.

For more information regarding this topic, link to:http://www.wildliferescueleague.org/report/nova_rabbit.htmland

http://www.geocities.com/crawdadcreekrehab/OrphanedBunny.html

Buck