Wild baby bunnies.

[Yield]

Okay, so a dog chased and killed a bunch of baby bunnies. My dad's employees (landscapers) rescued two of them and of course, brought them to me because the dog was on a mission and would have killed them.

I have been caring for them with minimal contact for maybe two weeks? (The only time we make contact to check them over since the bigger one had a tick between his ears that we removed safely and completely as well as move them in a box so I can clean their temporary cage)...

Thor is big enough to be released... but Loki is not. Loki is half the size of Thor and wobbly on his feet still. I am worried because he HAS grown, but not a lot, and he's not really that nervous around me- not like Thor who FREAKS out.

We haven't released Thor because we want to release them together since they have always been together, but I don't really know what is wrong with Loki. He eats. A LOT. By the way.

(I haven't checked either of their genders by the way.)

Here are some photographs. Thor is the big one, Loki the small one.

This is when they were first brought to us:

This is like, the halfway mark.

This is showing how tame Loki is. This was a couple days ago.

And this was yesterday to show the size difference.

It's like Loki stopped growing...

Now, he does struggle a little bit sometimes and he runs away if you poke his butt and startle him.. but I don't know, I'm worried and kind of afraid about releasing him later because of his wobbly feet and tiny size. He may have a growth spurt soon but until then I can't help but ... worry.

Also, what do you think about releasing them at the same time? Either way at least one of them suffers for it- release Thor first, they're both alone. Release them together, Thor has to wait for Loki to grow...

 

[melbaby80]

Have you tried contacting a wild animal rescue? Perhaps they can take in the smaller one.

 

[Yield]

We do not want to separate them. And I believe transporting them to a rescue would cause them unneeded stress. We want to release them in our yard (we have 3 acres to us, and many many acres of fields behind that.)

 

[LakeCondo]

I think they'd go their separate ways out in the wild. I could be wrong, though,

 

[Nancy McClelland]

ray:

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

Yield wrote:

We do not want to separate them. And I believe transporting them to a rescue would cause them unneeded stress. We want to release them in our yard (we have 3 acres to us, and many many acres of fields behind that.)

Same here-we're rehabbing 6 cottontails. I'm hoping to release them Monday. 2 are substantually smaller, however I think tehy're big enough (the big ones are way bit enough). I'm hopping to release all mine together and hopefully they'll all do well.
How old are yours?

 

[fantaysah]

The reason I now have 2 New Zealand's was because my 12 yr didn't want to release the cottontail we rehabbed due to cat attack. The first 2 weeks you could touch and hold it then all of a sudden when it felt better the wild came out in him... The little one just may not be strong enough to be wild for you. We limited contact and successfully released him 6 weeks after finding him half mangled. I thought he was too tame until he decided he was better but then we couldn't do anything with him but allow him to put on weight. We only fed him grass/clover and things he could find in the yard so he would not have a problem once released. I see him maybe once a day in the back and he seems to be doing great I couldn't near him if i wanted to!! stick it out a little and maybe it will regain its footing and it is probably a good idea not to separate them unless one looks ill that way when released they have a better chance of making it. The wildlife center is far away from me but their info really helped, when ready to release so it at dawn so they have the whole day to find a home before dark. The center also says that they are very social and live in groups or clustered around each other and dawn is when the other wild bunnies are out for it to try and find a group. Oh and hey also stated that if the rabbit is 4 inches long and/or can hold its ears up then it is old enough to be released even though it seems too tiny. although if you suspect the smaller one may not be well enough you can wait until you are comfortable.

 

[Yield]

Mia, I have no idea how old mine were. The only reason we had them so long was because Loki was a little off and unaffected by human presence...

But I am sad to say that Loki passed away this morning. I think he had something wrong with him the whole time and I doubt he would have made it outside. I do not regret housing him, for he had a great life while he did.

Thor was released soon after finding Loki dead- we knew he was ready.

Fantaysah, we just released Thor... I am glad we had waited because something was clearly wrong with Loki and he passed away this morning. Thank you for what you have written, I appreciate the help.

 

[ZRabbits]

So sorry to hear Loki passed. But congratulations on successfully releasing Thor.

Wild bunnies are so hard to raise. You can only do your best.

K

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of Loki~I just yesterday lost 3 of our 6 cottontails who were about to release that day. We're not sure what was wrong with them, but it was really sad.

 

[fantaysah]

Congrats on the bunny !!! considering the state wildlife center told me that hand raising or rescue attempts for wild rabbits fail 90% of the time it is great that you have added another success story! sorry about the one who didn't make it I know its devastating but hopefully wont change your feelings about rescuing in the future. Messing with wild bunnies is very frowned upon but they need a little help sometimes and its hard to turn your back on them.

 

[Yield]

Karen, thank you. I think something had been wrong with Loki the whole time. I never suspected anything because I just figured he was a little slow. But I did my best and I can say he had a pretty content life while it lasted. I just home he was in no pain.

Mia, awww, I'm so sorry! That must have been devastating. That's a lot to lose. I wish you the best with the remaining three!

Fantaysah, thank you! Well, I have raised three other cottontails before these two and they were one hundred percent successful, so the loss was pretty shocking and hard for me. I keep randomly crying when I think about him... I really loved him. I would have gladly kept him if it had come to where he could live a content life without pain but couldn't be released. But alas, this must've been his destiny. How I miss the two of them..

I bought some glass vials to put some of Loki's fur in it because I cannot bear to not keep something from him.. It will be made into a necklace.

It would NEVER change my feelings about rescuing, though! : ) I love rescuing animals. I have rescued all kinds of animals, ranging from mice to birds to hummingbirds. Most of them were losses (it started when I was young and my old cats would bring me home injured birds) but the successful stories are too relieving and exciting for me to give it up. Every animal deserves a chance and I love having the ability to give them that chance.

I released a cottontail in my yard that I raised before I got my domestic rabbits two years ago (rescuing cottontails is what encouraged me to get domestics) and I like to imagine the bunnies in our yard are her babies and family. I sure hope they are. It makes me feel all warm and cozy. I hope her family mingles with Thor.. : )

I never go and look for them though (well I keep an eye out) and I know when to not touch them C: The only time we ever get them is when my dad's employees (landscapers) accidentally kill the mother/family, injure the bun, or see that a dog has found their nest and will not leave them be (preventing an untimely death). They usually bring them home then, but otherwise, we avoid messing with them.

Also, here are the last few pictures I got of Thor and Loki, to show their size difference (I took them two or three days ago.)

And here is Thor before we released him:

And here is the last decent photograph (taken with my Nikon D3000 instead of my cell phone) that I got of Loki:

 

[Nancy McClelland]

:sad: