WILD/PET BABY BUNNIES :)

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Lover_Of_Lopz

Lover_Of_Lopz

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Nov 9, 2008
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Location
Bunn Town, Indiana, USA
We have a bunny nest in our yard and there are 4 babies in it (they are black and white with spots) no fur and eyes are not open..... so are these pet bunnies? I read that when wild ones are born they are all furry with eyes open...will they live? should I keep them? they look a few days old and have big round bellies (they are getting fed) I saw the mom she is wild so I am thinking the dad was a pet bunn? dose any one have a suggestion?
 
There must be a domestic bun breeding in there somewhere but I thought the domestic rabbit was a different genus to the USA wild rabbits so they couldn't breed?
Wild rabbits are born only slightly fury with eyes closed. ;)
It might also be slightly possible she has "fostered" these babies. Either way, its best to leave them. :)
 
If they are black and white.....they are domestic rabbits. Wild rabbits appear totally black for the first couple of days and will start growing their brown fur almost immediately. Wild rabbits will have a full coat of brownfur within 5 days. They are usually moving around and exploring by seven days. Their eyesopen aroundeight days old in most cases. Wild rabbits only feed their babies once or maybe twice a night and it's usually just before sunrise. Wild rabbits also have a much quickerand violent weaning....and that is when most rehabbers lose cottontails (and why many refuse to take them). This has the classic signs of a domesticbeing abandoned...or "set free".

I truly doubt that a wild rabbit would foster domestic babies. Wild rabbits are too busy with their own litter every 30 days or so. In lab tests, native rabbits could impregnate domestics, and vice versa, but the embryo died after the fourth cell division. But...I would consider those tests unreliable since there isn't much of a track record on this....so there is still questions about this.

Can you post some pics.....and maybe snap one of the mom? It seems since they are fat that mom is returning....but if a mom is showing up during the day, I can assure you that it is not a wild rabbit. It would be rare that a true wild rabbit would expose themselves during the day.....not totally impossible but rare.

If these are domestics, I would suggest trying to secure the mother and bring the babies in with her. If they are wild, leave them alone. Wild rabbits are the most difficult species of small mammals to raise in captivity, they usually stress out in captivity and it's illegal in many states to be is possession of native wildlife without proper permits/license.

But some pics would help to make a certain identification.

Randy
 
In the US, wild bunnies can't breed with our domestic bunnies. I think it would be best to capture the group (mom and babies, and dad if possible) if possible or call the Humane Society and have them catch them all. They're at huge risk from predators and really shouldn't be in the wild.
 
I'm still not sold on the idea that our domestics can't actually breed with native rabbits. I do know the limited studies in labs have shown that the cross fertilization does occur but that the embryo died after the fourth cell division. But in the real world, I'm not so sure. I know of a case in which some New Zealands accidentally escaped into the wild. For the next couple of years there were some oddly colored cottontails in that area....much more like Arctic Hares....and we don't have those in NC. We never know what Mother Nature can do. But if these are domestics, no doubt they need to be rescued.
 
The mother can't move the babies. I would really like to see some pics to see exactly what they are. What time of day do you see the suspected mom with the babies? And I do have several domestics that have fooled vets into thinking they were cottontails....so you might have a"poser" cottontail....a domestic that is colored like a cottontail.
 
Bottle feeding isn't very successful. The best thing to do is keep the babies with the mom. Very few bunnies survive bottle feeding.

I guess you want to try to get a good look at the mom and determine if she is a wild rabbit. If she's wild, call a wildlife rehabber. If she's domestic, you can capture the whole group, including the mom. You can then keep them inside while she raises the babies. It could be really difficult if you don't have any experience caring for baby rabbits.

Really, the easiest thing to do is to call the Humane Society and they will come get the babies and possibly the mom. They will take care of them and get them good homes.
 
Call your local Humane Society and see if you can borrow some live traps from them. You may need to buy your own (check Fleet Farm, etc.) because a small rabbit might not set off the trigger for a cat-size trap. Put the traps in areas where the mama might go, like shady areas under bushes, and put some tasty food inside. Spread a few of your rabbits' poops around too. She'll want to investigate the strange bunny's scent.

Once you have the mom safely trapped, then you can scoop up the whole nest of babies.

If worse comes to worse, you can live trap the babies when they're older. But really it's best to get the mom (and dad) too. Otherwise they'll just keep making more babies.

Bottle feeding baby rabbits is a bad idea unless it's absolutely necessary.

Do keep in mind that many breeds of domestic rabbits come in agouti- the same color as wild rabbits! Here's a little guy from the shelter where I volunteer. They were worried he was wild and had called a wildlife rehabber. I assured them he was domestic, both because of his white toes on one foot and his general body shape. You have to know what you're looking for.
http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=13701064

So when do we get pictures?:D
 
If they're getting fed, I would just leave them alone.
But you could do what Naturestee said, and catch the mom with a live trap, and then round up the babies.

I agree with Naturestee. The mom is most likely a domestic bun who is an Agouti, which is the colouring of wild bunnies.

If you do capture mom and babies, do you have an extra cage? And you'd have to get something like a shoebox to put the babies in. I also would take it very slow with touching the babies, and mom.

Does mom come close to humans or anything else?

Emily
 
Ok I will call and get traps tomorrow they will be ok for tonight right? she can't move them can she? should I get them tonight? I am getting picks on soon our camera is hard to download from?
 
You should just leave them alone!!
Their tummies are round; they are getting fed.
Mother Does know what their doing instinctively...
Their not dumb she knows how much to feed them, when to feed them, how warm to keep them.
Theirs no substitute for the milk... if you take them to the Humane Socitey... chances are they wont survive; the mother will get stressed out and wont feed them!!
You should try and leave the nest alone and let nature take its course. :)
 
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