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Forum RESCUE EFFORTS FOR SHELTERS Wild baby bunny, need advice asap!

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    • skibunny8503
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        Yesterday I was opening up our blinds in the afternoon from our bedroom and saw a little bunny scurry into the bushes.  I went outside to take a look and lifted up the small bush and saw a little tail, but it didn’t move.  I thought it was kind of weird to see a bunny out in the yard around 3 or 4.  We’ve seen a bunny in our yard usually at night, so I thought maybe they just were on the other side or something.  Today it’s still under the same bush, probably hasn’t eatten anything.  I went over to make sure it was still there and lifted up the bush; it’s sooo tiny!  Probably about the size of a hand.  Looked scared and didn’t move.  I left a piece of lettuce but it never ate it.  What should I do?  It’s pretty hot outside today too.  Should I get a big cardboard box and get the baby bun?  I would have thought if it was seperated the parents would have gotten it by now but it’s been almost two days.  I’m afraid something might have happened to them and it’s all alone.  Any advice would be great! 


      • Miyuki
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          Aww poor baby sounds a little lost! Do you see a nest around somewhere? Normally I think you’re supposed to leave wild bunnies alone because their mother comes back periodically to check on them. But I say if it is all alone and hasn’t eaten in days and no other bunnies in sight… I’d take them in because I wouldn’t want it to starve and be all alone!


        • skibunny8503
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            Thanks so much for your quick reply!  I hate to leave it be but I’ll wait until tomorrow and see if it’s still there.  I have a feeling we’ll be bringing it in.    Should I put a bowl of water by it?  It’s about 80 degrees outside.  I’m not sure where their nest is.  We live by other homes and there’s a piece of land that no one lives that might be over there.  But there’s part forest a road down.  So have no clue.


          • Miyuki
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              Here is an FAQ about orphaned rabbits from HRS’ website: http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/orphan.html

              Maybe it can help you a little? And maybe it wouldn’t hurt to try to leave it some water. I don’t know how long it takes for dehydration to happen. Someone else here might know more .  Can you tell if it maybe leaves at night and comes back during the day?


            • skibunny8503
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                We’ll check tonight if it’s still out there.  Thanks for the link!  Keep you posted if it leaves or not.


              • 2lops
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                  Ooh poor thing ♥
                  I guess you could always leave a shallow bowl of ice cubes + water out?
                  The most important thing is that the lil guy stays hydrated.. I think :b
                  looking forward to the updates (:


                • flippersmom
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                    Do you have any wildlife rescues or shleters in your area??? If the bunny is that small, could it still be nursing?? In which case, a bowl of water may not help because it won’t know what to do with it!! I had a similar situation a couple of springs ago and was able to bottle feed the baby KMR (recommended by the wildlife rescue) for a couple days until the rescue could take it (they are inundated with baby bunnies in the spring). But they gave me all kinds of help as to figuring out if it was abdoned!! Other than feeding it, the told me to keep it in a large box with shredded paper and small towels or blankets and to keep the top of the box covered with a sheet. Good luck!!!!!!!!


                  • skibunny8503
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                      Posted By flippersmom on 04/26/2009 01:22 PM
                      Do you have any wildlife rescues or shleters in your area??? If the bunny is that small, could it still be nursing?? In which case, a bowl of water may not help because it won’t know what to do with it!! I had a similar situation a couple of springs ago and was able to bottle feed the baby KMR (recommended by the wildlife rescue) for a couple days until the rescue could take it (they are inundated with baby bunnies in the spring). But they gave me all kinds of help as to figuring out if it was abdoned!! Other than feeding it, the told me to keep it in a large box with shredded paper and small towels or blankets and to keep the top of the box covered with a sheet. Good luck!!!!!!!!

                       

                      We don’t really have any shelters that specialize in rabbits. Most of them just have dogs and cats.  I will ask the shelter I got Gracie, she has a lot of bunnies and might know what to do. 

                      That’s what I was wondering if it might be nursing too when I went to give it some water; I scared it a bit and it ran around the bush and back into it (kind of cute).  We’d say it was about 6 inches big.  We’re going to go out at like 8 or 9 and see if it’s still there and if it is, maybe get it in a box.  What exactly is KMR?  Thanks for the tips


                    • flippersmom
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                        I also know that in the wild, momma bun usually only deals with the babies at night – very cautious as to not alert predators to the nest.

                        You may also try a wildlife rehab or zoo (even the small local ones are good with this!!).

                        As for KMR (my bad) – it’s kitten milk replacement, what you would bottle feed orpahned kittens. You can usually find it, as well a nursing bottles, at most pet stores. It comes in liquid or powder that you have to mix (similar to human baby formula).

                        I wish you were closer, we have a wonderful wildlife rehab about 10 mins from my house. It comes in quite handy!!!!!


                      • skibunny8503
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                          Posted By flippersmom on 04/26/2009 01:54 PM
                          I also know that in the wild, momma bun usually only deals with the babies at night – very cautious as to not alert predators to the nest.

                          You may also try a wildlife rehab or zoo (even the small local ones are good with this!!).

                          As for KMR (my bad) – it’s kitten milk replacement, what you would bottle feed orpahned kittens. You can usually find it, as well a nursing bottles, at most pet stores. It comes in liquid or powder that you have to mix (similar to human baby formula).

                          I wish you were closer, we have a wonderful wildlife rehab about 10 mins from my house. It comes in quite handy!!!!!

                           

                          I’m just thinking since it wasn’t in the bush in the first place (saw it run under there) and there’s only one, not sure if it’s a nest or not.  Yeah we don’t have anything around us, but I did email the girl I got Gracie from to see if she knows anything.  She works with a shelter in NY so maybe she can ask them.  I wish we were closer too!  It’s hard because you want to help but you don’t want to do the wrong thing and maybe the mother is coming back.  But we’ll keep an eye on it for sure!  At least it’s in the shade and it’s right by our window if anything happens.


                        • flippersmom
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                            I just did a search of “wildlife rescues in Ohio” and got back several listings!! Not sure what part of Ohio you are in, but you might want to give it a try!!!!
                            Also thinking that in the wild, lots of momma’s will push babies out if the are sick or not ‘normal’. They can sense these things and do not want to put energy into a baby that is not healthy. I know this sounds cruel, but you have to remember, it’s about survival in the wild.


                          • skibunny8503
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                              Went to check on it again (I know, I’m weird ).  I thought it left, I checked the bush but it wasn’t there and told my husband.  He came out and we walked in the back to see if maybe it went to a next or something.  And it just went around the corner to a shrub that had a bunch of leaves.  Thinking that wasn’t a nest because all the other shrubs had dry leaves from the winter.  Plus there were no other buns.  If there is something wrong, I couldn’t see it because it moved pretty fast.  I snapped a few pictures of it.  Such a cutie!  We live in Northeast Ohio (near Youngstown).  I looked really quick (and will keep looking) but so far I just see around Columbus and that’s 4-5 hours away.

                               


                            • flippersmom
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                                You are definately not weird – I was out in the middle of the night sitting hidden behind a bush, watching the nest for momma to come!!!!!
                                That’s beyond weird!!!!!!! Definately is cute!!! Bigger than the one I dealt with – it still had the slicked back hair look, not fluffy yet! I’m going to check to see if my wildlife place has a website that could be beneficial. If not, would you want their phone number?? They at least may be able to offer you some temporary help and/or someplace closer that could help?!?!?!?!?!


                              • skibunny8503
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                                  Posted By flippersmom on 04/26/2009 02:53 PM
                                  You are definately not weird – I was out in the middle of the night sitting hidden behind a bush, watching the nest for momma to come!!!!!
                                  That’s beyond weird!!!!!!! Definately is cute!!! Bigger than the one I dealt with – it still had the slicked back hair look, not fluffy yet! I’m going to check to see if my wildlife place has a website that could be beneficial. If not, would you want their phone number?? They at least may be able to offer you some temporary help and/or someplace closer that could help?!?!?!?!?!

                                   

                                  Sure, if they can help out if we end up rescuing it!  I found this website: http://www.rabbitweb.net/wild-babies.asp  and found a few other sites.  It says about if the bunny has a white mark on it’s head that it’s not suppose to be outside the nest and that one has it.  After supper we’re going to take a walk and will look in our yard to see if we can find a nest.  Says nests have hair in it and haven’t found anyting in that area that looks like a nest.  Haha that might be us tonight looking for the mother!


                                • skibunny8503
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                                    Well we went for a walk and checked the back yard and there SHE was!  Bunny was in the back corner laying down.  I think she’s nesting under the neighbor’s steps, but I think she was watching out for her baby.  We’ll keep an eye out but I’m glad nothing happened to her.  The dairy queen down the street just opened back up and has more traffic since it’s been hot so I was afraid she got killed or something.  So now I can stop worrying so much. 


                                  • flippersmom
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                                      I’m glad you found momma!! Now I don’t have to worry about you stalking the neighborhood tonight either!!!!! Yea, you definately know when you find a nest – looks like a big bird’s nest all nicely lined with momma’s hair to keep the little ones cozy!! I tried getting on my wildlife place’s website, but keep getting an error message!! Don’t know hwat that’s about!! But if you want to give them a call, it’s Willowbrook Wildlife Center. Their number in 630-942-6200. I think, but don’t quote me, that they only answer during weekdays, like 8-5!!!!!


                                    • Miyuki
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                                        Yay! I’m glad you found the mother! Baby probably just likes to wander off to your bush .


                                      • jerseygirl
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                                          Glad you found Mom too. There’s also advice in FAQ section at this site on wild rabbits. HOWEVER, I’m not convinced that it is a wild rabbit…
                                          I emailed KatnipCrzy who has some experience with cotton tails. She may be able to assist.


                                        • skibunny8503
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                                            Posted By jerseygirl on 04/26/2009 07:14 PM
                                            Glad you found Mom too. There’s also advice in FAQ section at this site on wild rabbits. HOWEVER, I’m not convinced that it is a wild rabbit…
                                            I emailed KatnipCrzy who has some experience with cotton tails. She may be able to assist.

                                             

                                            Thanks Jersey!  It’s hard because some domestic bunnies look wild a bit; saw one at the shelter we went too that had the same coloring.  I’ll check on it again but I’m just concerned if it doesn’t go back to the nest and she doesn’t take care of it.  I saw another bunny (or the same mother?) in our neighbor’s back yard (there’s a fence on all sides of our back yard…none of them are ours though).  Thanks for emailing Katnip


                                          • jerseygirl
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                                              To me it has that agouti colouring which the wild rabbits have – that domestic rabbits can have too. Do you see what looks like a tiny white blaze on the forhead? I think it’s a domestic feral…it’s hard to tell with the babies though.


                                            • skibunny8503
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                                                On this one website I found a paragraph that talked about the white blaze:
                                                “How can you tell if a baby rabbit is old enough to fend for itself? Look for a white blaze on their foreheads. If they don’t have the blaze, they are old enough to be outside on their own. Just leave them alone. If they do have a white blaze, they are still under their mother’s care. Leave them in their nest or put them back if they’re outside of the nest. If you are concerned that the mother has abandoned the babies, take two twigs and lay them in an “X” over the nest. When mother rabbit comes to feed them, she will disturb the twigs.”
                                                It has a white blaze but is outside the nest…so I’m not sure what to think.


                                              • jerseygirl
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                                                  Oh right! I didn’t know the wild ones had that blaze…obviously it disappears as they grow.  It was one of the reasons I though it wasn’t wild. Oops!  Geesh – when it rains, it pours bunnies round your place!
                                                  I hit the alert on this thread as they’re as some CL’s online now.


                                                • skibunny8503
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                                                    Haha I know!  Archie – X-mas, Gracie – Valentines, Parsnip – Easter, and now it’s our anniversary so yeah if it’s something to celebrate, just bring us a bunny


                                                  • KatnipCrzy
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                                                      Wild Cottontails are like domesticated rabbits in the fact that they only feed there babies a few times per day- so it often seems as though a baby cottontail is abandoned when in fact they are not.  If they are scurrying out of the nest- they are old enough to be on their own.  If they can forage on their own- they are OK without Momma bunny.  If that was a pic of the baby- then it is old enough to be alone (and big enough).  Cottontails are typically a more petite build than our house bunnies and are quite thin.

                                                      As I am sure most of you know- Cottontails are different animals than our domesticated rabbits- and can not breed to each other- but they do have similarities in the sensitivity of their gut- and they are hard to raise from babies as one day they will be fine and they next will be dead.  I had about 50-75% mortality when raising them- which is heartbreaking.  That is one of the reasons I won’t rehab them anymore- I get heartbroken, it is a lot of work, and I would hate to bring in soem type of lice, mite or fleas that could affect my bunnies.

                                                      Everyone always loves the second pic of the baby Cottontails with the colored blazes- I used a paint pen to color their white blaze in- so that I could tell how well each bunny was eating.  Most Cottontails lose the white blaze completely as they grow older.  And that is a real piece of fur that they are snuggling on.  HSUS (Humane Society of the US) takes in old fur coats as donations and then sends them to wildlife rehabbers to be used with raising orphaned babies.  So that is a piece of rabbit fur from a old coat.  But as sad as that is- many of the coats are very old and people will donate them and get a tax write off- so at least these coats go to a better cause in the end- cut up and used for orphaned animals.  It is funny when we get a box in to see how “outdated” to coats are- and half of them look like old ladies weighing about 80lbs wore them- because the coats are so small.


                                                    • Kokaneeandkahlua
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                                                        Oh that’s interesting about the blaze!!

                                                        I’ve *never* seen baby wild rabbits, but I can totally understand thinking they must be abandoned and need rescuing-I was talking with the wildlife group here in Edmonton and they get hundreds of phone calls about orphaned baby jackrabbits-who in fact are not orphaned I am sure I’d have to fight the strong urge to ‘rescue’ them and take them home


                                                      • jerseygirl
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                                                          Well now that it appears this wild one is actually ok…I can now say how teeny tiny cute it is!   I mean don’t you just want to ‘rescue’ it so that you can keep it?!! 

                                                          Katnip – amazing photos!  I learnt something new today.  Cottontails have a white blaze on their forehead when they’re born.   And they come in fluoro colours – j/k. Wish my agouti had a fluoro blaze!


                                                        • skibunny8503
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                                                            Thanks Katnip!  Wow I learned a lot today too!  Husband said he saw the mother again in the back, so she must be keeping an eye on it.  Yes it is hard to not try to “rescue” that cute little thing!  It’s funny because at my parents’ house that has about an acre of land in the back (half of it is high grass), we sometimes saw wild bunnies running around but not too often.  And here we are in a more rural area and I’ve seen a bunny up close!  Then again, our neighbor had cats and it got our of control, so now you see “wild” cats running around the neighbor hood so that’s probably why we never saw rabbits as much.


                                                          • PEPPA GEORGIE
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                                                              OOO Can you take some pics of mummy bunny too???? How lovely to be able to watch this so close to home xx On utube a bloke rescued a bunny and then let it go into the wild and it kept coming back to where he was when it was grown up. They might stay around you so you could watch the baby grow up xx


                                                            • flippersmom
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                                                                Thanks for the great info Katnip!!!! The little guy I rescued couldn’t have been much older than the ones you pictured – maybe slightly bigger and eyes were open! We live in a very wooded and secluded type area, so we tend to have lots of wildlife scurrying around!!! Thinking more about it, the nest was stumbled upon (literally) by some young kids and the parents were concerned momma would not come back, hence the covert spying!!!! The wildlife rescue had me checking them in the twide a day to see if the seemed dehydrated (looking for tenting of the skin). First 2 days seemed good, on the 3rd am, only 1 baby left in the nest and bits and pieces of baby and momma scattered nearby !! That’s obviously when we pulled the little stinker!! Always felt really bad that maybe my scent had attracted the predator!!!

                                                                On a happy note, I do wish you would send that color coding gene down to our Illinois cottontails!! We would have such a beautiful neighborhood!!! HeeHeeHee!!!!!!!!!!!


                                                              • skibunny8503
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                                                                  Posted By PEPPA GEORGIE on 04/27/2009 06:56 AM
                                                                  OOO Can you take some pics of mummy bunny too???? How lovely to be able to watch this so close to home xx On utube a bloke rescued a bunny and then let it go into the wild and it kept coming back to where he was when it was grown up. They might stay around you so you could watch the baby grow up xx

                                                                  I should have took my camera yesterday when I was a 5 feet away from her!  Husband probably scared her off right now since he’s mowing.  But I’m sure she’ll come back and I’ll take a picture of her!  She was really pretty


                                                                • PEPPA GEORGIE
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                                                                    Arrr yes that would be lovely, maybe if you had time and wanted to we could have a picture diary of baby growing up and mummy etc xxx


                                                                  • skibunny8503
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                                                                      Hey just so you guys know, I did end up finding the nest (just a few hours ago) and posted about it in the Lounge with pics!

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                                                                  Forum RESCUE EFFORTS FOR SHELTERS Wild baby bunny, need advice asap!