Does This Bunny
Really Need A Rehabber?
Here's how to evaluate whether bunnies need intervention:
*IF BABIES ARE INJURED, CALL US RIGHT AWAY!
- You can determine whether mama has visited the nest by placing pieces of uncooked spaghetti in a tic tac toe pattern over the nest. If the spaghetti has been disturbed, that's an indication that mama has been to the nest and bunnies are fine. You can also place flour in a circle around the nest and look for mama's footprints to determine whether she has visited the babies.
- Has a cat discovered the nest? Call us, as these bunnies likely need rescue.
- Has your dog discovered the nest? There are lots of simple ways to protect the nest from your dog until the bunnies wean (they leave the nest at 3 weeks of age). Try using a plastic laundry basket turned upside down and weighted with a brick. Remove the basket at dawn so mama can feed, replace it during the day, and remove it again at dusk for the evening feed.
- An easy way to tell if very young bunnies have been fed is to look at their bellies for evidence of a "milk line."
*IF BABIES ARE INJURED, CALL US RIGHT AWAY!
Ready to leave the Nest!
Bunnies that are the size of those in the picture below are weaned and ready to be on their own.
Don't Move a Nest!
Please don't ever move a cottontail nest! Unlike many other wild mammals (squirrels, raccoons, mice), mama bunnies do not relocate their nests. If YOU move it, they will not be able to find it, and the bunnies will perish.
Newborn Bunnies
Pictured below is a baby with a belly after being fed by its mama. Mama Rabbits will feed their young only once (occasionally twice) daily.
Cottontails often don't do well in rehab.
Cottontails are prey animals and are extremely sensitive to being in captivity. They have very sensitive tummies and can literally die of fright, so we try to keep them in the nest whenever possible.
If you find bunnies that are truly abandoned and need rescue, call us, and please DO NOT FEED THEM.