Posted by Wild@Heart Rehab on August 20, 2002 at 20:23:11:
In Reply to: wild baby bunnies posted by kastelling on August 17, 2002 at 11:40:01:
:Hi y'all- I have recently taken in a trio of wild baby bunnies (cottontails) that my bosses dogs tried to eat. Due to these dogs, the babies could not be left at the nest, or anywhere in the yard. I have had these babies three nights now. I have managed to get about 1/2 cc of kitten milk replacement (KMR) formula into them each day. I have not managed to get them to potty, even though I have raised orphaned kittens, and know the technique. I was hoping to get some advice on anything I can do to help their chances of survival. I realize that the best thing to do is to get them to a rehabilitator, but in my area, I was told there was no room for another litter at one lady's place, another person never returned my phone call, and a third guy offered to take them, but told me he's never had any survive so far! If the odds are that bad in a rehabber's home, than I would prefer to try myself! I have read conflicting info on the web about heating pads, so I put one under a corner of the cage, on low, and the next morning all three babies were huddled in that corner, so I guess the heating pad is a good thing? These babies are tiny, but fierce, and struggle wildly when I hold them. They have hair, but their eyes are open. I would really appreciate any advice I could get!
:Thank you, Megan
Hi Megan,
The heating pad is good. Keep half of the box/cage you have the bunnies in on it and half off. That way they can get away from the heat if they need to and vice versa. Bunnies need to be fed twice a day, in the a.m. and p.m. I would try to get them to eat 1/2 c.c. at each feeding. There is controversy over whether you should attempt to hold bunnies alot or handle them as little as possible. Personally, I would try holding them frequently if they do not get to stressed acting after trying it some. My reasoning is when they are very young if they figure out you are not going to "eat" them they will not stress so much when you have to handle them as they get older. Rabbits can "scare to death" almost. Once they are hopping around a little you will want to introduce grass, clover, natural type foods. One of the most difficult times with bunnies is getting them self feeding without having digestive problems. If you know anyone that has pet rabbits, you will want to see if you can get some "soft pellet" droppings from them and let the babies eat this. It introduces normal gut bacteria. Good luck and feel free to email me if you have additional questions.
Beth
WildatHeartRehab@aol.com
