I know I'm going to get flamed........NEW PHOTOS PAGE 8!

[Colleen A.]

Last evening, my son was cutting my neighbor's lawn and came across a nest of baby bunnies. My daughter came and got me. We saw 3 of them, just sitting there, all in apparent good condition. I told my son to cut the rest of the man's lawn (believe me, he has a HUGE lawn!) and save this piece for last. Give the mommy a chance to come back and take the babies. Well, 90 minutes later, we saw that only one bunny remained and no mommy around. DS only had this small piece of lawn left. I came inside and put on rubber gloves and carefully picked up this bunny. DS cut this area and I put the bunny back. He quickly scurried away. As we were getting ready to leave, my daughter found ANOTHER bunny! This one was smaller than the 1st 3 we had seen and was not able to hop away...it was just kind of laying on it's side. There was no cuts so I can only assume that the mower blades did not get it, but since it is not able to hop or hold it's head upright, I don't know whether it was the runt of the litter and is just smaller or if it was injured. I picked this one up and tried to place it near the nest. When more time had passed, it was still laying there shivering. Another neighbor of ours has cats and they are allowed to roam freely and I didn't want the cats (or the cold night ahead) to get the poor thing, so I brought it in the house (I know, I know...go ahead and yell at me! ) I called Petsmart and asked if they had anything for small wild rabbits. They did and told me to come up and also bring the bunny. The "specialist" there looked at him and listened to his chest. Sounded good she said, but the fact that it couldn't support itself concerned her. She gave us the formula to feed it, as well as the bottle. My problem is I can't get the baby to drink! I DID call wildlife rescue this morning....got the machine and left a message. I don't know what to do Anyone here have any suggestions? The bunny has fur...it's eyes are open and it has little bitty teeth. HELP!!

 

[Serena]

Aaah, I don't know what to do that you haven't already done. The only thing you didn't mention was keeping it warm.

I hope you save it, but be prepared just in case it doesn't make it.

 

[perdidobay]

How good of you to try and save it..... I can't think of anything to add to what you've already done.

 

[believe]

We had this happen in our yard. DH went to the vet who gave him a number to call, it may have been wildlife rescue. The bunnies never would have survived if we left them. The Mom had not returned and it was very cold with rain. He took the bunnies to them, not all survived but the majority did. They sent us a postcard regarding the date of their release.
I am sure you will get a call back.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

Have you used a dropper to try and feed the bunny? Kinda sounds like a forced situation at this point.

You are doing the right thing, no yelling here.

 

[Colleen A.]

I have the bottle, but didn't get the dropper. Don't have an eye dropper in the house either! (and no car to get to a store to get one today! ) I was able to get some water into it (Thumper, by the way! ) by dipping first my finger into the faucet and holding it to his (her?) mouth. Thumper sniffed it and licked it off. I did this repeatedly til he stopped. At the moment, he is sleeping, curled up in the corner of the box. He is able to move around the box...just can't hop.

I mentioned getting flamed because last spring, we had a similiar situation with barn swallows from my DH's job. The nest got destroyed, mom left and DH brought them home. When I asked for advice, I quickly got put in the hotseat!

Did I mention my kids were so concerned that they were the ones spending their own money to buy the formula and bottle for Thumper? Not a bad bunch of kids!

 

[Kermit]

I have a little experience with force-feeding babies, since Jacob was a sleepy preemie. Finger feeding is a good method. We also used a cup and a syringe. Cup feeding a human infant is hard work, so that may not work with a bunny. But a syringe is easy enough, if you have one. I'd use your finger today until you can get to the store and buy a few sizes of droppers and a syringe.

One other thing you may want to try--with Jacob, we found that once we got a little milk in him, he'd have the energy and appetite to nurse. You may want to try the bottle when he wakes up. He may surprise you.

 

[Colleen A.]

My husband is currently being treated for a chronic illness - he needs to give himself needles 3 times per week. If I were to remove the needle portion from his syringes, would that work? The needles are all individually sealed (without medication).

Kermit, I remember feeding a sleepy preemie myself!! My oldest was 6 weeks premature. I remember the "absolute joy" when we were able to get him to take 15 cc in a bottle!! It's hard to imagine but my 4 lb 2 oz preemie weighed over 30 lbs on his first birthday! (once I got him to start eating, I couldn't get him to stop!! ) Today, he is 13 and taller than me!

 

[Ratpack]

You did the right thing by taking them in, once a nest has been disturbed, the mother will not return and will let the babies die. Being from the country, I don't remember how many baby rabbits we have had to feed and release, but as another poster posted, be prepared because a lot of times they will die anyway. Just keep it warm and find something to get food into it. Since it will lick your finger, try dipping it into the formula and then it will get the taste, that will help him get started. Also try dipping the nipple of the bottle into the formula to get some on the end. Hopefully he will then know what is in there and start to take it.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

oh yeah, I didn't think about finger feeding. duh. Maybe the poor bunny doesn't have enough energy to hop around.

 

[MomE@Home]

Maybe you could try dipping a corner of a clean cloth into the bunny formula and see if the baby will suck on it untill you can get a dropper and syringe.

 

[DEH3rd]

mmmmm....stew.......or as yosemite sam called it....hossenpheffer...

just kidding...

there are people advertising who sell bunnies...call one & see if they want to take them in.

 

[Colleen A.]

I ran and checked my husband's needles. The needle end DOES come off! The tip looks small enough that I should be able to get it in the corner of Thumper's mouth (past those teeth!) and squeeze some in there. I'm going to wait til he wakes up though. He seems to be sleeping peacefully at the moment.

I mentioned the rabbit's nest to my neighbor this morning. He felt horrible! He forgot to tell Kirk he had a nest in his yard! He even said he meant to put a small sign by the nest so Kirk would be sure to miss it. I really don't know whether he hit the nest or not. It was in the open part of the yard (no under any bushes or in his flower beds). He said all of a sudden, they just "popped out"! Scared the be-jeepers out of him!! Good thing he stopped fast...when they popped out, they just sat down! We did see Mommy this morning and my neighbor mentioned he saw her with the other babies. Kirk is supposed to cut again on Saturday. I think I'll send the girls over with him to stand guard at the nest!!

 

[Christine]

I don't know what your committment is to this or how far you want to go, but you may want to take the bunny to a vet. We had a similar situation with some abandoned puppies. They were near death and not wanting to take in any formula or water. I too them to the vet and he injected them under the skin with fluid. What a difference that made. It got them past dehydration REAL QUICK. A vet might do this for you. Very simple, quick procedures--shouldn't be too expensive.

 

[Colleen A.]

I actually called the Woman's Humane Society this morning and they sent me over to their clinic. I was quickly told "We don't take care of wild animals". I STILL have not heard back from wildlife rescue. It's been over 2 hours now. There message simply states "We're not in at the moment...our hours are......if we are not in, leave the animal in a box with a note on our desk and we will get there as soon as possibe". That kind of bugged me. Leaving a poor little baby like Thumper is, unattended, all night, in a cold dark box.....couldn't do that. I'm too much of a mom for that.

 

[preshi]

I didnt read all the posts... heres what to do if the poor thing is still shivering... put it in a box with a towel... place a heating pad under the box on low until the wildlife hospital calls you back. You can test for dehydration by pulling a small amount of skin on its back up and letting go... if it tents then he's dehydrated...

I saw that you had formula... a small syringe should work.. thats what we use at the hospital.


I cant remember if momma rabbits leave their young for long periods of time or not...

 

[jamsmom]

You will have to let us know how the syringe goes when Thumoer wakes up/ I think it is wonderful that you are doing this

 

[Kermit]

I'm glad you have a syringe. That should make it pretty easy. Just put it back far enough in his mouth that he can't push the milk back out. My doctor just kept reminding me that babies have strong gag reflexes and that even if they choke for a second, they will be fine. I guess baby bunnies probably have the same reflex.

 

[Luckymommyx2]

You're doing everything I would have suggested. Baby bunnies are so fragile that the odds are against them but I hope Thumper makes it for you. Please keep us posted and good luck!!

 

[preshi]

Thats probably not a good idea Kermit unless you know which hole you are putting the food down... baby animals can aspirate very easily...

we feed baby squirrels with a small syringe with a tiny nipple attached. I suggest that if Thumper isnt eating, place a little bit on the front of his mouth and see if he swallows it.

I suggest not feeding it at all...we dont recommend it at the hospital. But if the hospital isnt calling back...maybe its his best bet.