baby rabbits

morales67

morales67

Member
Hi everyone. My uncles rabbits had babies and we get to have one. But since its a baby we have no idea how to take care of it. Our main concern is nutrition. What and when should we feed it. We are unsure if it will even eat yet. We tried vegetables fruits and pellets but maybe it just needs the nutrition from its moms milk? Not sure so so all help is welcome.
 
teresaq

teresaq

Active Member
How old is it. They need to be at least 4 to 6 weeks and eating solid food before you take it from its mother. Also be carefull handling the babies. If they are very young the mother may eat them.
most rabbits eat pellet, and alfalfa. they need this to keep thier teeth wore off. Their teeth continue to grow all the time.
T
 
ric maniac

ric maniac

Active Member
Grrrr.... vermin lol. I shoot the rabbits (wild) around our house. They eat all of our plants in our yard... but the pet ones with the velvety fur are soo cute
try feeding it really soft stuff not sure what though
 
coral keeper

coral keeper

Active Member
Originally Posted by ric maniac
http:///forum/post/2558211
Grrrr.... vermin lol. I shoot the rabbits (wild) around our house. They eat all of our plants in our yard... but the pet ones with the velvety fur are soo cute
try feeding it really soft stuff not sure what though

lol. What kind of gun do you shoot them with?
 
howardj

howardj

Active Member
Pellet gun, lol. Big ol' 410, here

Adult rabbits should not be fed alfalfa - not good for them. Baby rabbits however should be fed it every now and then.
 
scotts

scotts

Active Member
RM and CK, Not cool dudes! (See you make the yard duty in me come out)
As someone who has, and is currently fostering kittens I can tell you that age does make a big difference. I saw this page for you and it looked pretty good. http://www.earthskids.com/babybunnies.aspx The should be nursing from the mom for at least the first two weeks. It gets some antibodies into the babies that greatly increases the chance of survival. If you do need to nurse use the aalready mixed formula. You can buy formula that you need to mix, but it is not really worth opening the can of this stuff.
 
morales67

morales67

Member
dont know about the age, but the rabbit itself is VERY small. don't even know what kind it is. i've never seen rabbits this small before. but i;m definatly worried its not getting enough nutrition. we may have to return it to its mother for a while.(which by the way i haven't seen so no idea what it is and how large it will grow)
 
K

kikithemermaid

Guest
Wait is it an outdoor rabbit, since you haven't seen the mom?
I would try some lettuce in baby pieces, but I recommend the mom.
And I second the thumbs down on the shooting on the above posts!
 
scotts

scotts

Active Member
Here is an excerpt from the page I gave you the link to.
If the above intervention does not work and the mother does not begin feeding the babies on her own, the next best option is to feed the babies formula. Please note that most vets will tell you it is pointless to bottle or formula feed a baby bunny who is less than one or two weeks old.
Having tried this several times myself, I can assure you... they are totally correct. Hand feeding such a young bunny is very, very difficult.
 
teresaq

teresaq

Active Member
Does it have its eyes open? I have raised them from a few days old-wild- it was hard, feeding every few hrs, but they did make it. I made my own formula-vet gave me the recipe. if its eyes are open, and its hopping, then not sure. Is it eating anything.
Adult rabbits do need some sort of hay, whether alfalfa or timothy to wear down their teeth. I learned this the hard way.
 
socal57che

socal57che

Active Member
I think our rabbit was 4 weeks old when weaned. The breeder wouldn't let us have it any sooner. No corn for rabbits. Pellets from Wally World are the most economical. You can offer treats occasionally, but Thumper (our rabbit) won't eat them. We keep a peice of wood in his cage at all times for him to chew on. He can gnaw through a 4" log in a matter of months.
Yours sounds too young to be away from mom. Like someone else said, the mother may try to eat it so you need to watch carefully if you return it to mom.
Good luck.
Here's a pic of Thumper going for a walk.
ps...he LOVES broccoli
 
lovethesea

lovethesea

Active Member
someone once told me that when their ears are an inch or more is when they are ready to be one their own. Not sure if that is for all rabbits.
 
T

tizzo

Guest
When I was a kid, I had a rabbit and after about a month, he died.. I took him to the vet to find out why and the vet told me that feeding him lettuce, lined his stomach and he was unable to digest food.
I don't know if he was right or not, but I have since cringed at the thought of giving a baby bunny lettuce.
You may wanna look into that...
 
aw2x3

aw2x3

Active Member
My snakes told me to tell you guys that they love love love some rabbits. They find them quite irresistable.
 
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