How to Take Care of a Wild Baby Rabbit? – Complete Guide

Finding a wild baby rabbit can be an exciting experience, but it is important to know how to take care of the little one before you bring him or her home. If you’ve found a wild baby rabbit, your first instinct may be to take it home and care for it yourself. But before you do anything, there are a few things you need to know.

Fostering baby rabbits is a bit of a passion of mine. In this blog post, I’ll teach you how to take care of a wild baby rabbit and what to do if it needs help. I’ll also provide some tips on how to reunite the baby rabbit with its family. So read on!

Determine if the wild baby bunny abandoned or not

I remember the first time I found a wild baby rabbit. I was 8 years old and couldn’t find the mom. So of course I took it home – that was mistake number one. If I knew better at the time (I was only 8!) I should have asked myself the following questions:

• If the baby rabbit is cold and hungry, check to see if its mother is nearby
• The presence of nearby adult rabbits means that the baby bunny probably isn’t abandoned
• Mother rabbits feed their babies about every four hours for only around five minutes at a time
• If the nest shows signs of disturbance or damage, the baby bunnies may have been abandoned by their mother

If the baby rabbit is abandoned, make sure to provide it with food and water

What you need:

• Cardboard box (large enough for baby bunny to stand up in)  or large kennel/crate (must have small mesh openings)
• Bedding material (shredded paper, towels, old Tshirts, etc.)  and lining the bottom of the box with about 2 inches of it
• Dish or pie tin filled with water at room temperature
• Small dish or bowl filled with rabbit pellet food for baby bunnies
• Food and water should be put in separate dishes so that they won’t get mixed up when you are feeding the baby bunny  (it is possible to feed both simultaneously by holding one dish in each hand)

How to take care of a wild baby rabbit once you have found one:

1. Make sure to wear cotton gloves (or gardening gloves) before touching the baby bunny. This will help prevent the spread of disease and prevent you from transferring your “scent” onto the rabbit.

2. Gently pick up the baby bunny and place it in a box with soft bedding material  (make sure to elevate one edge so that the baby bunny doesn’t accidentally roll over onto its back and become unable to roll back over on its own). If you notice any injury/wound on the baby bunny, apply some triple antibiotic ointment or hydrogen peroxide to it with cotton balls or gauze pads.

3. Place the water dish within the baby bunny’s reach, but high enough that it won’t get spilled (if the baby bunny starts fighting with the water dish, you might want to elevate one end of the box higher than the other; this is especially important for open-topped cardboard boxes).

4. Place the food dish in a different area from where you placed the water dish so that they don’t get mixed up when you are feeding the baby bunny  (it is possible to feed both simultaneously by holding one dish in each hand). In addition, offer small amounts of fresh greens and vegetables, such as carrots, kale, dandelion leaves/flowers/roots, collard greens, parsley, etc. You can also give it a clump of grass if you have any, but be careful not to give the baby bunny too much grass, as it can cause digestive problems for them.

5. After you have finished feeding and watering the baby bunny, cover its head with a cloth (like an old shirt or towel that has been cut into a circle) and leave it in the box because it will naturally burrow under something to escape heat/cold/dangerous objects if necessary. Be sure to check on the baby bunny several times throughout the day in order to make sure that their needs haven’t changed (i.e., more food or water).

6. When you need to leave for a period of time, cover the baby bunny’s head with a cloth  (like an old shirt or towel that has been cut into a circle) and leave it in its box (if it is acting lethargic, leave more water nearby; if not, keep it covered). Make sure to check on the bunny every so often during your absence in order to make sure that their needs haven’t changed.

Keep an eye on the baby bunny’s heath

Health problems that might occur:

1. Cuts/wounds  or injuries from wires, fences, or predators

2. Medication-resistant ear mites  (you will notice a brownish crust inside the baby bunny’s ears and/or a bad odor coming from their ears)

3. Distended stomach caused by parasites  (you will notice the baby bunny’s underside being swollen and it acting lethargic)

4. Parasite-induced diarrhea  (you will notice the baby bunny having loose bowel movements, but no droppings in them)

5. Ingesting toxins (such as poison mushrooms or pesticides)

6. Hypothermia (you notice them shivering even if it’s not cold)

7. Hyperthermia (you notice them panting even if it’s not hot or dehydrated)

8. Internal injuries (you will notice the baby bunny having trouble walking, standing up straight, etc.)

What to do if the wild baby rabbit is injured

1. Continuing to cover the baby bunny with a cloth and leave them in their box (if they are calm enough to be left alone, continue with step seven).

2. If you can safely transport it without causing any further injuries, wrap the baby bunny in a towel and take it to your local wildlife rehabilitation center/veterinarian (you will likely need to call them ahead of time to let them know you are coming; if there is nothing open, contact an animal rescue organization near you for additional help) or veterinarian (if they are willing to see wild animals—be sure to tell them that you found the rabbit injured outside). Make sure that the center has experience treating wild rabbits before taking the baby bunny there.

Can wild baby bunnies survive without their mother?

Yes, but it depends on their age and the weather conditions. If they are five weeks old or younger and/or if it is extremely cold outside (below 50 degrees Fahrenheit), they probably won’t make it.

However, if they are between five to six weeks old and the weather is pleasant (between 40-80 degrees Fahrenheit), as well as very clean (ideally with a loose covering of tall grasses like ferns) where the baby bunny can be left alone for up to four hours, then there’s a chance that they might survive without their mother.

NOTE: It may also take longer than four hours for them to drink enough water and eat enough food by themselves. NEVER force wild bunnies to live alone; it is extremely dangerous for them (they might get run over by a car, be attacked by a predator, or die from heat/cold stress) and cruel (they will die of heartbreak because they are completely separated from what is familiar to them).

Help the baby rabbit become accustomed to its new surroundings

1. Place the box in a secluded area so that the baby bunny won’t get spooked because of potential danger (e.g., cats, dogs, people)

2. Leave the box open so that the baby bunny can go back in whenever it wants to

3. Make sure to leave water and food inside for when you are not around  (don’t leave too much at once or else they might run out before you return)

4. Play with the baby bunny using your fingers/hands if necessary (but make sure not to agitate it  and keep an eye on its heath )

5. Talk to the baby bunny every once in a while when you are near its box but don’t handle

How can you tell how old a wild baby bunny is?

A lot of people will look at the number of teeth a wild bunny has to determine how old it is, but this isn’t always accurate.

It is best to compare them to other baby rabbits that are roughly the same size and age as them (i.e., they should be about three inches long and weigh around four ounces). If you can’t do that, then here’s what you need to know:

1. If the baby rabbit is mostly white with a few black/brown spots and they weigh less than three ounces, then they are very young and should be with their mother.

2. If they weigh more than three ounces and they have a brownish-gray fuzzy coat (sometimes lighter on their stomach), then they are approximately five weeks old.