| baby rabbits are the most common of animals found & brought in to me, but lots of well-meaning people don't understand that even though they can be very small, they are usually weaned from the mother & out exploring on their own, what i tell people is if the rabbit can sit upright in their hand & fills most of the palm, they should be left alone, the shock of a human holding them can be as deadly as a predator, they shock very easily, for rabbits with injuries however they should be watched closely keeping handling to a minimum, they often have skin tears which happen to them often & can occur from animal attacks or fencing they try to escape under, you can treat them with a diluted betadine solution ,& ask a vet about nexabond or similar ,this is a skin glue (like super glue , be careful) wash the wound & rinse with the betadine, then you can "glue" the tear, keep the animal in a quiet place for a few days , watching the wound for infection, ( running pus excessively, bad smell coming from the wound)they can heal quickly if they are healthly otherwise, within a week or so ,they should be ready for release,even though it's tempting , don't "show off" your rabbit to people this can be tramatic for them as mentioned ,& if you do encounter a rabbit that appears friendly & lets you hold them without a fight , there is something wrong, this can be common however after attacks & is a sign of shock, don't handle a wild rabbit more than needed ,for breaks in the limbs you should find someone experienced to treat them, just put them in something small enough , so they cannot move around too much until you can find someone to take it, for babies with their eyes closed, you should feed them kitten milk replacer, half milk replacer & half electrolyte (like gatorade or pedialtye ) for hydration for the first 2 days then slowly decrease the electrolyte each day afterwards till you're feeding just milk , they require a little longer with the electrolyte than some other animals (this is how i feed infants, others may disagree or do it differently),anyway( a glass dropper is what i reccomend ,a pharmacy or craft store usually have them) for babies, i will try to feed them whatever they will take every 3-5 hours with no night feeding ,with the exception of tiny babies, (newborns) with no hair ,(hares are born furred & have larger head & feet)if this is the case they should be kept warm at all times , you can use a heating pad in one corner of whatever you have them in set on low with several blankets over the pad, just check it often to make sure it's not too hot or cool, they should feel warm to the touch & you can even put a thin blanket over them (don't use terrycloth..see why on squirrel page)..babies usually will only eat till they are full i don't use a certain amount here , just when their belly is round & soft, it shouldn't feel hard , you are over feeding if it does, afterwards you will need to stimulate them to produce bowel movements, just wet a cotton ball or tissue & gently wipe front to back after each feeding , this may take a few minutes but they should go readily ,if not they aren't eating enough & you can offer some bottled water or more electroltye several times a day, you can also do this anyway, for added hydration,you will also need to know this, babies have to have a certain amount of glucose(sugar) in their system ,their mothers milk usually provides this, they will show signs of a diabetic seizure if they are not getting enough, to avoid this, add some honey ,syrup, or sugar to their milk, (pea size amount) or directly in their mouth, which is best..for older rabbits you have to care for, feeding them is easy , here are some things they favor, cheerios or similar, clover ,alfalfa,rabbit pellets, apples,grapes,oatmeal(dry),& any green leafy vegs. (a word about cabbage)... although they do like it & will eat it cauliflower,broccoli, & cabbage causes extream bloating in rabbits , which can be very painful, (like gas pain to you) so avoid these foods,.... be careful about where you keep your rabbit they can escape the tiniest holes, & if your still worried about babies hopping around in your backyard....if you can catch them without too much stress, you can relocate them to a safer place.. I take mine to a nearby cemetary.. what's safer than that?... good luck! |