URGENT!! Found some baby rabbits. Need help!

[Gripenfelter]

My friend found some baby rabbits in his backyard in a hole. They are small enough that you can cup their whole body in two hands. They have all their fur and eyes are open.

We're assuming the mother is dead.

What can we give them to eat and drink until Wildlife Rehab shows up tomorrow?

They look malnurished.

[chocolatecoffee]

Please make sure that the mother is not there before you take them. The mother usually only feeds them twice a day, so if the mother isn't around, it doesn't mean that they were abandoned. Their chances of survival if you take them are very low, however, if the mother really is gone, they have a better chance of survival with you than alone.

I found some abandoned baby rabbits a month or two ago, and a rescue worker gave me this recipe to feed them:

1 cup evaporated milk (high fat)
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1 egg yoke
1/4 cup water

If I were you, I'd feed them a little every 2-3 hours with a syringe, but make sure you DO NOT overfeed them, as this is very dangerous.

Here is a good website I used to help when I had to take care of the rabbits I found: http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/orphan.html. It has a different recipe on there and recommends feeding them about 2 times a day. I would probably go by this site, but I fed them my recipe every 1-1/2 hours and they turned out great.

Thanks to you and your friend for taking care of these rabbits! I don't know a whole lot, but I have a bit of experience, so if you have any questions feel free to ask! Good luck!

[Mockingcat]

As the previous poster said, just because the mother isn't there doesn't mean that they're abandoned. If they have been, your best bet would try to find a wildlife rehabilitator in your area. Most vets will have a number, and it should be in the yellow pages as well.

[Gripenfelter]

Thanx guys.

Haven't seen the mother come by yet.

How much of that mixture should we feed each baby?

[Karin]

Mom will not come around as long as there are people around too. The hole they were found in was their burrow. With fur on and eyes open they are at an age where mom starts to show them the ropes of rabbithood.

The young will gain more weight once they forage on their own.

[Luba]

Is it the same with human scent and rabbits as it is with birds?

With the mother abandon them if there's human scent on them?

[Mockingcat]

It's not true with birds, but I'm not sure how true it is with rabbits.

[Luba]

Not true with birds?? Get lost, really now??? I've been taught that my entire life not to handle wild baby birds unless they're injured/abandoned. That is a new one to me, thanks for the info

However, whether true or not...still not a good idea to interfere with wildlife unless necessary.

[Mockingcat]

Seconded on not interfering with nature unless absolutely necessary.

I personally think that some mother tired of wild birdlings in her house started the whold "dont' handle babies" spiel. Here's the snopes page on it:

http://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/babybird.asp

It all boils down to the fact that birds have a pretty limited sense of smell... which is why I'm not sure about rabbits, as they're obviously very adept at smelling out humans.

[JessXx]

Hey.
As has already been said, mother was probobally just out or something, but theres no point in bringing them back now... so, you should feed the a syringe (sp?) full every 2-3 hours I think. Call a vet ASAP and get info b/c none of us are trained animal professionals that are classified to give medical advice over the internet (that I know of.) We also may be wrong...
good luck I hope they're okay

[chocolatecoffee]

I was told to feed my rabbits 5 cc. every 2-3 hours. I think it's more important to see how full they are and such, that's what I did. I agree that calling a vet would be a good idea. How are the little guys doing today?

Also, I don't think rabbits will abandon their young if there's human scent on them (http://www.hrschicago.org/newbabyfr.html under "Wild Rabbits"). I always thought that birds would abandon their young if there was human scent on it until a few months ago. It's weird that it's not true, because most people seem to believe it.

[Gripenfelter]

Mother never came back.

Rabbits perked up after being fed.

They were dropped off at animal rescue.