Can you take care of a wild baby rabbit?

Answer 1

Unless you got a baby wild rabbit (before it's eyes opened) and bottle fed it you would be unlikely to befriend a wild rabbit and cuddle with it like you could a domestic rabbit. If you caged it it would probably die from the stress.

Answer 2

No, it's a really bad idea. Not even baby bunnies should be kept as pets, and the rabbit will probably die within 48 hours or so.Try to keep a wild rabbit as a pet. If you really want a rabbit, get one.

Answer 3

If you are going to attempt to raise a wild rabbit, you should know that they only have a 10% chance of survival with you, and even in shelters their chances of survival are 37%. They are the hardest animal babies to rear to adulthood. In my opinion, I think the chances of death are way too high, so you should just leave the baby alone.

If that is not an option, then at least take your rabbit to a shelter so they'll get that extra 27% chance of survival! If you are going to keep the baby, you should keep it warm. The ideal temperature should be around 75 degrees F until the baby grows THICK fur.

Bottle feed the baby once or twice a day (like how the mother would), and you can kill the baby if you overfeed it milk. Milk for the baby should be kitten replacement milk. When the baby is about 3-4 weeks, you can release him into your backyard.

If you want to keep him, you should begin to feed him rabbit pellets. Don't give him any other foods because your baby didn't get the bacteria fighting immunity it would've gotten from it's mother's feces.

Make sure to keep his cage as clean as possible (this is VERY hard to do!!!), or he may get ear mites, which is very painful.

When your rabbit is six months, you can begin feeding him some fruits and veggies. I wouldn't give them any plants from your yard, because even though you have a wild rabbit, it is no longer accustomed to eating wild food and you don't want to cause any diarrhea, which can kill him.

You should begin holding and petting your rabbit from the very beginning, but never force anything, and NEVER chase your rabbit when you're angry with it (though some of my Cottontails loved playing Tag). Try to teach your rabbit to use the potty, and it needs 4 hours at least out of it's cage every day.

Cottontails for the most part are less active than domestic rabbits (most people don't know this). Your rabbit will like to sit around and zone out. Cottontails do get into a ton of mischief. They'll pee/poop EVERYWHERE if not potty-trained (which is extremely hard to!!!) and they'll chew everything up! I suggest you provide him with loads of toys.

Never yell or hit your rabbit, of course. But be especially gentle with Cottontails because they are shyer and more easily frightened than pet rabbits. They are also more prone to keeping grudges and they have very good memories!

Cottontails do best in a low-stress environment, and they HATE strangers. When new people come over (or even family members who don't live with you), your Cottontail will be terrified out of it's skin. In their heads, new people are predators. No joke, they are terrified of people other than the ones in your immediate family!

Your Cottontail can be trained to an extent. They are very independent and will not care to please you. I taught my Cottontail tricks, like "stand" "walk (on hind legs)", "come", but this was when he was still a few months old and after my rabbit reached maturity he became too independent to obey me most of the time.

This means start your training early and be very consistent. They do best with food bribes. After your Cottontail hits maturity he won't obey you much anymore, though.

Cottontails don't like water, so if you want to bathe him do so by wiping a damp towel over his fur and drying him immediately or he may get a cold and die. Never bathe your Cottontail in his first few months of life. That is just asking for death.

Also, your Cottontail is not legal without a permit. You can always tell your vet that he is just an agouti mixed rabbit breed. That's what someone told me to do with my Cottontails! It works!

Good luck! To gain the love and trust of a dog is beautiful, they give it freely. To gain the love and trust of a Cottontail is a miracle and the best gift, they give it to YOU, their chosen person, only.

Cottontails take a lot of time, and my most exhausting days ever were spent with them. In the end, I gained one great friend that I will never regret, but that was one great friend out of nine rabbits I raised.

Answer 4

Of course. Depending on the age you may have to nurse them with Kittens Milk Replacement (which can be found at a local pet store) but once they are a month old you can wean them off of the KMR and onto grass and hay. Depending on what you are planning to do with them you may want to keep touching them to a minimum. They should be fed every 2-4 hours when they are younger. Keeping them warm is a very important when they are young. Bedding that is used for hamsters, Guinea pigs, mice, etc. will work perfectly. A vet and/or local pet store can be very helpfully in tips and finding the right things to use.

Answer 5

No, unless it has been hurt and can not fend for itself, wild rabbits do better as wild animals. Many pet stores sell tame rabbits very inexpensively.

You can also get pet rabbits from animal shelters and rescue organizations. These bunnies (hopefully - at good places) have the benefit of recent health care, good diet, and spay/neuter.

A wild rabbit will never feel fully satisfied living as a pet, because it was born and raised as a wild animal: it was made to take care of itself and live in the open spaces.

Pet rabbits, on the other hand, have been domesticated for about two millennia, so they're born and raised to be cared for by people in relatively closed spaces.

This is why you should only keep domestic animals as pets - excepting extraordinary cases of wildlife rescue, which should be handled by people with the necessary experience and know-how.

Answer 6

no, its not legal to keep wild rabbits as pets