How old is my baby cottontail rabbit

If after having read the information on the for Wild Rabbits page you have determined that a rescue is absolutely necessary, here are some instructions for preparing the rabbit s for transport to the rescue center. Use a container such as a small cardboard box or shoebox.

Punch air holes in the lid. If using an electric heating pad, place a towel on your table. Put the heating pad on the towel and put another towel over the heating pad. Inside the box place a folded towel for the bedding.

Use another folded towel to simulate a small circle. Place another, smaller towel over it for them to hide under and stay warm. Even babies with their eyes closed have a sense. Half of the box should be off of the heating pad in case the babies get too warm and want to move away from the heat for awhile. The heating pad should be set on low and kept on 24 hours a day until the babies have had their eyes open for 3 or 4 days. In cool rooms, keep heating pad on for an additional week. Only handle babies at feeding times which should be 2 to 3 times per day.

More than that can cause stress. Change the bedding towels inside their box at least once per day at one of the feeding times to reduce how often they are handled. Cleanliness is vital.

A dirty box will cause sick babies. The only formula I recommend is KMR a specific brand of kitten milk replacer that comes in a powder. Use a 1 cc syringe with a tapered tip to start. Elongated rubber nipples can be used on the syringe, but the syringe can be used alone.

It does take time to acclimate the baby to this foreign object. Each baby can take up to 20 minutes to be hand fed. Keep the formula VERY warm, but not hot, throughout the feeding. They will struggle to avoid cold formula. NOTE: There are other formulas on the market and some of them are cheaper, but they can harm a baby bunny. One product, First Born, can actually kill a baby bunny within 24 hours and it will die screaming.

It does not mix well so be sure there are some colostrum crystals on the syringe tip when feeding the babies. Once prepared, formula is only good for 24 hours, but a can of KMR powder will stay fresh in the freezer for several months. Make only as much as you need for each 24 hour period and keep leftover amount refrigerated during that 24 hours. Also, note that the first feeding should be more diluted with sterile water as the babies are likely to be dehydrated and it also helps the system to adjust to a new substance.

Rabbits are born with a sterile digestive system. If you have a rabbit you know is free of coccidian and can obtain some cecatropes to offer to the babies it can help provide good digestive bacteria to the babies. Adding a touch of Bene-Bac or ProBios on the syringe or nipple tip can add necessary digestive bacteria.

Do once daily for the first two weeks, but in very tiny amounts. Too much of a good thing can also cause problems. If you have access to Marquis this is even better and. A newborn may only take 1 CC formula in a one CC syringe per feeding to start.

This is normal as they are not happy and know the syringe is not mama. Be careful about forcing liquid into the mouth. If it goes down into their lungs they will aspirate and die and this can happen quite easily.

As they adapt to eating from the syringe they will usually lick the drops off the end of the syringe as you are feeding and they will increase how much they take and how quickly they take it. Any excess that goes on the nose should be quickly wiped off.

They should still be able to be treated without shaking too much of your palm. Although they may look like tiny copies of humans, they are not yet ready to be released back to the wild. Cottontails at this age will begin to leave the nest to find food but will stay in the field and return to their nest during the night. Three and a half weeks old : At this stage, your rabbits will be expected to have hair that sticks away from their body, eyes, and ears clear and alert.

Their legs are expected to rise out from their head. They are now completely weaned and eat natural food -grasses, plants, fruits, and vegetables. We are now at the point when they can be released back into the wild. Rabbits still in their nests may roam around outside their nests and be left alone if they do not look wounded or otherwise affected. Four to Five Weeks Old : By nowt, it will look like a small representation of a human.

Fur sticks out from the body like an adult bunny, the ears are straight up from the head, the eyes are sharp, and people should be cautious and careful. Rabbits at this point will have learnt to be very cautious of humans and are now in reproductive age.

Up to the age of about two months, a young bunny enjoys something identical to an adult bunny. Grass hay or meadow hay may be added first. You can also decide to feed alfalfa to your rabbit as well. One and a half months into their lives, wild rabbits are considered fully adult. It may take them another 4 to 6 weeks to fill out into their usual pound weights as they grow to be anywhere between 12 and 20 inches long.

After the age of 8 weeks, they are fully sexually mature and will often begin to reproduce. From their fragile birth until adolescence a mere 3 weeks later, wild rabbits need the care of their mother or a trained professional to survive. Because rabbit mothers spend much of the day away from their nests foraging for food, you can easily make a mistake in judging that a litter of baby bunnies has been abandoned.

Never take babies out of a nest without being absolutely sure that they have been abandoned! If the string has been moved even a little bit, that means mama has been home to check on and feed her babies. In this case, leave them to be nourished and grow. Either way, do not attempt to feed the babies!