Mother rabbits dig a shallow hole in the ground for their nests and cover them with dead grasses and their fur. Most of the time they are in the worst places, right in the middle of a yard where a dog resides, where you may mow the nest over if you dont know its there, but thats just what they do.
The mother only feeds her babies twice a day from what is known, early morning and evening. She does not stay at the nest so that she does not attract predators to it. Most people may think the nest has been abandoned because they dont see the momma come back, but this is more then likely not true. Unless something has happened to her, she usually does not abandon her babies!!!
If you find a nest and are unsure as whether or not momma is taking care of them, take 2 sticks and cross them directly over the nest in an X. Check the next day, and if momma has been back, she will have had to of moved the sticks to feed her babies. If a nest is damaged or destroyed, try to rebuild the nest the best that you can and place the babies back inside and cover them back up with dead grass or her fur that is left. A nest can even be moved a very short distance away, mom should be able to find it. If you have a dog that you are trying to keep away from the nest, I have read that using a wheelbarrow upside down over the nest can still let mom in, but keep the dog out.
Dont worry if you need to touch the babies, it is an old wives tale that if you leave your scent on them mom wont continue to care for them. I have seen proof of this.
Baby cottontails grow very fast and become independent at approx 3-4 weeks and leave the nest to find their own homes. They are born hairless, deaf, and eyes closed. At about 10 days old their eyes open and they have a smooth coat of fur. By this time they will be squirming around,, not very good at walking and certainly not hopping!!!
Another reason people may think a bunny has been abandoned is because they see a tiny bunny outside of the nest. They are only exploring!! A weaned bunny that is ready to leave the nest is no bigger then an orange!!!
Unfortunately from what I have read, something like 90% of wild baby rabbits do not live long at all. Natures way of keeping the population down I suppose. I have also read that if 2 wild rabbits, left to have their litters, and all the litters that its offspring produce, in 5 years there can be 350,000 rabbits just from starting out with the original 2 and all their offsprings offspring and so on!!!
A wild rabbit only lives 1-2 years in the wild, most not making it past being a baby due to predators and diseases, which is also what claims the lives of adults eventually. I have heard they can live as long as a pet rabbit in captivity, but thats a different issue I will discuss later. Predators of rabbits include foxes, weasels, owls and hawks, dogs and cats( I am a FIRM believer in keeping cats INDOORS!!!!) snakes and even raccoons.
Find out how I cared for these babies, and follow along as I take you into.........my life with Cottontails................
