If you should find yourself caring for wild bunnies, this is how I care for mine. IF...the bunny is the size of an orange, it is best to put it back where you found it, or someplace safe unless it is injured. It is probably already weaned and on its own. If the babies still have their eyes closed, the risk of them dying is greater, and I will tell you why.
A rabbit, even pet ones, produce 2 types of pellets. One is the hard round balls most people associate with rabbit droppings. The other is called cecotropes(CT's). These look similar to a cluster of grapes, and have a strong odor. Rabbits digest these for proper functioning of their gut, and usually digest them directly from their anus.
Now, if a baby rabbit is aquired by humans BEFORE their eyes are open, they are missing these CT's from their momma. Therefor, once the baby begins to eat solid foods, since their bodies are missing these CT's, their gut cannot properly digest the solid foods.
In my first litter of babies, I lost one due to this. Once eating solid foods, they can develop a fatal diarrhea and can die within one day of it developing. Nothing can be done to stop it. I have seen this happen up to 2 weeks after beginning solid foods.
Now since 2 survived from my first litter without any intervention, it is possible all will be fine without these CT's, but after losing several babies from diarrhea, I chose to try and combat this problem. To do this, I used Benebac. It is a gel for mammals(not birds), I purchased online. Once the babies started eating easily, I began to give this to each one once a day, 1/4 teaspoon daily for 7-10 days BEFORE beginning solid foods. They readily licked it off my finger.
But lets start with formula feeding. A momma only feeds them twice a day, BUT, nothing can compare to her rich milk. I made the mistake of feeding only twice a day with my first and second litters, which I believe resulted in one baby from each litter dying overnight with no signs of diarrhea. I use powdered KMR(kitten milk replacer), and I mix it 1 part powdered formula to one part water. This gives them extra nutrients mixing it this way. I warm the formula and I feed them with an eyedropper, and if youre lucky, you may get one that will get that suction going all on his own and suck it all out like a piggy!!! Be patient, they are certainly not use to us humans, we are nothing like being fed by momma, so it may take a few days for them to get use being fed this way before it becomes much easier to feed them. DO NOT hold them on their backs while feeding them, hold them upright grasping them lightly in your hand. Once they get the hang of it, they usually will just sit in the palm of your hand or on your lap while you offer them the dropper. At first they may not seem to drink much, once again not being use to it, dont squeeze the formula down their throat. Lightly squeeze the bulb of the dropper only until they are readily drinking on their own. Feed them every 3 hours the best you can, I did one last feeding at bedtime then right back to it first thing in the morning. Keep feeding them this often until they are eating solid foods and filling up their bellies a little more on solids.
Now that theyre eating readily, you'll want to start giving them the Benebac as earlier described. DO NOT feed solids until they take the Benebac for 7-10 days. Once they have taken the Benebac for this time, I begin to give them rabbit pellets at all times. I give them oats at bedtime, not the quick cooking kind, but the regular oats. I also give them Timothy Hay, alflafa and oat hay.
I start out at first by giving them a plate of weeds from my backyard once a day for a few days. I pick weeds like dandelions leaves, including the flowers, clover, including the flowers, grass, weed grasses, plantains(its a weed that has long slender leaves, or roundish leaves growing flat to the ground, which has a shoot that grows up in the middle of it) and I experiment with other weeds I find growing in my yard or flower beds to see if they like them. And I pick weeds rain or shine!!! Once a day I give a treat of something they may find in a garden, but only once a day and only one thing!!! They love Kale, endive, romaine or green leaf lettuce(no iceberg!!), a slice of cabbage, sprigs of parsley, a carrot WITH the top still on. And 2 or 3 times a week I give a small slice of apple, or a grape, strawberry, blackberry or raspberry.
Their main diet should still be formula, but on their own time they will drink less. In your care the babies should drink formula until they no longer want it when you offer it, which will be beyond the 3-4 weeks they are usually weaned from momma. Once they start eating pellets and weeds, I start to drop the formula feedings to every 4-5 hours, and once they are eating 2-3 plates of weeds a day and are about a month old, I feed them formula in the morning, afternoon, and at bedtime, eventually dropping the afternoon feeding. By the time they are 5-6 weeks old I am only offering them formula at bedtime in case someones tummy needs to be filled up, but around this time they eventually lose interest in the formula or once most of them no longer seem to want it, I drop it all together. |
