Ask Dr. Jenn: How Do I Care for an Orphaned Bunny?

First off, are you sure the bunny is orphaned?  A mother rabbit does not spend a lot of time in the nest with her babies, usually only caring for them at night when there is less risk of predators. Her milk is so rich that the babies only need to nurse for about five minutes to get their fill of calories and nutrients for an entire day.   Her nest is well constructed to keep the babies warm and safe, even when she is not there.

How to Tell if a Baby Bunny is Orphaned

If you come across a nest of baby bunnies, how can you tell if they are orphaned or if mom is just away feeding herself? Here are a few easy ways:

A healthy and full baby bunny is usually quiet. It will have a full stomach, its skin will be pink and warm to the touch, and it will be responsive when touched. If this describes the bunny you found, leave it be. Do not remove it from the nest or move the nest to what you think is a safer place. Mom knows what she is doing and will be back.

Baby bunnies will cry when they are hungry. If you find a nest of crying bunnies, don’t touch it right away. Leave and come back a few hours later to see if they look content.  Maybe mom was a little late coming back for the babies’ daily feeding. If they are still crying, pick them up and take a closer look. Orphaned bunnies will have a sunken in stomach, cool and bluish skin, and will be slow to respond to touch.

Sadly, orphaned baby rabbits rarely survive, even with amazing care. The best chance for survival is to take them to a wildlife rehabilitation place. If you can’t bring the bunnies to the rehab facility right away or if there is not one in your area, here are some guidelines to care for them for the first 24 hours. If you need to care for them longer than a day, please do a more thorough internet search for long term care.

How to Care for Orphaned Baby Bunnies

Provide the bunnies with a clean, dry, and soft nesting box in a warm area of your house or garage. The temperature should be around 65 to 70 degrees. If it’s less than 65 degrees, you can provide additional heat by placing half the box on a heating pad on the lowest setting. Make sure at least half the box is off the heating pad so that the bunnies have a place to go if they get too hot. You don’t want them to overheat.

The bunnies can be fed kitten milk replacer or regular goat’s milk. Do not use human formula, cow’s milk, or puppy milk replacer. The bunnies should only be fed twice a day. Any more than that will result in overfeeding, which leads to severe intestinal disease and death. The amount to feed depends on the size and age of the bunny.  Newborn bunnies need less than ½ teaspoon twice a day. The first feeding may only be a couple of drops, especially if the bunny is stressed. Feed it in an upright position using an eye dropper, syringe, or bottle. Remember, they need far less than you think they do. Overfeeding is the number one cause of death in orphaned rabbits.

If the bunny’s eyes are open, it is at least ten days old. It can eat grass and dandelion greens along with about a teaspoon of milk replacer twice a day.  

What If I Find a Baby Bunny Outside of its Nest?

What should you do if you find an orphaned bunny outside of the nest? If it has fur and is hopping around, let it be. Cottontail rabbits are weaned and on their own by four weeks of age. If the bunny is still neonate and needs its mom’s care, try to find the nest and replace the bunny immediately. If you can’t find the nest, take it in overnight and follow the tips above. Call a wildlife rehabilitation site as soon as possible. If you don’t know of one in your area, call your local Department of Natural Resources (DNR) office.

Everyone means well and wants to help when they find a nest of poor helpless bunnies. But often more harm comes to the bunnies by trying to help them than by leaving them alone. Rabbits may appear to be bad moms, but they know how to care for their babies better than we do. When in doubt, walk away.