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Please help! Need advice for wild bunny!

Vegan_Bunny

Warren Veteran
Last night, on my way home from a friend's house, I saw a wild bunny huddled on the side of the road which had obviously been hit by a car :(
I pulled over and went over and gave it a prod. It just tensed up but didn't attempt to run away so I figured it was in pretty bad shock. It had blood on it's face and fore-paw so I didn't want to just move it in case it was anything serious so I picked it up and put it in a box in my car and drove it home.

I put it in my outdoor bunny run, inside the hutch and left it overnight with some water. I didn't really expect it to live, it was in really bad shock, but this morning it was alot brighter and when I put some hay in, it bolted out and into the run. A hell of an improvement from last night but it obviously panicked a bit and ran into the mesh a few times. I left it be and it calmed down and I watched it from a distance, it seems to be ok moving about but it's eye looks sore :(

When I checked on it just now it was huddled up in the hutch looking rather sorry for itself. It's eye looks sore still and is a bit gooey. That side of its face is a bit swollen too and has blood matted in it's fur so I can't tell what injuries it has and I really don't want to touch it and freak it out.

Can anybody tell me what to do with it? I want to release it but if it's really hurt it's eye or mouth in some way I don't want it to have a slow, painful death by starvation or something. I don't want to keep it longer than needed because that will stress it out even more and I think it's been through enough already :(

I mean I thought about ringing the RSPCA but tbh I don't really trust them to help it. Anybody know of any rescue's or anything that take in wild animals as well? I want a vet to take a look at it but that would be far too stressful for the poor thing :(
 
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My mum found a baby wild bunny by the side of the road with blood on it too, possibly gotten by a cat.
Anyway she called the rspca and they told her to just let it go and let nature take it's course :( They dont do anything at all.

I hope someone can suggest a wildlife rescue you can take it too.
 
no i don't think it has myxi. It's eye's gooey because of the injury to it. Apart from that it's a good weight and seems in good condition but it is moulting so looks a bit scruffy. If it had myxi surely it would be very ill and skinny etc.
 
oh what a shame :cry:

surely myxi would affect both eyes at the same time?

I would take it to a vet because if he/she is badly injured the vet will put him/her to sleep humanely. I doubt if they would charge either - I've taken enough injured pigeons to the vet and they've all been destroyed due to broken wings and never been charged a penny.

Sorry but I don't rate the RSPCA at all when it comes to call outs. I had a fox in my garden back in Birmingham with a big lump on its side - and I mean a massive lump - and they weren't interested at all - unless I caught it. Me? I'm not trained I said. Well, just get it into a box/dog carrier, they said. Anyway I couldn't coax it so it went away so don't know what happened to the poor thing. Thanks for your help, not! My hubby's a Policeman and he's contacted the RSPCA in the past as the police don't have kennels anymore, it's the council. Anyway, each time he's phoned, they're not interested and don't seem keen to help, brushing off the concerns and placing the onus onto the caller. Oh yeah, we had a baby fox in our garden a few weeks back, gorgeous he was, but our neighbour called the RSPCA out of concern. Again, they weren't interested. At all.

Good luck with your wild bunny :)
 
I think you need advice from a wildlife centre.

I would think if it's a head injury it would need metacam at the least and maybe a steroid injection to stop the brain from swelling. Minimal contact with you is essential for stress levels. But I think bunny might need a GA to check weight and have an x ray. Vets are obliged to treat wild animals for no cost which is why I think they usually put them to sleep. :?

A wildlife rescue should be able to do that for you if there is one close by. The best case scenario is she recovered and you can release her where you found her. I'd give her a bowl of water, not a bottle, some fresh hay in the hutch and some forage like brambles, plantain, dandelions.
 
oh what a shame :cry:

surely myxi would affect both eyes at the same time?

I would take it to a vet because if he/she is badly injured the vet will put him/her to sleep humanely. I doubt if they would charge either - I've taken enough injured pigeons to the vet and they've all been destroyed due to broken wings and never been charged a penny.

Sorry but I don't rate the RSPCA at all when it comes to call outs. I had a fox in my garden back in Birmingham with a big lump on its side - and I mean a massive lump - and they weren't interested at all - unless I caught it. Me? I'm not trained I said. Well, just get it into a box/dog carrier, they said. Anyway I couldn't coax it so it went away so don't know what happened to the poor thing. Thanks for your help, not! My hubby's a Policeman and he's contacted the RSPCA in the past as the police don't have kennels anymore, it's the council. Anyway, each time he's phoned, they're not interested and don't seem keen to help, brushing off the concerns and placing the onus onto the caller. Oh yeah, we had a baby fox in our garden a few weeks back, gorgeous he was, but our neighbour called the RSPCA out of concern. Again, they weren't interested. At all.

Good luck with your wild bunny :)


Yes the other eye is bright and shiny and it seems healthy otherwise.

The RSPCA are a bit **** with wildlife :(
I don't know if I'd be able to get it to the vet without giving it a heart attack o_O Pigeons and things tend to cope better than wild rabbits at being handled. I might have found someone in Middlesbrough who I can ring. I only want advice because I can take care of it myself, I just need to know what to do.
I'm worried it's in pain or injured :(
 
I think you need advice from a wildlife centre.

I would think if it's a head injury it would need metacam at the least and maybe a steroid injection to stop the brain from swelling. Minimal contact with you is essential for stress levels. But I think bunny might need a GA to check weight and have an x ray. Vets are obliged to treat wild animals for no cost which is why I think they usually put them to sleep. :?

A wildlife rescue should be able to do that for you if there is one close by. The best case scenario is she recovered and you can release her where you found her. I'd give her a bowl of water, not a bottle, some fresh hay in the hutch and some forage like brambles, plantain, dandelions.

Thankyou. I gave it a bowl of water as I figured it wouldn't no how to drink from a bottle. I've left the hutch door open so if it wants it can hop onto the grass and have a munch. I don't want to disturb it more than I need to.
Unfortunately there are no wildlife centre anywhere near me :( I found a person who deals with wildlife but there's no answer when I rang and no answer phone picks up so I can't leave a message.
*sigh* I may have to ring the RSPCA if I can't get hold of anybody else. I'm very reluctant to take it into a vets. I think that would kill it :( The smells and noises and being handled would give it a heart attack :(


I wish I knew if it was a boy or girl.. I don't like referring to it as "it" lol.
 
normally the vets will have names and numbers for rescue volunteers/wildlife fosterers that help with our natural wildlife....it might be a good idea a ring them to see if they have
 
OK i rang Blyth Wildlife Rescue (closest one i could find) They've advised me to ring my vets and see if they can do a quick examination of it by eye. So i'm going to ring them and see if anybody is available to see me but i am reluctant to handle the rabbit.

As for re-capturing it. What would be least stressful way? Maybe coaxing it into a carrier and putting a towel over it? I only want to do what's best for it :( I'm terrified that i'm going to do more harm than good.
 
Personally I would just grab it and get it in a carrier, if you have a top opening one it would be easier. I have handled quite a few injured wild rabbits and none have died of a heart attack, they tend to freeze instead. It needs to either go a rescue or a vet for treatment and it will have to be handled anyway. If it dies of a heart attack it has little chance of survival anyway- wildies are much more robust than we realise.
 
I would say myxi too - doesn't have to affect both eyes, or even any. The response the bun gave you to prodding sounds like the myxi-d bun I found

I'd get straight to the vets & keep well away from your own buns

None of my 3 myxi-buns lost weight
 
been to the vets with it. i just prodded it into the carrier. It struggled when being handled which was a good sign :)

The vet was brilliant! He said he couldn't see any major injuries and he said it's healthier than most bunnies he sees so he was reluctant to put it down. He said he wouldn't be surprised if it had myxi but it doesn't seem to have it. I've stripped my clothes off everytime i've handled it and washed my hands thoroughly. (would rabbit fleas jump onto me?) He said it had mites too but thats to be expected.
He said to release it if it'll go, which i think it will when it realises it's free.
oh and it's a boy.. definitely!

I'm trying everything to avoid anything getting on my buns but I'm worrying constantly. What are the chances that something could be contracted? And what can I do to minimize chances? My bunnies are in my room with the door shut and the wildie is outside in the run (which im going to bleach like hell when he's gone) and my buns have just been sprayed with fly guard.
 
That is good news that you got it to the vet and he is okay. :)

Anything else I can't help you with, sorry.
 
Released the bun last night. Seemed a bit wobbly but shot off :) Hid in a bush so I left him be. Got a much better chance out there than he has being cooped up in my rabbit run.

Fingers crossed he'll be ok :)
 
Released the bun last night. Seemed a bit wobbly but shot off :) Hid in a bush so I left him be. Got a much better chance out there than he has being cooped up in my rabbit run.

Fingers crossed he'll be ok :)

He looked better than I expected :love:
 
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