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There is a little baby wild rabbit in my back yard, what is there to do?

Happy Hopping

Wise Old Thumper
So I was trimming my lawn, and I thought it's a piece of rock, turns out it's a baby rabbit's ass, and this little guy is about 1/2 of the size of my hand. And he just sits there for about 1/2 hr. And he simply moves from 1 side to the other, but basically the same area.

I call the local vet hospital, I sense the person who answer the phone doesn't know a lot about bunnies. She said there is nothing need to be done, as after a while, the mother rabbit will "extract" her baby bunny. And she said unless the rabbit is injured, there is nothing they can do.

Now, he's sitting there but he's not shaking, but he was there for 1/2 hr., after that the sky went dark and I don't want to stress this baby. He must have sneak in thru the corner of my fence.

this is the link to this baby bun photo

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh70/happyhopping/IMG_2639.jpg
 
I think I would be inclined to leave him where he is. Once under cover of darkness he may make his own way back home.
 
And it's now early morning, I went outside to check for this bun, he sneak out the same way he sneak in, there is no trace of him anywhere in my backyard
 
That's great :)

Like with baby birds, with baby rabbits often it is just best to leave them be, as their parents will often return but not until they are sure there are no humans about.

Glad baby bunny found his way back home :D
 
I also notice last summer, there is 1 baby sparrow just outside my front yard as well. Why are these babies sitting on the ground for prolong time? What exactly are they doing?
 
I also notice last summer, there is 1 baby sparrow just outside my front yard as well. Why are these babies sitting on the ground for prolong time? What exactly are they doing?

The sparrow likely left the nest before it could fly. It is very common, and the parents continue to feed them on the ground. They tend to keep to areas with cover e.g. bushes and trees but, if there is not much cover on the ground near the nest, they may not.

It's best just to leave them be, as they have a better chance of survival without human intervention.
 
here's an update: when I drive out this evening, I decided to walk outside that fence and view the outside of my backyard. Guess what? this little baby rabbit is sitting 2 ft. from my fence. His face is facing my garage, his ass is facing me.

When I drove back home 1 hr. later, he turned 180 deg., but same spot.

In both last night and tonight, I'm only 1 ft. from his spot. So, I don't understand :

a) how do I know he's not sick? Normally when a bun is in stress, his breathing will rapidly moves up and down, and he is NOT doing that, so that's a good sign

b) But on the other hand, when a rabbit is sick, he hides in a spot

also, he can see me 1 ft. from my camera last night, if he is not sick, shouldn't he run away? My own bun run away when I walk near him, why would this baby bun just sit and look at me?
 
here's an update: when I drive out this evening, I decided to walk outside that fence and view the outside of my backyard. Guess what? this little baby rabbit is sitting 2 ft. from my fence. His face is facing my garage, his ass is facing me.

When I drove back home 1 hr. later, he turned 180 deg., but same spot.

In both last night and tonight, I'm only 1 ft. from his spot. So, I don't understand :

a) how do I know he's not sick? Normally when a bun is in stress, his breathing will rapidly moves up and down, and he is NOT doing that, so that's a good sign

b) But on the other hand, when a rabbit is sick, he hides in a spot

also, he can see me 1 ft. from my camera last night, if he is not sick, shouldn't he run away? My own bun run away when I walk near him, why would this baby bun just sit and look at me?

If you can get close enough, you can look for visible signs of illness, particularly visible cuts or injuries. Check his face doesn't have large swellings around the eyes and nose (myxomatosis).

Baby rabbits can be very bold when they haven't yet learnt to fear humans, especially if there is a regular human prescence around them. I am sometimes able to walk within a few feet of the wild rabbits at work before they even look up, so it doesn't necessarily mean he is ill.

It may just be a coincidence that he is there, or he may just like that spot. Rabbits don't always run away when threatened, they will often just freeze, crouching down to make themselves smaller and hoping you can't see them if they don't move. Is he where he was when you took the picture? That was an obvious hiding spot and he was in a hiding pose then.

Are the wild rabbits in Canada the European wild rabbit or are they the wild 'cottontails', like in America?
 
I don't even know how you can tell it's a wild rabbit anymore. I assume it's a wild bun.

Anyhoo, I just call the vet hospital, this time, the person I chat w/ is some1 I can trust, and she said just leave the little guy there.
 
I know is America the wild rabbits are cottontails, different to the European rabbits which are also pet rabbits. Is that the same in Canada?
 
from the photo I post on page 1, is that a cottontail?

I have seen some hare rabbit that are wild rabbit, and their face is triangular, they look like kangaroo
 
A quick google showed that cottontails are native to canada. So he is probably a cottontail.

As cottontails have different dietary needs and are a separate species to the european rabbit, it also means that you should not interfere. Even if he was ill, I think it would be kinder to allow him to die rather than be caught and subjected to veterinary treatment, as his chance of survival and not going into shock would be low. Once treated, he would probably have to live in captivity, in a place that could not fulfill his welfare needs as a wild animal.
 
So I went to check on this little guy twice today (Mon). He seems quite contend in that same spot. So clearly his mom is looking after him. On my end, what I did is, I removed the loose stones at that corner, so it's easier for him to come in if the rain is too heavy, as my fence has 3 layer of wood, he can fit under the wooden fence very nicely as per the photo shows w/o getting wet. He's sitting under the roof of my garage, and among long grass.

Now eventhough it's somewhat heavy rain here, the edge of the roof of my garage prevent most rain to wet him. The reason I know that is because in the past yr., I didn't bother fountain the grass under the roof of my house and my garage, all all those grass are all dead. So the edge of the roof is doing a great job preventing rain to wet my grass.

I'm also impress w/ nature. When he first show up at that spot where I took the photo, I only see his ass. And his entire body looks like a piece of rock, nice and round. So happen I know I don't have that piece of rock under my fence, so I thought it was a snake, rounded in a ball. Until I took the photo and from my viewer, I see the eyes, I finally realize it's a rabbit. And when I try to find this guy, not moving, sitting outside my garage in the long grass, it's hard to locate him, as he resembles the other rocks along the long grass, very impressive camouflage. The only thing that amuse me is that my laziness of not cutting the grass outside, actually benefit this little baby rabbit.
 
As cottontails have different dietary needs and are a separate species to the european rabbit, it also means that you should not interfere. Even if he was ill, I think it would be kinder to allow him to die rather than be caught and subjected to veterinary treatment, as his chance of survival and not going into shock would be low.

why is cottontail rabbit dietary need differs than any other rabbits?
 
Looks like a baby hare, which fits with the fact that he stays in the same spot.

Baby hares hide above ground from the day their are born and wait for their mothers to come and feed them.
The mother will usually come once a day for a couple of minutes to feed the baby.
 
what does the mommy feed the baby with? How does she give liquid to the baby?

and how does that baby knows to stay there all day / night?
 
what does the mommy feed the baby with? How does she give liquid to the baby?

and how does that baby knows to stay there all day / night?

Hares just breast feed their young with their own milk. I think it's just instinct to stay there. :)

Hares don't have burrows like rabbits do so that makes sense. It would be so lovely if it was a hare, I love them. :)
 
Hares just breast feed their young with their own milk. I think it's just instinct to stay there. :)

Hares don't have burrows like rabbits do so that makes sense. It would be so lovely if it was a hare, I love them. :)

I love them too. I reakon it does look rather hare like.
 
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