• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.
  • Please Note - Medical Advice

    Please keep in mind that posts on this forum are from members of the public sharing personal opinions. It is not a replacement for qualified medical advice from a veterinarian. Many illnesses share similar symptoms but require different treatments. A medical exam is necessary for an accurate diagnosis, without which appropriate treatment cannot be given.

    You should always consult your vet before following any suggestions for medication or treatment you have read about. The wrong treatment could make your rabbit worse or mean your vet is unable to give the correct treatment because of drug interactions. Even non prescription drugs can do harm if given inappropriately.

    We are very grateful to members who take time to answer other members questions, but please do be clear in your replies that you are sharing personal experience and not giving instructions on what must be done.

    Urgent Medical Advice: If you need, or think you might need, urgent medical advice you should contact a vet. If it is out of working hours phone your vet's normal number and there should be an answer phone message with instructions on what to do.

Releasing Wildies Back to the Wild

nickybunny1

Mama Doe
A rescue place about 50 miles from me has just taken in 5 baby wildie. She says she hopes to release them back into the wild. I thought once hand reared they could not go back?? Think they r about 1 week old as eyes have just opened.
 
Opinions vary and you are likely to get some opposing views both on here and elsewhere.

The opinions are based often on how acclimatised to humans the animals become - and many people insist on strict regime of only handling when wearing gloves, no talking to them, keeping them away from all other human sounds etc etc

However my concern is that once released, unless a wildie can be part of a warren group they will not get a burrow space or be protected by the social heirarchy etc of a warren.

Wildies cannot just 'join up with' an existing warren group - it doesnt work like that. They have very strict hierarchies and very complex relationships of dominance etc in the group (hence why domestics can be so tricky to bond - they retain some of this).

So releasing a wildie into the wild is like releasing a domestic into the wild. It cannot join a social grouping and therefore has no shelter to be in, or support system or protection.

The only exception is if you have a large enough group that you are releasing all together into an area that has the possibility that they can create a warren themselves, but even then they need to be able to immediately construct shelter overnight before the fox gets them. Unless you have a fox and predator free 'soft release' zone with ready and empty burrow systems.

This is different for hares, who are solitary and do not have the same social groupings.

I have searched many times for any evidence of survival percentages for wildies that are released after being hand reared and cannot find any (I would love it if someone pointed me to some). The studies done on hares either bred or caught and released elsewhere (to repopulate areas) gives disastrous results.


PS Their eyes open at 9-10 days usually.

PS we have three hand reared wildies (all came in separately) and I would say none of them would survive in the wild.
 
Thanks Parsnip bun. I am in agreement with everything u have said. She has shown a video clip of them sitting on her knee which made me think humans were supposed to keep contact to a minimum . Not unless it was just after a feed. I too am worried about their release for the reasons u have mentioned . I will maybe message her to ask about the soft release area too. Thank for a very helpful reply. Oh I was guessing about age thanks for accurate aging of the babies.
 
I would be very concerned about any release if they are becoming that humanised. I would also be careful about her answer re a 'soft release' area - people often throw the term around and just mean - I will start them in a field I know of near me - or somewhere I saw some other rabbits - etc etc.

A real soft release is a semi controlled area of say 2-5 acres with fencing that has some predator control (ie fenced and electrics) but has space for them to establish their own territory and warren group. Typically there will be sub divisions so that they can be released in a smaller space first to get used to not having access to food provided by humans etc, and staying out overnight, and then into the main area once used to it and then eventually through careful gating to the outside world - though with buns this is tricky of they have established a warren.. This sort of soft release is used for hares by some people.

TBH unless she has a lot of experience wildie buns only just opening their eyes are difficult to get through to 4 months anyway. So it may not be an issue sadly. They need concentrated puppy powder milk (we use Esbilac as it is much favoured by wildlife centres and is high in fat and low in sugars etc - some powders smell sweet). We make it up double strength - though not everyone does - but we follow recommendations of fat content from Twycross. Also we add a biotic formula to help their guts establish. This is pretty essential. A rescue centre should hopefully know all that.
 
I completely agree with Parsnipbun and can only second to what she said about them not being able to join a warren, which they must do in order to survive.

Once you have a baby wildie it cannot released. My vet recently hand reared a baby wildie somebody brought into the surgery and she had to keep him as well.
 
I contacted her and she that there is a warren she knows of that she has released buns into before ?? She is trying her best and we have hardly anyone in Northern Ireland who helps wildlife so I don't feel I can question her too much on things. I guess I can just hope for the best :( is that terribe of me? I know she is very good with helping lots of local wildlife and I kniw for sure I will be in contact with her in the future to help with an injured wild animal. It's good to know she is there as the uspca were terrible with 2 wild birds I brought to them.
 
Back
Top