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HELP - Baby rabbit found

dbowes

Warren Scout
I was cycling in the country side and a baby bun ran out in front of me. He went to some long grass at the side of the road and hid. Pretty sure he wasnt a wildy as he is fawn/ginger. I did wonder if he is some kind of wildyX but I was stuck with no phone signal and had to make a judgement. He wasnt running from me, just hiding and frightened. I left him with an old lady and cycled back 10 miles for my car. I hope i have done the right thing but it's done now

He's currently in a shoe box with some hay and water. He's just buried himself within the hay. He is tiny though, can fit in my palm. No idea what to do. I have a house rabbit but not used to one so young. Will he be old enough for normal rabbit food??

I'll worry about rehoming etc tomorrow. Right now I just want him to be ok. Haven't seen any poos and it's been 2 hours since i found him!
 
I was cycling in the country side and a baby bun ran out in front of me. He went to some long grass at the side of the road and hid. Pretty sure he wasnt a wildy as he is fawn/ginger. I did wonder if he is some kind of wildyX but I was stuck with no phone signal and had to make a judgement. He wasnt running from me, just hiding and frightened. I left him with an old lady and cycled back 10 miles for my car. I hope i have done the right thing but it's done now

He's currently in a shoe box with some hay and water. He's just buried himself within the hay. He is tiny though, can fit in my palm. No idea what to do. I have a house rabbit but not used to one so young. Will he be old enough for normal rabbit food??

I'll worry about rehoming etc tomorrow. Right now I just want him to be ok. Haven't seen any poos and it's been 2 hours since i found him!


Is there something here that might help?


http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?327923-Accidental-Litters-and-Taking-on-Babies

http://www.rabbit.org/care/babies.html


If you think he's a wildie:

http://www.sttiggywinkles.org.uk
 
Phone has died, waiting for it to charge.

I mean he just hid, didnt try to run anywhere. Would a wild rabbit not head back to it's warren?
 
Based on the pic would you say he could be a wild rabbit? I've never seen a wild one that colour so assumed he was a pet or offspring from an escaped pet

Not sure what my next move should be now. Really stressed. I'm at a wedding tomorrow, need to decide what to do
 
Phone has died, waiting for it to charge.

I mean he just hid, didnt try to run anywhere. Would a wild rabbit not head back to it's warren?


Wild rabbits don't run when they are sick.
If not a wildie then he could've been very frightened. I wonder if there was a mother somewhere close by?

How is he now?

Can you get him to a vet?
 
Wild rabbits don't run when they are sick.
If not a wildie then he could've been very frightened. I wonder if there was a mother somewhere close by?

How is he now?

Can you get him to a vet?

So does that mean he is either sick or not a wildie? He's turned around his head isnt buried in corner of the box anymore but pretty motionless. His breathing looks normal though. Ive placed a rabbit headpad underneath the box. One of those microwave ones

Not sure what vets would be open now
 
He doesn't look like a wildie to me at all. I never see wildies though (we don't have european wildies here) so I might not be the best judge of that.

If I were you, I'd be 100% sure of whether he's wildie or not before I released because if he's domestic he'll be killed by predators for sure. Even if he's wildie it's likely he's sick if he's not scared of humans so it's good you'll be taking him to the vets.

It's wonderful you rescued him :)
 
Yeah thats the thing, if i could catch him so easily then he would have no chance with a predator.

There is a rabbit sanctuary nearby, I have left them a voicemail.

Hopefully they will be in touch with advice.

Anyone any idea what i should feed him? He's not moving or touching the hay so doubt it will make much difference. Is he too young for adult pellets? I can break them up for him.

If i was to take him back I feel I should do it soon. Its half hour drive away. Would he be able to find his way back to his warren (assuming he has one) if i put him someplace nearby?
 
Yeah thats the thing, if i could catch him so easily then he would have no chance with a predator.

There is a rabbit sanctuary nearby, I have left them a voicemail.

Hopefully they will be in touch with advice.

Anyone any idea what i should feed him? He's not moving or touching the hay so doubt it will make much difference. Is he too young for adult pellets? I can break them up for him.

If i was to take him back I feel I should do it soon. Its half hour drive away. Would he be able to find his way back to his warren (assuming he has one) if i put him someplace nearby?


Have you looked at the links I posted for you?

Do they not give you any clues?
 
Have you looked at the links I posted for you?

Do they not give you any clues?

Sorry yes. I'm in a bit of a panic here. Any idea how old he might be? guess i need to know that before i move forward. I'll get some fresh grass as he will be used to that
 
Yeah thats the thing, if i could catch him so easily then he would have no chance with a predator.

There is a rabbit sanctuary nearby, I have left them a voicemail.

Hopefully they will be in touch with advice.

Anyone any idea what i should feed him? He's not moving or touching the hay so doubt it will make much difference. Is he too young for adult pellets? I can break them up for him.

If i was to take him back I feel I should do it soon. Its half hour drive away. Would he be able to find his way back to his warren (assuming he has one) if i put him someplace nearby?

I wouldn't make any quick decisions yet until it can be determined that he's a wildie and healthy and eating. As you said, he'd have no chance with a predator as he's currently acting. If he's wild then maybe a wildlife rehab center could take him.

Have you tried grass yet? If he's used to eating grass he might prefer it to hay.
 
Sorry yes. I'm in a bit of a panic here. Any idea how old he might be? guess i need to know that before i move forward. I'll get some fresh grass as he will be used to that


You don't know for sure he's been used to eating grass. He could've escaped, or have been dumped for all you know. Grass can give the squits if not used to it.

Take some time to read the articles. You're not going to be around tomorrow, so why not ring the emergency vet and explain anyway? Get some advice at least.

The other thing to do is to PM parsnipbun, who has experience of these sort of things and she's also great for advice.

Are you able to disclose whereabouts in the country you are?
 
I can't see it properly one phone but that doesn't look like a wild bunny to me, he's far too pale coloured. I'd guess about 6 weeks old although again I can't see it terribly clearly. Whenever I've had babies in with no food history I tend to put them on forage as it seems to be gentle on their tummies even if they aren't used to it, so a mixture of things like grass, dandelion, plantain, willow, hawthorn etc, and slowly increase the pellets if you have any.

Good luck, hope th sanctuary get in contact with you soon. Do you have anywhere he can be put while you're waiting?
 
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