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Emergency abanded bunnies found

Lord Trellis

Lord Trellis

Mama Doe
A friend of mine called me early this morning to say that he had found a box of baby bunnies dumped on his way to work and asked me if I wanted them... well I said yes I will take them in because its not good just to leave them. They are palm sized so they sound like they are very young.

I'm collecting them in a bit.

If they are only a few weeks old will they eat solid food or would I need to feed them something else? I can only get what is in a super market. If these bunnies are very young there going to need feeding right away and I don't have time to look online especially with the mail strikes so its got to be things I can find in a UK super market.

I will need help to keep these bunnies alive.
 
I think you can give them Kitten milk. There is a thread about this if you look through the Forum guidelines.
 
You won't find anything suitable in the supermarkets I'm afraid, Cimicat is the best milk substitute for rabbits (or was when I hand reared a found litter a few years ago). If you can't get this today you will need to hand them into a rescue/vets/wildlife sanctuary even so they can be fine properly. Hand rearing is very rarely successful sadly, I was very lucky to have 3/4 survive.
 
Oh gosh! Definitely call a rescue, as they might have something they could let you feed them, while they find some space for them. I wouldn't feel confident enough to care for them myself, I think I'd feel guilty for every bun that didn't make it, in case it was something I had done wrong...
 
Their needs will depend on their age. If you can post a photo on here we can give you an estimate of age. If they have their eyes open they will be 10+ days old

Full Fat Goats Milk + Colostrum Powder if they are 1-2 weeks of age.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/NOW-Foods-...=colostrum+powder&qid=1671443937&rdc=1&sr=8-5

For immediate feeds you’ll just have to use a 1ml syringe. Syringe feeds need to be done slowly and NEVER with the kit on his/her back.

What you will really need is a feeding kit like this and they will need to be fed every 2-3 hours day and night.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Newborn-Wi...cphy=9045925&hvtargid=pla-1256363322685&psc=1

If they are over 4 weeks of age they should be eating hay and pellets and drinking water. They won’t really need a milk substitute at this age as long as they are eating and drinking for themselves. Giving a milk substitute might actually do more harm than good.


I would try to contact an experienced organisation such as a Wildlife Hospital, they probably won’t take the kits in but they will offer advice.
 
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Call a local vet or reputable rescue, they will require someone very experienced. You could also be bringing RHD into your home, as they won’t be vaccinated and so strict quarantine will be required. Are all your rabbits vaccinated now?
 
They have there eyes open and can move about, they all like to stay huddled together. Two of them are fat and the other three are not as fat. I gave some pellets to one and it looked like the baby ate some although it was only like one pellet and they look like they can chew hay. 3 of them are a beautiful color and have stripes. I've never seen a rabbit with stripes before.

I have some goats milk and kitten milk but I could not find any syringes.

Any ideas what I could use as a syringe?
 
They look like this... age wise.

baby-rabbit-bricks.jpg


According to google they may be 3 to 4 weeks old. I'll get my camera and take some photos of them tomorrow.
 
Bunny Buddy said:
Might be an idea to put the goat's milk in a bowl then, if they want milk they will be capable of drinking from a bowl and won't need syringing.
Click to expand...

Yes, but use a low sided bowl or a dish not filled very deeply so they don’t put their nose down into deep milk and thus take a lot in via their nose.
 
I really hope they make it. I want to hang on to the two striped bunnies. The rest I will re-home once they are ready. I just need to keep them going for just a couple to a few weeks. Fingers crossed.
 
They are still alive. One ate some solid food but only a tiny amount and they are ignoring the goats milk I put in a small shallow pet bowl.

When I saw one eating solid food I got excited and started getting ahead of myself thinking these will make it but they are not drinking there milk and they just want to sleep. Maybe they will drink some later.
 
I've never been in this situation, but my strong inclination is that they need fluid to survive. If they were found early yesterday morning, they could have been dumpted the night before and that's a long time without any food or drink.

I would advise you to contact a vet or a rescue to get help for these kits.
 
Lord Trellis said:
They are still alive. One ate some solid food but only a tiny amount and they are ignoring the goats milk I put in a small shallow pet bowl.

When I saw one eating solid food I got excited and started getting ahead of myself thinking these will make it but they are not drinking there milk and they just want to sleep. Maybe they will drink some later.
Click to expand...

Are they passing faeces ?

If they have not really eaten anything since arrival and you are unable to administer feeds/fluids yourself their only chance of survival is to get them to a Vet, A Rescue or an experienced hand rearer. They cannot go for 24 hours with no intake. They are likely to need fluid therapy by now to replace not only fluids but electrolytes too.

If you have no experience with hand rearing Kits then this morning I strongly advise you to get them to people who have.
 
Agree with other comments. You don't know how long those babies had been abandoned for or when they were last fed. They are extremely fragile at that age and they've been been left outside in very cold weather, so they are already severely stressed. They need someone who has done this before and knows how to pull them round quickly. You can't just hope they will pick up on their own, and it's heartbreaking when you start to lose them. It's notoriously difficult to hand rear rabbits. I've reared abandoned cat kittens before. That was far from easy and they were at the vet most days. 3 of the 4 made it (just).
 
At that age the litter I hand reared (abandoned outside vet practice I worked in) were very active and passing lots of output. They were able to drink from a water bottle alongside their milk feeds I was giving since they had been syringe fed from a young age. They didn't get on with a shallow dish as I would find they put their faces in it wrong and I was very worried about aspiration. I also had vet back up which is what these need now by the sounds of it. They need fluids and supportive feeding only some one experienced/with the right equipment can provide now I'm afraid!
 
It's absolutely no reflection on your intentions - but you are now the only one who can make sure those babies get the appropriate specialist care needed to keep them alive, if it is possible. An adult rabbit that hasn't eaten or passed anything in 2 days would be in a bad way, never mind tiny babies that ought to still be with mum for another month.
 
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