Feeding a leveret (hare)

[acceberbex]

I posted on here a few weeks ago about a hare. He is doing well, now over 500g, alert etc. I'm giving him grass daily (he is kept in a puppycrate in a spare room because we have other pets) so I'm having to pick lots from the garden and change it for fresh stuff. He's also having carrot tops, nibbling on the odd bit of cabbage. But he is still having milk twice a day (roughly 20mls in morning and a little more at night).

When does a hare need to be weaned? And how best to do it? Is it best to cut down the frequency or the amount? My original thought (and please correct me if needed) was to reduce his morning milk by a few mls per day so hopefully he is a little hungry to encourage him to eat his grass/greens more (he does usually eat most of what I give and then wees on it). And perhaps for the first few days either increase or keep his evening feed the same - get him down to 1 milk feed and then reduce that amount.

Or is it a bit soon if he is still keen on taking his milk? Do I perhaps wait until he shows less interest and cut down from there? He will be released to a wildlife place (they say they have an area fenced off for wild releases) so he wont be "domestic" and will have to get his own food anyway.

*According to online weight guides, he would have been about 30 days (370g) when I got him but he dropped down to 320g in 2 days - that was probbaly about 3 weeks ago now.

 

[acceberbex]

*Oh and he doesn't lap food. He is still syringe fed

 

[acceberbex]

Is there a way to keep picked grass fresh for longer than a day? I no longer have easy access to grass so am having to go out and pick some daily. Is there a good way of storing picked grass that is safe to eat for a couple of days? (e.g keeping roots intact, storing in a bit of water, fridge?)

 

[Jack's-Jane]

Is there a way to keep picked grass fresh for longer than a day? I no longer have easy access to grass so am having to go out and pick some daily. Is there a good way of storing picked grass that is safe to eat for a couple of days? (e.g keeping roots intact, storing in a bit of water, fridge?)

I would PM 'parsnipbun', she has experience in both hand rearing a Leveret and also in all matters relating to Horticulture

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/member.php?7603-parsnipbun

 

[Kermit]

I agree with Jane, parsnipbun knows her stuff

I think I remember reading your posts before and you were saying that the wee one was going to a rescue that releases, surely this will not be possible now if you have had the wee one for a few weeks? Now that he has pulled through and is a bit older he will need much more space. What are your plans for him?

 

[acceberbex]

Parsnipbun was very helpful last time.
Plans for him - the rescue place will take him once he is weaned but since he still guzzles his evening milk (cut out morning) they wont take him. Hoping he will take more grass and less milk in the next week or so and get him released.

 

[tulsi]

This link may be useful. Well done so far, it must be amazing.

http://cottontails-rescue.org.uk/mo...-the-successful-hand-rearing-of-a-brown-hare/

I have seen Bambi. Really gorgeous.

 

[Jbun]

When I was having to feed bundles of fresh grass every day to a new rabbit that wouldn't eat anything else, I would cut enough for a couple of days, and I would wash it off and store in a plastic bag in the fridge. You basically treat it like any other green leafy food that would be stored in the fridge.