It’s baby rabbit season!
After decades at this game, our advice about rabbits is this:
UNLESS AN INJURY IS CLEARLY VISIBLE, LEAVE IT BE. Mom WILL be back.
DO NOT FEED BABY RABBITS. They require a highly specialized diet, giving them anything else will harm them. Feeding rabbits is complex; food can easily enter their lungs, killing them.
After she gives birth, the mother covers the babies in dried grass and lots of her own gray brown fur. The “nest” looks like a simple, shallow depression on the ground lined with grass clippings and mom’s fur. She quietly returns between dusk and dawn to nurse. She leaves them alone most of the time because the mother rabbit’s size and odor can attract predators.
After 3-5 weeks, the baby rabbits leave the nest and start to explore. When they are about 2/3 the length of a dollar bill, they are old enough to be independent of their mother.
PETS AND BUNNIES
If you have a dog and/or other outdoor pets that found a nest and will not leave it alone, roll a lawn mower over the nest so that it covers the rabbits during the day. This will prevent the dog from interfering with the rabbits’ development. From dusk to dawn, uncover the nest so that the mother can return to feed the babies.
When in doubt, you can always call to get our expert advice (267-416-9453).
Click here for more information about Eastern Cottontails.
Baby Eastern cottontail
Baby Eastern cottontail
