How to Foster an Infant Rabbit

Rearing an infant rabbit requires special care if the animal is to grow up happy and healthy. Improper feeding often results in death. If a rabbit is orphaned, consider introducing it into another litter of young rabbits with a mother rabbit that will care for it. If hand-rearing the infant rabbit is the only choice, use precautions when handling and feeding the animal.

Things You'll Need

  • Kitten milk formula
  • High-sided box
  • Towels
  • Wood shavings
  • Hay
  • Heat lamp (optional)
  • 1-milliliter syringe
  • Shallow dish
  • Non-scented baby wipe
  • Rabbit food
  • Water bottle
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Instructions

    • 1

      Set up a box that has high sides so that the rabbit cannot get out but allows fresh air and sunlight to come in. Line the box with clean towels and wood shavings, with hay on top. If you can't place the box in an area where the temperature is consistently between 68 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit, use a heat lamp to keep the infant rabbit warm. Do not overheat the rabbit.

    • 2

      Prepare the kitten milk formula according to the instructions. Make enough formula to feed the rabbit for a day, storing it in the refrigerator between feedings. Heat the milk before each feeding so that it is warm but not hot. Test the formula's temperature by dabbing it on your wrist.

    • 3

      Feed the rabbit with the syringe three to four times a day, cleaning the syringe thoroughly before each feeding. Hold the rabbit in one hand and place the end of the syringe in its mouth with the other hand. The rabbit may wiggle, so take care not to let it fall. It is difficult to control the amount of formula entering the rabbit's mouth through the syringe. Avoid getting milk into the rabbit's lungs, one of the most common causes of death among hand-reared infant rabbits. Once the rabbit is 3 weeks old, offer it formula in a shallow dish instead of using the syringe. A 1-day-old rabbit should eat about 2 milliliters of milk a day in three or four feedings. Feed the rabbit about 12 milliliters at 5 days old, about 15 milliliters at 10 days old, about 22 milliliters at 15 days old, about 27 milliliters at 20 days old and about 30 milliliters at 25 days old. Once the rabbit reaches 30 days, the age at which the mother would wean the baby, its milk intake declines. The rabbit should eat about 20 milliliters a day at 30 days old but 2 milliliters or less at 35 days old.

    • 4

      Clean off the area around the infant rabbit's mouth after each feeding. Milk left around the mouth can cause an infection or sore.

    • 5

      Help the infant urinate if it is 6 days old or younger by wetting your finger with warm water and softly patting its genital area. Clean off any droppings with an unscented baby wipe.

    • 6

      Introduce a water bottle designed for rodents and nutritious rabbit food when the rabbit is about 3 weeks old. Hand-reared rabbits often to not react well to changes in diet, so introduce the changes slowly, giving the animal a piece or two or rabbit food at a time and noting how it reacts.