How to Care for a Newborn Bunny

Caring for a newborn rabbit can be extremely challenging as many hand reared rabbits do not survive according to CottonTails Rescue. For this reason it is important that baby rabbits are not separated from their mother unless they have been abandoned or the mother dies. Whether they are wild or domesticated, mother rabbits do not pay much attention to their litters. This is how rabbits behave in the wild to avoid attracting unwanted attention to the babies. Mother rabbits will also only feed their babies once a day, usually during the night. If you are concerned that your mother rabbit is not caring for her young, check the babies at 5 a.m. If they have been fed their stomachs will be round in shape. Abandoned baby rabbits will need to be hand fed until they are 31 days old.

Things You'll Need

  • Shoebox
  • Towel
  • Hay
  • Syringe
  • Milk formula
  • Probiotic
  • Cotton bud
  • Tissue
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Instructions

    • 1

      Place the newborn rabbits in a small box with a lid, such as a shoebox. Line the box with the nest that the mother rabbit made for her babies. If the mother rabbit was very young she may not have prepared by making a nest and in this case line the box with a towel covered with hay to keep the babies comfortable and insulated. Place the shoebox in a warm place with a room temperature of between 68 and 72 degrees. Keep the box up off the floor to avoid drafts. Place the lid on top of the box, leaving a small gap to allow air to circulate inside the box.

    • 2

      Purchase a supply of dried milk formula that is suitable for kittens as this will also be suitable for baby rabbits. Visit your local veterinarian and request some syringes that hold one milliliter of fluid and a supply of probiotic fluid, which you must mix with the milk as this contains friendly bacteria. Ask the veterinarian for advice on the amount of probiotic to add to the milk formula. Follow the directions on the formula packaging for making the specific brand of milk. Add the specified amount of probiotic and serve the mixture at a luke warm temperature.

    • 3

      Fill the syringe with the milk. Hold the baby rabbit in one hand and hold the syringe in the other. Sit on a sofa or on the floor to do this as the baby rabbit may attempt to jump around during the feeding and could be injured if you drop him. Insert the very end of the syringe into the rabbit's mouth and press down slightly to squeeze a single drop at a time from the syringe. Continue to feed the rabbit very slowly by giving him a few drops at a time to prevent him from inhaling the fluid into his lungs as this can be fatal. Although mother rabbits only feed their babies once a day you need to feed the baby every three to four hours throughout the day as kitten formula is less nutritious than the mother rabbit's milk. Newborn baby rabbits should eat two milliliters of milk and this will increase slowly as they grow. Provide the milk in a shallow dish for the rabbits to lap up from two weeks of age.

    • 4

      Stimulate the rabbit to urinate after meals by rubbing a damp cotton bud over her genitals. Clean the rabbit with a tissue after urinating to ensure that no blockages have formed as this could prevent the baby from passing waste.