Help I found a stray rabbit!

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Kelly8963

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Hi everyone! Last night I saw a brown and white rabbit in my yard. It is way too cold outside iving in upstate New York. I found a live trap and I caught him last night. I emptied out our labradors kennel and set it up in the garage. I have never owned a rabbit and I'm pretty clueless. I put down a blanket in one half then the other half I put down straw with some hay and pellets then hung up its water and covered the cage with a blanket. People down the road released him in July. I'm shocked he's made it this long seeing that we live in the country!
I believe he is a mini rex from the research I've done and male because he has no fat roll under his neck lol. I'll insert a picture. Is there anything I should do differently and can anyone confirm his breed? It looks like he has a scratch by his eye. I haven't really looked at it because I want him to settle in. He seems pretty tame for living in the wild seeing that I can pet and hand feed him baby carrots:) <br /><br /> __________ Mon Nov 28, 2016 2:06 pm __________ <br /><br /> I don't think it is letting me post a picture. I will try when I get home
 
You seem to be doing well with it so far. A few things - not all males lack a dewlap, and not all females have one (in the smaller breeds, both males and females often lack dewlaps, while the larger breeds, both genders can have dewlaps). Especially when the rabbit has not had a chance to get fat, you can't really tell the gender by dewlap. At this age, though, if it was a male it should have its testicles descended.
If you post a picture I can tell you the breed. Most likely, it is a mixed breed. Mini rex have very short guard hairs and a soft coat. I'd put some water out for him in a dish, instead of just a bottle - with some rabbits it can take some time to adjust to the bottle. If you are having trouble uploading a picture, you can upload it to imgur.com and post the link here. Be careful that he doesn't eat the blanket - you should look into a real cage as soon as possible.
 
Thank you I had no idea that some may or may not have a dewlap! Ive been keeping an eye on him/her and the blanket has not been chewed and was drinking out of the water bottle while I was out there so thats a plus! Here is the link with a few pictures :) http://kelly8963.imgur.com
 
Can you tell if he/she is underweight or overweight by the pictures? Today I've given him 2 carrots, 1/2 cup of pellets and unlimited Timothy hay. I'm trying to figure out if I should feed more or less or if I am okay with what I'm feeding.
 
He looks a bit underweight, but can't really tell from pictures. Carrots don't really have any nutritional advantage to rabbits, by the way.
1/2 cup is a good amount of pellets for trying to slowly put weight on a mini rex, but you have to make sure that you have good pellets. Most of the pellets you find in pet stores are not complete diets. You want something at least 15% protein, with no bits and pieces mixed in - you want the pellets to all look the same (rabbits can pick out what they like otherwise and unbalance their diet). Many feed stores sell good pellet brands, but they only sell them in big bags. Ask some local breeders what the good brands of feed are around you, as it varies by location. If you think he is starting to get too skinny or fat, you should change the diet accordingly. How much rabbits need to eat varies, even with the same rabbit.
 
Thank you for taking this little guy in, I have no doubt that he would soon become dinner for a predator :(

He sounds very tame and may be a much beloved pet who managed to escape his yard :( please notify your local shelter that you found him and maybe put up "found" posters and/or an ad in the classifieds just in case his people are searching for him
 
Dood":2t5arn49 said:
Thank you for taking this little guy in, I have no doubt that he would soon become dinner for a predator :(

He sounds very tame and may be a much beloved pet who managed to escape his yard :( please notify your local shelter that you found him and maybe put up "found" posters and/or an ad in the classifieds just in case his people are searching for him
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Yeah he is very tame he jumped right up on my lap today eating some celery from me. This woman 5 or 6 houses down did not spay or neuter her rabbits and she ended up with more than she would like. She ended up releasing three others but I have only caught this one. Its crazy how heartless people can be!
 
Yeah he is very tame he jumped right up on my lap today eating some celery from me. This woman 5 or 6 houses down did not spay or neuter her rabbits and she ended up with more than she would like. She ended up releasing three others but I have only caught this one. Its crazy how heartless people can be!
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I've never understood the idea of letting a domestic animal outside to fend in its own as being a merciful thing..sigh.... I'm glad you've got him back being cared for and glad he made it this long. He's quite the little cutie. Enjoy him!
 

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