Need help for orphaned bunny

[Rache]

Hi, my daughters rabbit died yesterday and has left behind a baby bunny. The bunny has its eyes open and ears are up. I saw it feeding from her though just 2 days ago. Any advice on how to care for this little one would be greatly appreciated. I have some Di - vetelact formula here?? Thanks so much!!

 

[LilacGal]

How old is it?

 

[Dood]

Plain oatmeal is a good first food as well as alfalfa / Lucerne hay. Since it is summer in Australia right now, you can offer fresh grass and edible weeds ( I am unfamiliar with the ones you have so some research on an Australian site is needed)

If the baby is 3 weeks or older it shouldn't need milk but give it a bowl of water rather than a bottle, in case it hasnt figured out how to use one.

If the rabbit is younger than 3 weeks you could try one of the milk repacements recommended on this site.

 

[akane]

Get any milk or formula besides cow products. Cow products have fats and proteins that are hard for other animals with simpler digestive tracts to digest. Goat milk or goat kid milk replacer is digested well. Some use kitten milk replacer but while it's better than cow milk I prefer to try to stick with herbivorous milk or milk formulas. Soak the pellets in it until you get a firm mash, make it body temperature(warming up the liquid before mixing makes the pellets dissolve easier), and serve it on a lid or low dish. You may have to push a little in the rabbit's mouth at first. My 10-14 day olds have gotten the hang of eating that mixture and survived with no losses. Even older kits will have a better chance and won't need it warmed up as much. Very young bunnies are turned off by cold food. It's a challenge to keep it warm enough when you get orphans at the age they need handfeeding with straight milk. They'll stop sucking if it cools even a tiny bit below their ideal temp. Rabbits have a slightly higher body temp than we do so anything you feed young kits should be at least your temp, like checking a baby bottle on your wrist, but not hot enough to burn. You do have to clean them frequently especially the younger they are because once they get the idea they'll plow right in to the food and coat their face and chest.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I'm so sorry your daughter lost her rabbit.

Miss M has had good luck supplementing young kits. Here is a link to her thread on handfeeding baby buns:

formula-feeding-baby-bunnies-pics-vids-t3691.html

I hope your little orphan does well. :clover: