Nest of wild rabbits - what to do?

[hrabbot]

I'm expecting my first litter in a week or so, so I don't yet have any experience here...

A friend called me and told me he found a nest of wild rabbits in his yard. He knows I'm entering into rabbitsmanship and thought it would be cool to give them to me to raise. Worth it? I know the yield of these would be lower.

Posting from my phone, so cutting it short.

Thanks!

 

[MamaSheepdog]

No, it is not worth it, and very likely would be illegal. Most areas have laws against keeping wild animals in captivity without a permit.

Wild rabbits do not do well in captivity and will often kill themselves by bashing against the enclosure. When they are very young they may seem to be adapting okay, but as they get older their wild nature takes over and they go into "panic mode" very easily.

The wild rabbits may also be carrying disease and parasites that you don't want your own rabbits exposed to.

Good luck with your first litter! I hope everything goes smoothly. :clover:

 

[Dood]

:yeahthat: Plus, cottontails are not the same species as pet / domestic rabbits so even if they survived the stress of captivity they would not be able to breed with your domestic rabbits.

Ever since the first setters, people have tried to breed cottontails in captivity (more recently to train hounds) and they have not succeeded.

 

[arachyd]

If he found the nest he should put the rabbits back in it and stay away. The mother should go to them for feeding only about once a day. Other than that she will stay away and avoid the nest completely.

 

[GetYourGoat]

I had a wild hare about ten years ago...It was caught at a nursery and they were going to kill it so my parents took it off their hands. My sister and I spent a lot of time with it, calmly getting it used to us and within a few days it actually didn't mind being held (..sometimes, but the ten year old me was persistant). Something happened to it though, not sure if it was self inflicted, but I woke up one morning to see the hare had a gash on its side. It didn't last much longer after than :/ Definitely very very different to the placid mini lops I had at the time.

 

[hrabbot]

Thanks! Going to be leaving the little buggers alone.

 

[mystang89]

The wild rabbits may also be carrying disease and parasites that you don't want your own rabbits exposed to.Good luck with your first litter! I hope everything goes smoothly. :clover:

That would be my main concern.

 

[akane]

I know it's hard to avoid interfering with baby wild animals but you should not touch them. Most of the time they are perfectly fine such as cottontail kits who only see their mother once a day and start wandering out of the nest to forage at a very young age and birds who will glide to the ground from their nest and spend a week or 2 being fed on the ground by their parents before they can fully fly. They don't need help. Even when they do need help because a predator has come after them they will likely just die a slower death in your hands than in the wild. Better to keep your animals away from them if possible and/or just accept it is the circle of life. Not everything sees adulthood. It's also quite illegal and anything you do want to try rescuing should go to a wildlife rehabber asap.

 

[gardenbunny]

this is why i do not volunteer for cat rescues even though i'm a cat lover. any injured cat is helped at my house but those rescues are often 80% litters found with no mom!!!! the mom stays away on purpose! logic over emotion people,haha