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What to Try First: The best thing to do, if you find a wild baby rabbit is to find the hole or burrow where it's nest is and put it back! Don't worry about your smell making the mother bunny reject it, she won't. If you are sure the mother is dead (your dog brought you her lifeless form, etc.), then you will need to either formula feed the baby or find a wildlife rehabilitator. If you can find a rehabilitator in your area, this would be better, as such a person will likely already have the hands on experience in feeding bunny babies. With something this tricky, experience helps! Here is a website that might help you find a wildlife rehabilitator in your area (you can also call your local humane society and/or veterinarian): http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contact.htm
What to Do When the Wild Mama is Dead: Whether you are taking the bunny to a rehabber or not, the first thing you must do (if you know the mother rabbit is dead and so you can't simply put it back) is to keep the baby warm. If you have a heating pad, try filling a small box or pet cab with a towel for warmth, then set the pad on low and place it under the box. Then put the baby inside on the warming towel. This will help the baby conserve body heat and therefore energy/calories. If you don't have a heating pad, try heating some water and placing it in a water tight bottle, such as a good quality sports bottle. Then put it in a box or basket and fill around it with an old towel, and put a light towel over the top of this. (You are essentially making a "hot water bottle".) Be sure to test the result by placing your hand on top, to be sure it isn't too hot. This should help until you can send someone to the store for the heating pad (or get the bunny to a more experienced person).
What to Do If You Must Formula Feed If you must feed the baby rabbit formula yourself, then you will need the information below. Please take the time to click on each high-lighted link and read the information before emailing us for more instructions. Do NOT try formula feeding without first reading these instructions.
What to Do Next Once you are formula feeding the babies you will still need to take care of their other needs. Of course you will still be keeping them warm, as instructed above. And you will need to check the old towel they are laying on and replace it with a fresh towel if it becomes damp or soiled. If your wild babies are doing well, then you may want to make up a nest box for them, filled with Carefresh litter. This can be easily discarded and replaced as it becomes damp. The heating pad, set on lowest setting, can go under this next box. When the babies become big enough to move around on their own and their eyes are opened, you can offer them a water bottle and rabbit chow pellets. By this point, you will want to be sure the next box is inside a cage so that the bunnies don't jump out and get injured or lost. Once again, the best choice at this point is to find a wildlife rehabber who can guide through what to do next. Our specialty is pet rabbits and we have no experience with releasing hand raised wild rabbits to the wild. Remember however, that hand raised bunnies will have lost some of the caution their wild cousins would have. And this will make them more vulnerable to predators and other hazards.
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