Is it not the cutest thing you have ever seen? The sad thing is, for the past few weeks, I have seen many of these baby bunnies, and none have been alive. Or whole. With the high concentration of dogs, coyotes, hawks and snakes, one lone baby bunny doesn't have much of a chance!
So what would you do? I know what I did. I grabbed the nearest tub, filled it up with hay, and took it home! I called up my friend Sandy, who is the bunny expert (she has them, and her kids show them in 4-H) She told me some valuable stuff! First, they only nurse once a day. Sweet, no getting up every 4 hours. She also said to keep it warm. Heating pad, check. And, nurse it with kitten replacement milk. Check. Seriously, I actually have kitten and puppy replacement milk and bottles in my horse trailer. Don't ask why. It's a long story.
I was sitting on the couch last night, when Chad walked in. You never know what to expect from your partner when you do something out of the ordinary. For example, bringing a wild animal home, and have it sleeping on your lap when they get there!
I was very proud. Chad actually sat down and held it. The bunny crawled up the sleeve of his flight suit, and fell asleep immediately!
So, after making Chad and I breakfast this morning, we set about trying to bottle feed the bunny. I didn't have high hopes that it would work. Turns out, it went to town! There is nothing cuter than having a baby bunny in the palm of your hand, sucking on a dropper full of milk! (I will have a picture of that soon, so stick around!)
So he/she will stay with us a few weeks until he/she is big enough to run away from all of the predators at the farm.
Does anyone know how to tell if a bunny is a boy or a girl?
Oh my gosh- my heart is totally melting!! That is SOOOOOOOO sweet!
ReplyDeleteAWWW how cute! That is so precious! Way to save the bunnies Jamie :)
ReplyDeleteadorable! the only baby rabbits we've seen over the past year were in our backyard...and echo saw them, too. :( the baby bunny is so cute - an unbelievably small!
ReplyDeleteBest way to tell if it is a boy or girl - take it to the vet and have them tell you! :) Pretty darn sweet, how could one not want to hold it and love on it! Now, just don't name it or you'll never release it back to the wild!
ReplyDelete"Does anyone know how to tell if a bunny is a boy or a girl?"
ReplyDeleteSit in a comfortable chair and hold the bunny in your lap for a few minutes. When bunny is calm, gently cradle him/her with belly up and head, chest and back curled against your abdomen, and hind feet facing away from you. Be sure to firmly support the back, and don't allow the bunny to kick. A rabbit's hind legs and back muscles are so powerful and his skeleton so light (rabbits are built for quick getaway!) that one kick in a bad position can actually result in a spinal fracture!
The prepuce is the fuzzy protuberance between the hind legs. Gently press down on the anterior part of it (the side facing you), and the pink tissue inside will emerge. In a young female, the tissue will appear somewhat conical, with a slit running from the tip, backwards towards the tail. In an older female, the tissue may be more "fleshy", but the slit is still generally from tip towards the back.
If the rabbit is a young male, the pink tissue will appear more like a cylinder with a small hole in the center. If he's starting to mature, the tip of the penis may protrude. A neutered male's penis will usually not be large enough to protrude, though this is not always the case. A mature, unneutered male will have large, obvious testicles on either side of the prepuce. They are usually pinkish with rather obvious veins, but may be grey. They are somewhat "sausage shaped" and start just in front of the prepuce and curve backwards towards the tail. If the bunny is frightened, he may retract the testicles, making them hard to see.
Duh.
Pretty easy, like Dave said...bottom line: check for a penis. But, here's one of my favorite "go to" links for this question: http://www.debmark.com/rabbits/sexing.htm.
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