Found baby rabbit, Balbriggan..HELP!!

PurplePrincess

Found this little one in my garden yesterday and it doesn't seem to want to leave. It was hiding under some sacks but I've had to bring it in to the house as the neighbourhood cats kept coming in to try and get at it. He's 6inches ong and 4 inches high

What should I do with it? What do they eat, need? I'm doing door to door around the estate to try and find the owners. I can't keep it as I'm getting a cat hopefully at the weekend.

Bubbly

PurplePrincess wrote: »

Found this little one in my garden yesterday and it doesn't seem to want to leave. It was hiding under some sacks but I've had to bring it in to the house as the neighbourhood cats kept coming in to try and get at it.

What should I do with it? What do they eat, need? I'm doing door to door around the estate to try and find the owners. I can't keep it as I'm getting a cat hopefully at the weekend.

WHATEVER about the cat for now, look after this little darling for a while. Do a door to door check, they eat lettuce and water
If you dont find the owners go to a good pet charity NOT those registered ones as the little thing will never get a home.
Honestly coming from a pet lover, u need to make sure if u can find the owners to look after him for a little while to make sure he's alright.
By the way if you find the owners tell them not to be so bloody dumb leaving it to wander off

Bainne2

First off , DONT FEED IT LETTUCE!!! I can't stress that enough. Lettuce isn't suitable for older rabbits as a its a diuretic (don't know if that's the right word - causes diarhehoa (sp) , has no nutritional value, basically water)

From the photo that bun looks old enough to be away from it's mother, in other words eat on its own, though I may be wrong. Do you have a cage/hutch to put it in? Are you willing to keep it till you find him/her a new home or are you asking for someone to help you, if so, can you travel?

Go down to the local petstore and buy some rabbit food, rabbit muesli is the best choice as although it doesn't help with selective feeding, it's most likely what the poor little mite was being fed on Don't worry about vegetables, they have to be introduced extremly slowly and should really be left till s/he is a bit older.

It definitely doesn't look wild to me :eek: , my guess its an escaped family pet so go knocking on doors and ask if anyones knows anything about it. But if you find the owner be sure to tell them to keep their bun safe next time. A bun could easily get kiled by a cat or fox, or die of starvation.:(

If you have any other questions ask. What ever you do don't release this baby back out, s/he would die very quickly.:eek:

hmmm...looking back at that photo s/he might be only six weeks or something...unless that daisy is huge

PurplePrincess

Thanks for the replies. Its about 6inches long and 4inches high. Its quite small, although I've never really had anything to do with rabbits so I'm not sure. It's very cute though. Theres 3 cats still staking out the garden as they can obviously still get the scent of it so I'm glad I was here as I would have hated to come home to a dead rabbit.

I've just put him in a box with shredded paper to lie on. It's chomping away on some lettuce (sorry) and a bit of shredded carrot. I cut a little door into the box but it doesn't seem to want to come out. It's too late now to go and buy special stuff for it.

I've knocked on a few doors but no takers so far. I have to work 15hour day tomorrow so will it be ok on its own??

I definitely won't be keeping it as tbh I wouldn't have a great fondness for anything other than a cat so if anyone wants it if I can't find the owners they can let me know. Fingers crossed I'll find its owners as I'd hate to think some child is without their pet. A couple of houses were empty this evening so I'll try them again tomorrow night or sat morning.

Bainne2

Make sure s/he can't escape from the box as you would be suprised how high bunnies can jump. My fully grown Abby can jump onto my chest of drawers, (about a metre off the grown) :eek:

You need to provide water, presuming that you don't have a water bottle, give a bowl of water about half full somewhere in a corner tha tit cna't be knocked over, preferably soemthing that isn't likely to be toppled over. If possible take the lettuce out, there is no need to be sorry, you didn't know but you'll be extra sorry tomorrow if you come down and the bun has died from dehydration because of the loss of fluids from diarehoe (I really have no idea how to spell that :pac: ) Do you have any muesli?/ rice crispies, weetabix? or even grass (though make sure it hasn't been sprayed with pesticide). A bun that young really shouldn't be introduced to veggies for another couple of weeks.

IMO i amn't sure they deserve him/her back if they let it escape, as far as being a childs pet. You hate to think of the child without its pet. I hate to think of the bun left in the cage 24/7 probally never getting any attention after the novelty has worn off, who will quite possibly end up spending the rest of its life in a space no bigger than two foot by one foot (way too small for a bun) and only seeing four walls. But I guess even if they don't get it back if it belongs to a little child mummy will probally just go out and buy another one....sorry pets being bought for children and then completly ignored are one of my pet hates :mad:

The bun will b fine for 15hrs, not good for it but its not going to die once it has water and some food Put to be on the safe side, perhaps put it into a room where if it escaped it isn't likely to cause any damage, bathroom perhaps...with toilet seat down obviously.

If you are desperate for someone to take him or her put up a request on petsireland or ask directly here. I could possibly take him/her if absolutly desperate however my resident bun has a pastuerella virus which although she is fighting suprisingly well could be extremly traumatic (ie...only a day or two till fatal) for another bun and especially one so young.

Susannahmia

Bubbly wrote: »

WHATEVER about the cat for now, look after this little darling for a while. Do a door to door check, they eat lettuce

:eek: No they don't lettuce is one of the worst things you could give it!!!! Get it some rabbit food as soon as you can, tescos usually stock it if you have no petshop nearby. Bainne2 listed a few good alternatives there.

PurplePrincess

Good point about the owners Bainne, I was just thinking about how I would have been as a child if our cat had ran away as she was our pride and joy and very well looked after (read spoilt!!). I've put an ad in the homes wanted section subject to owners not being found so we'll see how it turns out. I'll mind it anyway till I get something suitable for it as I wouldn't want to see anything bad happen to it.

Anyway, bunny is now having carrot and branflakes off a denby plate and water from 4 tealight holders. I was afraid to use a bowl in case he fell in. I put an old shirt in the box for it to lie on. He'll be in the kitchen tomorrow so there's not a huge amount of damage it could do. It can just walk out of the box but doesn't seem to want to. I haven't really gone that near in case it gets frightened. I'm just talking to it from the other end of the kitchen while I was cooking..(Neighbours will think I'm totally nuts as I live on my own)

Thanks a mill for the replies and advice

Sigma Force

It is very important that the bunny gets unlimited access to hay, if you can borrow a large cat carrier that can be used for the time being as a safe house for the bun as they need somewhere they can hide if they feel stressed or scared or just want to sleep. You can also pull fresh grass as long as there are no chemicals or pesticides on it, dandelions as a treat are fine too. As Bainne said no lettuce esp no iceberg lettuce. Introduce new veg a small amount at a time to avoid upset tum. Cauliflower, brocolli, pear, apple are all safe to give once well washed.

Shallow bowl is fine but a drip free water bottle would be better for now you could get a small one, wouldnt cost much.

Is it definetly a domestic rabbit?

Contact your local animal rescue in the mean time and see if they can take him/her as it will need to be vaccinated against VHD and Myxomatosis.

meathstevie

That lad is well able to look after itself for eating looking at the size of it. Just make sure it has access to fresh greens and veg and water ( cuttings from what you prepare for the table are perfect ). If you want it to stay with you outside a pen made of a couple of slats of wood and chickenwire will do the job and move it around regularly for grazing. If you put it in a pen outside make sure it's crow, magpie, cat and fox proof.

Sigma Force

Only just notices the photo, adorable! Not a wild one anyway, poor little thing. Burgess rabbit food is a good quality feed, but do contact your local rescue if you don't intend to keep him/her.

Bainne2

I'd have to disagree with meathstevie, a bun this young does not need constant access to veggies, in fact my two yr old bun doesn't need constant acces to veggies as she'd eat them continuously and end up with the squits.

It's great that you are willing to keep the bun till she/he finds a new home If you don't find yourself attached before then Perhaps you could bring it down to the local petshop and they might be willing to sex him/her for you if they can, though bear in mind that at that young an age it's extremly hard to tell so you couldn't take their answer for definite, and sometimes they get it wrong. It would help to know when rehoming

LegacyUser

Fair Play purplePrincess .. Denby or no Denby .. you are doing a great job. I don't think branflakes will hurt for a day or two. If you are Dublin-ish based, working shifts and cannot get access to a pet shop I can drop you over some Rabbit food. I have a bun myself.

PurplePrincess

Thanks for the offer Bubby, I'm finished work today at 2pm so I'll swing by a pet shop on the way home and get it some proper food and a proper carrier box. (it's sleeping in an A-wear bag filled with shredded paper). I feel a bit bad for it as it really is such a lovely cute little thing but I just haven't had the time the last 2 days as have been working all hours. I'm terrified I'll kill it by accident as I really haven't a clue about them

There's no sign of an owner unfortunately.

Sigma Force

Have you not contacted the DSPCA to see if they can take the bun?

You're doing fine in the mean time unlimited hay and water and bunny food with a bit of veg daily and you should be ok until you can get him/her a home.

There's is some info on bunny care on my guinea pig site below and a link to a bunny site with more info on general care.

Edited to add. Along with the photo you can put the bun up on the petsireland and irishanimals.ie homes needed sections on the sites only takes a few minutes.

PurplePrincess

Just to let everyone know RogerRabbit (as he became known) has been rehomed thanks to a very kind Boardsie who has taken him in.

I just want to say a huge thanks to you all for your input and advice, it was much appreciated. He is a gorgeous little bunny and I just wanted to do everything right for him.

I feel bad I couldn't find his owners but I did my best in the little time I had. I'm relieved he's gone to a good home with someone who knows their stuff and genuinely cares about animals.

Here's a pic I took before he went to his new home.

jhcabs

Glad to hear he's going to a good home. I was just signing in to write back to you, because i was interested in the little pup myself. Me and my Girlfriend have a young Lionhead drawf and we were just out looking for a companion yesterday. he's a lovely little thing, i'd say only 5-6weeks

well, fair play to you for taking him in and giving him a chance at a good life.

jhcabs

Glad to hear he's going to a good home. I was just signing in to write back to you, because i was interested in the little pup myself. Me and my Girlfriend have a young Lionhead drawf and we were just out looking for a companion yesterday. he's a lovely little thing, i'd say only 5-6weeks

well, fair play to you for taking him in and giving him a chance at a good life.

LegacyUser

PurplePrincess wrote: »

I feel bad I couldn't find his owners but I did my best in the little time I had.

Fair play purplePrincess, excellent job! And fair play to the boardsie that took the little fellow on.

I have a rabbit too - if she got out she would probably be lost too. Has anyone ever heard of micro-chipping a rabbit?

Sigma Force

That's great news.

You can microchip most animals people microchip bird so don't see why not a bunny. Although making sure their home is escape proof is easy. Now wether or not someone would think to bring a stray bun to be scanned is another thing but you never know.

Female rabbits must be spayed at 6 months of age as they have a very very high chance of contracting a reproductive cancer and this would mean a more serious operation and more risky than a spay.
Males should also be neutered by this age.

Not forgetting their vaccinations etc.