Help found baby rabbit in Balbriggan

jennon

people help got a young rabbit in my home found him in the wild hand rared him but he's not settling he's about 4 months old is it ok to set him free now

lrushe

jennon wrote: »

people help got a young rabbit in my home found him in the wild hand rared him but he's not settling he's about 4 months old is it ok to set him free now

No, no, no if you've hand reared him he has no concept of how to survive in the wild, he doesn't know about the dangers out there, he has no family support to help look out for him and no home to shelter the elements. Try a wild life sanctuary or petting zoo to see if they can rehome the rabbit. Once a wild animal is hand reared it will spend its life in limbo, its doesn't know how to survive in the wild and it doesn't know how to be a pet, I'm sure you had the rabbits best interests at heart but in the future I would call a wildlife rescue to take any baby animal found, they have the know how to raised it as a wild animal so that it can then be released back into the wild.

Chiaki

do not under any circumstances release it!! bunny will either be eaten or run over in hours! plus he has no warren or family unit! wildlife sanctuary is your best bet, some people have kept wild rabbits in large back gardens and feed them but know that the time for handling has passed and not to put a pet rabbit in with it! best thing is a sanctuary where he can play with other rabbits as they are quite social little things

convert

jennon wrote: »

people help got a young rabbit in my home found him in the wild hand rared him but he's not settling he's about 4 months old is it ok to set him free now

If you didn't think you could look after him or that you would get fedup of him, you shouldn't have taken him from his natural habitat in the first place. It was extremely irresponsible.However, the fact that you did means that he cannot now be released into the wild again as he will not know how to fend for himself. You are now responsible for his wellbeing and maintenance.

At this stage, your best bet is to bring him to a wildlife sanctuary where hopefully they'll be able to provide him with as natural a habitat as possible and where he'll have some playmates.

Paul91

convert wrote: »

If you didn't think you could look after him or that you would get fedup of him, you shouldn't have taken him from his natural habitat in the first place. It was extremely irresponsible.However, the fact that you did means that he cannot now be released into the wild again as he will not know how to fend for himself. You are now responsible for his wellbeing and maintenance.

At this stage, your best bet is to bring him to a wildlife sanctuary where hopefully they'll be able to provide him with as natural a habitat as possible and where he'll have some playmates.

hold on - it sounds like she tried to rescue him to me, which i think is a good thing, no trying to return him, which i think is a good thing, and asking for advice, which is also a good thing

OP as others have said, try to get on to a wildlife sanctuary - or maybe the ISPCA?

Sigma Force

A wildlife sanctuary should be able to help, I don't see why he couldn't survive in the wild using a soft release. Ok wild rabbits don't live as long but at the end of the day he's a wild rabbit. Rabbits are born with survival instincts, even pet rabbits that have been escaped have bred with wild rabbits.

Might be a good idea to have him vaccinated against VHD and Myxomatosis first before he heads to a wildlife rescue that way he may have a stronger chance of making it in the wild. He would need a soft release though.

Paul91

Paul91 wrote: »

hold on - it sounds like she tried to rescue him to me, which i think is a good thing, no trying to return him, which i think is a good thing, and asking for advice, which is also a good thing

OP as others have said, try to get on to a wildlife sanctuary - or maybe the ISPCA?

I'm sorry, it reads as if she just plucked the poor bunny from the wild. Now she is fed up with it and wants to send it back?

Sure why don't we all go rescuing those poor animals that are loose in fields and hedges, and why not rescue those poor fish trapped in the sea?

Paul91

Deleted User wrote: »

I'm sorry, it reads as if she just plucked the poor bunny from the wild. Now she is fed up with it and wants to send it back?

Sure why don't we all go rescuing those poor animals that are loose in fields and hedges, and why not rescue those poor fish trapped in the sea?

didn't come across that way to me, i read it that she found it - thought it was abandoned and needed help - maybe OP can clarify

ThunderCat

Deleted User wrote: »

I'm sorry, it reads as if she just plucked the poor bunny from the wild. Now she is fed up with it and wants to send it back?

Sure why don't we all go rescuing those poor animals that are loose in fields and hedges, and why not rescue those poor fish trapped in the sea?

Well the fact that she was able to pick the rabbit up herself means it would have been a sitting duck for any number of predators. She most certainly did the right thing. A wild rabbit that can fend for itself would not have allowed itself to be caught by a human. This one obviously needed help. Well done OP. Would you not like to look after it yourself??

mylittlepony

In my experience wild baby rabbit will play dead if a human or animal got too close to it. And it hope that ye wont pick it up, nah always the oppoiste.
Our dogs would find find them, they play dead, dog pick them up to show to dad.
He take it off them only to realise that its still alive.
Our dogs have bought home two of them, one was strong enough was set free few hours later.
The 2nd was very young and didnt make it after two days.
They bring home hedgehogs too. duh
In future, Best not to pick them up and just leave them to mother nature.

ThunderCat

ThunderCat wrote: »

Well the fact that she was able to pick the rabbit up herself means it would have been a sitting duck for any number of predators. She most certainly did the right thing. A wild rabbit that can fend for itself would not have allowed itself to be caught by a human. This one obviously needed help. Well done OP. Would you not like to look after it yourself??

I would have to disagree here. I've have noticed that a rabbit will either bolt or freeze when you get close to them and the younger ones tend to freeze rather than bolt.

As a rule, I generally won't shoot young rabbits unless explicitly asked by the landowners but I have noticed they don't react when people approach them. They make very easy targets for people.

And as a rule, I will always leave nature to take care of its own - unless I see a crippled animal in pain or very ill where I will put it out of its misery. I will not however, start randomly adopting animals that I come across.

convert

ThunderCat wrote: »

Well the fact that she was able to pick the rabbit up herself means it would have been a sitting duck for any number of predators. She most certainly did the right thing. A wild rabbit that can fend for itself would not have allowed itself to be caught by a human. This one obviously needed help.

Young rabbits don't always run away when approached by a predator, be it human, dog, fox, cat, etc. There are lots of young rabbits which live in my garden and I see them on a daily basis on the lawn. They are never accompanied by an adult rabbit and I have literally walked right up to them and they stay stock still in the hope that I'll think they're dead and not touch them. It doesn't mean that they're sick or in need of help - it's their way of avoiding attracting the attention of predators.

Even though I am in a position to capture the young rabbits, I choose to leave them in their natural habitat instead, and allow nature to take its course. You'd be surprised how many of these vulnerable 'sitting duck' baby rabbits make it to adulthood without human interference.

Sigma Force

True, nature usually does better in general if left alone.
However the op has the rabbit now so nothing can be done about that bit so helpful suggestions are what the op needs now.