CREATURE FEATURE

Last month, I nearly stepped on a teeny gray...THING in our back yard. I thought it was a rat or a mole because it had no eyes or hair! But, it was a really tiny baby bunny, no bigger than a tablespoon! Mom said it was bad that it was outside the nest, because if the mother was feeding it, it would not leave. Mom said it was very important that we not get involved unless we knew FOR SURE that these babies were abandoned. So, we closely watched over the next 24 hours. Sadly, no Momma Rabbit came. So, Mom said we better take them in, or else they would starve to death.  When we went to get them, one had unfortunately already died. We made sure to take their own nesting grasses with us when we took them in the house.  We made a tiny grave for the one that died. 

Even though it is summer, these were baby hares with NO HAIR so their bodies had started to feel cold! For this, we used a heating pad set on “low” and put rags on top of that. Then, we put their nesting grasses on top of that so they could burrow into it. You have to be REALLY careful with the heating pad. It can get too hot, and there is live electrical in the wire.  But, we were careful and baby bunnies seemed really happy to be warm again.  They were SO CUTE all curled up in each other! It was, like, all paws and heads! 

Most important, bunnies have to eat, eat, EAT!  Our vet said bunnies can eat about anything kittens can – except tuna!  Or, they can eat this: (1 part each): raw egg, corn syrup or honey, and Vitamin D milk in a syringe.  We also found out LOTS of things about baby bunnies on the Internet from breeders. They have to be fed about every 2-3 hours, so we had to get up in the middle of the night to feed them. My sister and I shared that. I HATED it when my alarm went off at 2:00 a.m, but just thinking of those hungry, orphaned bunnies got me out of bed. The hardest part was getting them to actually EAT.  Guess they think humans aren’t so great a substitute for Mom, and they scared the heck out of me by trying to go on a hunger strike the first day. One died and I was really sad. Now, there were only two left. It was all so hard to learn. We have never been rabbit moms before! 

Mom suggested we go to the pet store to find better things. We got a baby bottle with teensy rubber nipple, plus kitten formula with extra vitamins. Since one had died, I was thinking: “If this works, I will never argue with Mom about taking my vitamins again!” Well, it WORKED!  Once the babies could suck the milk mix at their own pace, they really did well!  You have to be careful not to let milk get in their noses, which are only, like .0007 millimeters from their mouths! Sometimes I messed up, and they blew little milk bubbles back at me & made funny noises. It was SO CUTE!  

We want to keep these babies! But, as always, the rental units seem to think they know best. Somebody told Dad that wild rabbits don’t make good pets because they are always “wild in their heads” or something. So, we will have to let them go some day. But, we have a plan. We will take a cage out in the yard, and leave the door open. That way, they won't have to leave too soon. How sad to think of that day, but also it’s exciting to think about letting them be free! Oh, and by the way, the vet was totally amazed ANY of them survived. He said most babies die if they are orphaned so young, and that we had done a GREAT JOB!