Questions to pet rabbit owners

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Not sure it is the same for pet rabbits as it is with what I assume to be 'wild' rabbits, but I have some questions.

We have had a rabbit frequent our fenced-in back yard off and on for a while now. Today, she spent the entire day in the yard, and you could see her white belly hanging pretty low. I've been tracking her all day long, and I think she had one baby nearly right in front of me (I was hidden away and looking out from a house window)! I am seeing a squirmy little thing right underneath her. I left for a moment and then returned, and the 'baby' is missing, so I assumed hidden away somewhere in our vegetation. HOWEVER, the next thing I see is this 'bunny' - close to a third of the size of mama be-bopping about. Is that even possible???? It's not, right??

The 'bunny' disappears, and the mama goes back into the yard to eat vegetation and bird food on the ground. It is getting dark, and I am having trouble following her - but she finally appeared to go back to a place in our fence - nowhere near where she purportedly gave birth - and left the yard, a place we have suspected that she comes and goes from.

How many babies do rabbits have normally? Wouldn't a baby rabbit be like a newborn kitten and not be able to move around that much? If there is a baby, would the mama leave it to go to another yard for the night? I am totally confused.

Could this be an older baby who just happened to follow mama in the yard and left without me knowing it? While there has been another rabbit in the yard with this 'mama', this 'bunny' I saw was much smaller and I have not seen it before. I also could not see mama's belly hanging afterward.

Sorry for so many questions. Looked up stuff on the internet and it doesn't much coincide with what I saw today.

 

[Willowy]

Yes, newborn rabbits are hairless and helpless like baby mice. She digs a hole somewhere and lines it with her fur, and only visits the nest once or twice a day to nurse and clean them, then stays away so as not to draw predators to the nest.

But, bunnies do continue nursing for a while after they leave the nest so maybe that's what you saw. They take a break from nibbling clover to go get a drink from mom and then bounce off to do their bunny thing again.

However. . .jackrabbit babies are precocious, meaning they can run/jump around soon after birth, like guinea pigs (jackrabbits are actually hares so that's why they're different). So maybe? Look at some pics of jackrabbits and see if that's what you saw.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Look at some pics of jackrabbits and see if that's what you saw.

Thanks! I will look, but aren't jackrabbits bigger than 'traditional' rabbits? This 'mama' is what I would consider 'standard' rabbit size. But that 'baby' sure wasn't what I would have expected!! Will be looking up jackrabbits now...

 

[FeebysOwner]

OK, after looking up jackrabbits, the rabbit in our yard is a standard 'cotton tail' rabbit. We have not been on the side of the house where I saw this 'activity' today, due a recent Achilles tendon injury of mine that has left me a bit immobile for a while now.

But, since we have seen this 'mama' rabbit going into this same area for a while now, I think she had a 'baby' previously 'stashed' over there, and I just happened to see her with the 'baby' today. As I understand it, 'standard' rabbits only have a gestation period of about 30 days or so. That being the case, this 'baby' I saw was probably born that long ago. Just all a wild guess on my part!!

Will continue to follow and see what happens next!!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Update to anyone who cares - Ms. Rabbit spent the entire day again in our back yard. She ate some vegetation, along with some apparent 'yummies' that had fallen from our bird/squirrel feeders, took a nap under some azaleas, came back out to eat again, only to go back and rest among the azaleas (she sounds like Feeby - eat, sleep, eat, sleep).

It rained today, so she was MIA for a while. At dusk, with a soft rain going on, she re-appeared to cross the yard (with much more patience than I have) and headed to our side yard where I last saw her with a small bunny. If it weren't for her white underbelly and white tail, I could not have tracked her. Her baby also has a white underbelly - making it visible as well.

Now, here is where it gets weird again. I saw her nursing the baby, but NOT in the thick canopy of bromeliads that I suspect the baby is hidden, but out in the open on some pavers just a small bit away from those bromeliads. WHY WOULD THE BABY COME OUT TO HER???

Nonetheless, true to what I have read, the rabbit nursed the baby for just about two minutes and POOF the baby 'disappears' and Ms. Rabbit is on her merry (slow) way to the back of the fence where she always goes at night.

 

[Kat0121]

Kieka is an experienced bunny mom. Tagging her in.

 

[Kieka]

Rabbits tend to have what we'd consider a latch key approach to babies. Moms typically hide their babies in nests and circle back for just a short period of time to nurse with long periods away. Rabbit milk is pretty nutrient dense and baby bunnies only need to nurse for a few minutes a day to be fully fed. It is possible that mom has a baby who is fairly mobile and late weaning while just giving birth to another litter. She might be keeping two seperate nests and the older bunny is taking advantage of mom being near s. Cottontails wean 3-4 weeks old and will stay near their nests until 6 weeks. A late weaning bunny might still zip up to mom for a little milk much like a late weaning kitten.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Thanks Kieka - that is the pattern I am seeing. Good way of describing it - latch key! Mama may hang in our back yard a lot, but it seems she heads toward the nest in our side yard at dusk. Although the first day I thought she had delivered that was later afternoon. The one I saw yesterday that she fed was pretty small - still have yet to again see the other one that I said was about 1/3 her size.

Can you tell me if it is more common for 'wild' rabbits to only have one baby at a time? Based on the two I have seen, it would seem to be this mama's case.

 

[Kieka]

Litter sizes are usually 5-6 babies but about half will die in the first month. It could be that you are seeing multiple babies but they look similar so it looks like one.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I don't think she is coming tonight.

Last evening around dusk, after Ms. Rabbit hung around in our back yard (for the past 3 days), I did manage to follow her and saw she fed two babies. She goes just outside of their nest and apparently calls to them - and out they came be-bopping to her to nurse. When she is done, she hops away and the babies try to follow her, but I am guessing then they 'disappear' back into the nest. These two babies I saw here maybe 1/4 of her size but are reasonably mobile.

Last night was different in that she hopped away but stayed nearby. The next thing I know she is racing back and forth from their nest area to a location closer to the front of our house (still all fenced in), which I never seen her go to. By that time, it was so dark I could not follow what she did, and of course never saw her leave the yard way back at the end of the property and fence line.

Any conjecture of what this might mean? With her not coming back today, does that mean she has 'moved on'?

I will check for the babies - from afar - where I believe I last saw them, midday, when I know she hasn't been out and about in that area.

 

[FeebysOwner]

HELP!!! I don't think Mama ever showed up last night. I just now went out my side door to the garage and looked at the area where I think the nest is at. I saw one bunny sitting near the wall of the house but not under cover of the bromeliads. It didn't move when it heard noises from me. I thought it might run back under the protection of the bromeliads, but it didn't.

Has it been abandoned???? Do mamas just leave their babies behind when they are weaned? What can I do? Do I wait another day to see if mama comes back, or try to feed it something now? If I would feed it, what would I feed it and how close should I put food to where it is at?

Just for sake of size, here is a pic of a rabbit and a baby - this is as close as I could find to show their relative sizes. The mama - comparatively speaking - is probably just a bit bigger than this depiction.

I am guessing from what I have read, that I should not interfere and just let things be???

 

[Willowy]

Bunnies do their own thing. They're pretty independent. If it doesn't have a white spot on its head then it's able to be on its own. Has anything started sprouting in your yard? If so there should be plenty of food for a bunny.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Bunnies do their own thing. They're pretty independent. If it doesn't have a white spot on its head then it's able to be on its own. Has anything started sprouting in your yard? If so there should be plenty of food for a bunny.

Thanks. What's with the white spot - as in making it a target? Nonetheless/regardless, I do not have a vantage point that would enable me to see that. I decided that I really am better off not trying to do anything. I think this bunny is big enough that me interfering is not to its benefit. I just hated to see it sitting relatively exposed just outside its nest for hours on end today - as if it was waiting on mama - the human interpretation, of course! We'll stay away from that area for a while longer...

 

[Kieka]

If it's moving around on its own, it can survive on its own. If your yard has any vegetation the baby will have food. My buns eat just about anything in my yard they can fit in their mouths (leaves, grass, bark, etc). If you are worried the best option is a bag of alfafa hay from a pet store. It's high in protein and fats so good for the babies without messing up their system or getting them hooked on commercial food.

 

[FeebysOwner]

If it's moving around on its own, it can survive on its own.

It has essentially stayed in the same spot all day, short of moving a bit more toward the bromeliad cover where its nest is/was. I just checked and it is still pretty much in the same spot - eyes open and ears up but crouched low. But, again, instinct would probably tell it not to move until it gets darker outside. A few weeds, dead leaves, and bark are all it has in that area to eat, unless it will chew on bromeliad leaves. I know there was another bunny but have no idea where it is.

 

[Willowy]

Cottontails have a white spot on their head when they're babies and it fades as they get older. Maybe it helps the mama see them in the nest? Idk. I just know that if it's gone that means they're old enough to be on their own.

Bunnies are eaten by absolutely everybody in the wild, so they're very cautious. Pretty normal for it to stay in one place under cover during the day.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Alfalfa hay on the way! Do I need to provide some water too?

 

[Tobermory]

Following along, FeebysOwner , and now I'm a nervous wreck!

We had five baby buns under the front steps in Colorado. It was an extremely safe, protected place, but we also had foxes and coyotes...and eagles and hawks. Bunnies have to be prolific.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Following along, FeebysOwner , and now I'm a nervous wreck! We had five baby buns under the front steps in Colorado. It was an extremely safe, protected place, but we also had foxes and coyotes...and eagles and hawks. Bunnies have to be prolific.

I am a nervous wreck too! Put out some alfalfa hay and some water too. Could not see the bunny, so maybe it has moved on?. Or it went into the nest bromeliads, but I couldn't see it. To get to 'food' otherwise, the bunny has to go into a more open space. We have mostly hawks in this area that readily pick off the slower moving mourning doves.

 

[FeebysOwner]

While I didn't see the bunny anywhere when I put out some alfalfa hay, there was some of it gone this morning. I will check later to see if I can see the bunny in or close to the nest.

Mama - after having taken a couple of days off - showed up in my back yard this morning foraging for her usual stuff. She didn't stay long though. I kind of wished she had just moved on, as I am still feeling compelled to check for her and the bunny(ies).

EDIT: Mama is once again back and hanging out under the azaleas, where she was before she went MIA.