A shallow hole in the ground. A covering made from loose grass and soft fur. And a handful of baby rabbits with closed eyes, wiggly noses, and fragile little bodies.

rabbits nest

Even when the discovery of a rabbit's nest comes every bit a bit of a shock, virtually people are much happier to discover baby bunnies on their holding than, say, baby opossums or raccoons. Still, humans who discover them are often left wondering how to proceed. Should they but leave the kits alone? Should they actively guard the nest until the mother returns? Should they assume that the babies are orphans and therefore need assistance?

The answer is a bit complicated, and so here's a step-past-pace guide:

(i) Check for any obvious signs of injury

This is specially important if information technology was your dog who first found and uncovered the babies, equally fifty-fifty the friendliest pooches can accidentally damage tiny animals when they get excited! Before you do annihilation else, take a quick peek at the little ones to brand certain that everyone'due south okay. Cherry flags include:

  • Bleeding wounds.
  • Twisted or gnarled limbs.
  • Frequent crying or whining, peculiarly when they're touched.

If nothing seems amiss and all of the kits look healthy and content, you lot tin proceed to Step 2. If someone is injured, or one of the babies is really dead, then skip directly to Pace iv.

(2) Gear up the nest.

The good news is that, even if you don't see the female parent rabbit around, the kits are probably not orphaned or abandoned. Mother rabbits tend to leave their babies unattended for long periods of time, simply returning a twice a mean solar day (at dawn and dusk) to feed, groom, and bank check upwards on them. You lot could have a nest of kits in your backyard for weeks and never in one case run into their mom!

So, unless you're sure that there'due south a problem, the best thing y'all can do is try to restore the nursery to the mode information technology was before someone disturbed it. Put the babies back (if they've been picked upwardly and handled) and try to detect the grass/fur drape that originally hid them. Either cover them with that, or—if it'southward been destroyed—just shred some dry grass and camouflage the babies as best every bit you can.

Don't hang effectually the whatsoever nest longer than you need to. While it'south not true that female parent rabbits will turn down their babies if humans or dogs leave their scent on them, you run the adventure of attracting undue attention to the area. And doing so may encourage animals (peculiarly predators) to come take a await, putting the kits in real danger. Just have care of concern and so walk away!

(iii) Brand a Mark

Y'all can, in good conscience, be "done" with the nest at this bespeak, and that'south an easy attitude to take if the nest was in the wood or some kind of public surface area. But if the nest was in your 1000 or garden, then you may take a called-for want to proceed to see to the kits' safety and well-being.

Don't endeavour to monitor the nest 24/7; this will almost certainly do more damage than practiced. What you can do is accept measures to verify that the mother is still checking on the nest as usual. Hither are two common tricks:

  • Take a few pieces of unflavored dental floss and very gently lay them over the nest in the shape of an "X" or a tic-tac-toe board / hashtag.
  • Sprinkle a minor circumvolve of unscented blistering soda on the grass around (not on!) the nest.

The following morning or evening, take a quick peek at the nest to see if the floss or baking soda has been disturbed. If it has, so you'll know that Mama Rabbit came by and everything is fine. If your marks are still pristine, though, then something might be wrong.

(4) If Worse Comes to Worst…

Unfortunately, Mother Nature can be a harsh mistress, so information technology's entirely possible that the kits are orphaned. And if the kits are even so so immature that they're dependent on their mother, then they probable won't survive without human intervention. Signs that it may exist time to take action include:

  • The floss or baking soda remains completely undisturbed for more than a day or two.
  • One or more kits is visibly injured (refer back to Step 1) or dead.
  • You find a dead adult rabbit relatively shut to the nest.
  • The babies announced weak, lethargic, or skinny.
  • Checking the babies right after sunrise reveals sunken-in, empty bellies. A kit that has only been fed will have a round, full abdomen.
  • A skin-pinch test suggests that the babies are dehydrated. Call back: if you gently compression the skin on the scruff of a kit's neck, the skin should "snap back" into place immediately. If it remains pinched or tented, then the kit isn't getting enough fluids.

Proceed in mind that just one of these bug solitary isn't plenty to warrant a "rescue;" in that location are many different reasons besides parental abandonment that baby bunnies sometimes fail to thrive. However, if the kits are obviously in distress and just getting worse, then being raised and rehabilitated by humans may really be their only hope.

If it'south admittedly necessary, gather upwards the kits and as much of the original nest as y'all can. Place them in a small box with a lid (and air holes), and bring them inside so that they can stay warm and safe. Give beginning aid to anyone who'southward haemorrhage.

(5) …Call in an Expert

Unless y'all're a trained professional or have a lot of experience in this department, do not endeavor to foster the kits yourself! Infant bunnies are notoriously difficult to hand-rear. Even expert care and supervision won't guarantee (or give them a very high probability) of survival. And don't even think about keeping them equally pets! They're wild animals who will never be fully content with living in captivity.

If you really want to give them a fighting take chances, and then call animal control or a licensed wildlife rehabilitation heart in your area. Explain the situation; they'll exist able to give you advice and, more than likely, take the bunnies off of your easily and then that they can be cared for properly. With hard work (and a bit of luck), the kits will exist able to render to the wild within a week or 2!

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No incertitude near it: baby rabbits are super cute, and the nests that their mothers build for them tin be fascinating to expect at. When you come beyond a bunny nursery, your first instinct may be to collaborate with the kits or even endeavor to "adopt" them. Simply please resist the urge to do this! As with well-nigh forms of wildlife, keeping your altitude is ordinarily the best matter you tin do for them.

…Unless, of form, they overstay their welcome. In that case, information technology'due south probably best for anybody if you take the little critters relocated!

Photo courtesy of Chepner on Flickr