See the updates at the bottom of this post.

June 15, 2005
The strawberry harvest is over and it is time to rejuvinate the strawberry bed. Mow, till, weed… in that order. Mowing happened the day before yesterday. A push mower set on the highest setting was used over the entire bed. It rained yesterday so the tilling had to wait till today. The first thing this morning I tilled under the entire bed except the three rows I was keeping. I’ve started more strawberrys and wanted to cut this bed by about half. I ended up keeping 60% of what was there. Anyway after the tilling it was time to weed the three strips that were kept. I got about half way down one side of the first strip when I came upon what first looked like a pile of straw with a little bit of fur sticking out of it. I thought perhaps something had died there and went to pull the weed nearby when the pile moved. Needless to say I was on the other side of the strawberry bed in a fraction of a second. After finding something to poke the pile with I gently moved some of the straw back to see that there was a rather large pile of fur. A mouse nest I thought…wait those are awfully large mice.

The dark area is the nest. When this was a strawberry patch it was very well hidden. Note the tilled area right next to the large weed.

Rabbits! 5 in all. They are less than 10 days old as from what I’ve read their eyes open at about the 10th day. How they were able to survive my big feet during harvest, the mower and then the tiller is nothing short of amazing. The tiller passed within about 2″ of the nest and the mower must have been just as close.

My poor garden isn’t large enough to support 7 rabbits (assuming there are two parents) and the nest couldn’t stay where it was so…

Goat’s milk and eyedropper in hand I am going to try to raise these kiddos till they are big enough to release into our local park. From what I have read it looks like I have about 5-6 weeks of feedings. This ought to be interesting.

Update: June 16
The feedings are going better today. They still aren’t eating as much or as well as I think they should but they are improving. We are up to 1 dropperful (about 1 1/4 cc) of goat’s milk every 4-5 hours. Yesterday only two ate willingly and not until the last feeding of the day. Today 4 are eating willingly once you get them to sit still long enough to eat. Only two have had stools and that was today. None have urinated yet. It appears they probably hadn’t eaten in some time, perhaps since the mowing. If they had been getting milk they should have had to urinate by now.

The book “The Complete Care of Orphaned or Abandoned Baby Animals” by C.E. Spaulding, D.V.M. and Jackie Spaulding says that they should be getting 12 feedings a day while other sources I’ve seen on the net have feedings every 6 hours. Since a feeding generally takes me about 45min-1hr minutes total, they would be almost constantly eating at intervals of 2 hours.

From what I have read they are less than 10-12 days old as that is when their eyes should open.

About 2 hours after I removed the bunnies from the strawberry patch I saw a rather large black cat with it’s nose in the nest. Lots of hazards for barely being a week old.

Update: June 18
Well we had a scare this morning. I looked in the box and there were 4…not 5 but 4. I picked up the box (it had been sitting in my soil bin on the back porch. that way if they got out they couldn’t go far and could burrow into the potting soil). One did and I found it huddled under the box as I lifted it. I don’t know how long it had been there but it (not sure how to tell them apart at this point as they all look the same to me) was not as warm as it should be. I fed that one first and had to really work at getting one dropper full down. I held him close for some time to get him warm and even then he had no desire for food. By the evening feeding I couldnt’ tell which one had gotton out.

All are up to 1 to 2 dropperfulls (abt 1-2 cc’s) at each feeding and at least one is urinating on its own, all are passing stools on their own though I still help them out. What I have found works best with the feedings is to feed the first dropperful to each one then go back through the line and feed the second. The hardest part is keeping them awake to eat. I have to do a little prodding to wake them up enough to eat. They start out like livewires but about half way through the first dropper are out like a light.

There is definately a runt. He has lagged behind his siblings as much as the bigger one has progressed. The largest’s eyes are just starting to open. That would make them about 10 days old today and about 7 days when I found them. I caught that same one grooming a sibling while I was feeding another.

I’ll try to get some more pictures in the coming days and post them. I am really pleased with how well they are doing. Each day they are eating a little better and are a little more active.

Update: June 19
Sadly we lost the smallest rabbit today. Problems were evident this morning when he refused to eat. He was very lethargic and it was all I could do to get him to take a half of a dropper full. By the next feeding it was obvious he wasn’t going to make it. I don’t know what happened between yesterday and today, perhaps the stress was just too much on him.

The other 4 are still doing well. Two now have their eyes almost all the way open. I tried offering them some cereal in the milk as per the book above but neither of them wanted anything to do with it. I’ll offer it again in a few days at a lower concentration and see if they take to it then. Below is a picture of one of the two whose eyes are trying to open.

Update: June 22
All eyes are open and have been since the 20th. I’ve started adding 1/2 tsp of baby rice ceral per ice cube of goats milk. I bought the goat’s milk at the health food store and after saving a little back for the next couple of days I froze the rest in ice cube trays. These went into a freezer bag. At feeding time I pop out 2 cubes and nuke for about 30 seconds. The cereal is added and mixed in.

We are up to two cubes now and the feedings are down to one in the morning and one in the evening. From what I have read the mother rabbit is rarely with the babies and at this point would only feed them twice a day. They take between 4 and 5 ml per feeding 1-2 ml at a time. What has worked is to feed one 1-2 ml depending on how awake he is, set him aside and work on a sibling. After he has had his 1-2ml I go back to the first one to finish. I started giving them some clover and dandelion greens yesterday as per the book and a couple of internet sources. I’ve seen at least two of them eat both.

Bath Time

After meals they can be seen grooming themselves and each other. They are very clean little guys and started bathing as soon as their eyes opened.

Update: June 25
I swear I can leave the room, come back and they have grown. I am giving them clover and greens several times a day, trying to keep them fresh. Two seem to be eating more then the other two who are eating more milk. One is grayer and definately larger. This morning I put them in the yard during their feeding and all really liked the clover blossoms. I haven’t seen any drinking from their water dish yet but they thend to sleep most of the day so perhaps they are drinking at night.

I have put out feelers for possible release sites and have had great response. It should only be a couple of more weeks before they are ready to go. I do hope they make it. From what I have read and heard from others, it is not uncommon for the little guys to make it to weaning and then die suddenly. I have been wearing gloves almost since day one so as not to expose them to any bacteria on my hands. That bacteria, from what I have read, can be a reason for the sudden death. It seems there is a critical time where, if they are exposed to certain bacteria, they get some kind of infection in their gut that is often fatal.

Update: June 29
I went out to feed the little ones this morning and one had died. I noticed yesterday that one of them had really started losing its appetite. I had hoped it was because he had been eating more greens. He did look a bit smaller than the others but I told myself it was just because he was a little behind. I do hope it isn’t something that the others can get from him. I buried him and cleaned out the tank. Keeping my fingers crossed that it is not too late.

Update: July 1
Now there are two. No we didn’t lose another one to mystery death. This one decided he wanted to live in our yard period. No discussion.

Since they were getting more active, the tank they had been in was suddenly too small. So…yesterday I took an old metal dog kennel and covered it with hardware cloth. The kind with the 1/2″ mesh, also called rat-wire. I left the bottom uncovered so they could eat the grass and weeds that poked through. They especially seem to like the clover and violets that fill our (unsprayed) lawn. I was in the process of moving the kennel to another spot as they had eaten all the ‘good stuff’ where it was. I am still perfecting the moving process by the way. The holes in the bottom are too large to pick the whole thing up, rabbits and all so they have to be removed at each move. Not the best process but it worked…till now. I had all three in the middle of our rather large lawn during the move and thought I would grab a few pics before putting them back inside at the new spot. The first two went in without a hitch but the last (and largest) bolted for the shed before I could get to him. He beat me there and went right under it into a hole many rabbits before him have used. He was pretty large and was eating well so he will probably be fine. I’ll check on him at feeding time and see if he comes out for some milk. If not, we have a new yard guest.

All three are/were eating eagerly both via the eyedropper and the greens, apple etc. Feedings now take about 2-3 minutes per rabbit and afterward they munch on fresh greens from the yard. Their fur is filling out and changing color. Their head is getting a little longer as are their ears. They are also playing a more during the day instead of sleeping all the time.

Update: July 3
I’ve been keeping an eye out for the escapee but as of yet have not seen him. There is no shortage of places for a little rabbit to hide around here its no surprise I haven’t.

Some Rabbit Facts:

Eastern Cottontail Rabbit
Sylvilagus floridanus

Peak Breeding: April-May
Gestation: 29-30 days
Litter Size: 2-9, average 5
Young Leave Parents: 3-4 weeks
# Litters per Year: 2-5
Life Expectancy: Generally less than a year, some live to 4 or 5 years

Another little rabbit died today. One minute the two were playing and munching on some greens and when I checked on them about an hour later one had died. The mortality rate for young rabbits is about 80% accoring to some estimates. If this were not the case, a single pair of rabbits could, in theory, have 350,000 offspring in 5 years. Assuming 2 rabbits per square acre ( a low estimate), in 5 years that would be 8 rabbits per square foot. Nature seems cruel at times, especially when it is so easy to get attached to the little ones but in reality it is a necessary cruelty.

Update: July 4 aka Independence Day
By my estimates this last little guy is about 26-27 days old which falls within the 3-4 week range. He is eating well, steadily growing and was down to 1 5ml feeding of milk per day. What better day for him to gain his freedom than July 4!

I filled him up with one last shot of milk, piled some straw at the edge of some brush and placed him on the ground. He nibbled a bit at the greenery then was off. Bye little rabbit. Have an awesome life.