First off, you need to make sure the baby rabbits are actually abandoned. Keep in mind, rabbits leave their nests at a young age, when they are only about 5 inches or so they go out to explore their surroundings. If you stumble upon a baby rabbit without a mother, the mother often leaves the nest throughout the day and only visits to nurse them at night or when predators are not near by. If the babies are cold, dehydrated or look week the mother may not be doing her job and the bunnies could quite possibly be abandoned. Many people assume that if the bunnies have been touched the mothers will pick up on scents and leave the rabbits alone, however this is not the case. As well as with most other wild animals, they will most likely continue to care for their babies even if they had been touched by humans. If for example, your dog or lawn mower ruined the house of the baby rabbits and the nesting area is significantly changed the rabbit may no longer care for her young. This is what happened in my case, my dog peed on the rabbit’s nest. The bunnies scattered and their home was destroyed. I was unable to place the baby rabbits back into their nesting home.
If you find a baby cottontail bunny and it is not abandoned it is best to leave them alone. This is due to the fact that they are very hard to care for and easily become fatally overstressed this is because they are natural prey animals. Another reason to leave them in there natural habitat is because in some states it is illegal to wild animals as pets. It is best to find a rehabilitation in which they properly know how to take care of these animals, however if you are going to raise them yourself there are many things you need to know.
Cottontail bunnies video
