Rob and Squirrel Need help just disturbed a rabbit den in the yard !

[Rob]

Hello everybody , I was out in the yard with the weed eater and I brushed over a rabbit den and the babies ran out , the den was near the road in front of the house and I spent an hour or so rounding up the babies , and one of them ran across the road in traffic ! but I was waving the rake around and the cars slowed down and he made it across . I went on the other side of the road and found him and also found 2 others and I have them in a 5 gallon bucket near where the den was , when I was picking one of them up ( and I was wearing gloves ) he started screaming and the momma came out from the magnolia tree wich is where the only other baby ran so I think she might have found that one , but the momma just stood there a few feet away and and watched me put him in the bucket , so she knows they are there , she went back into the hedge . I just thought I would see if anybody could tell me what's best to do right now . I have not been around any little fuzzy's since Squirrel passed away in December and a whole wave of emotions came at me at once just holding the babies , and I have to admit I thought should I try to keep them or one of them around , and then I thought maybe that might not be such a good idea right now . I wanted to know if I put them in the hedge where the momma was last seen , will she find them ? there's one that has a small white spot on his head and he is the smallest and does not seem as fast or as strong as the others and I don't want him to get attacked by the cats around here . please let me know what would be good to do , it's almost 5 pm and it will be getting dark before long , Thanks , Rob and Squirrel

[stepnstone]

They are better off with mom, can you pack them back into their den?
If that won't work I would try to get them as close to mom as you can
and try to make sure she see's them. Maybe contain them in a makeshift
nest.
Rabbits are not easy to raise, they will break your heart...

[farrelli]

I would call Nancy at 2ndhandranch, who is a member here, and even puts her cell number on her FB page for people with questions, "Call me on my cell 309.738.7480". She runs a rehab facility and helps a lot of rabbits.

[Rob]

They are better off with mom, can you pack them back into their den?
If that won't work I would try to get them as close to mom as you can
and try to make sure she see's them. Maybe contain them in a makeshift
nest.
Rabbits are not easy to raise, they will break your heart...

Hey Stepnstone , I have a small cage of Squirrel's in the attic and I thought about putting them in there and set it near the hedge where momma was and leave the door open do you think that would work ?

[Rob]

the den is only 6 feet from the road , so I'm worried about traffic out there and it's the worst time of day for traffic

[CritterMom]

Rob, if you can replace them where they were - just remake the little hollow and pile grass up to approximate the nest, then pile the grass over the top after you put the babies back in. You can then get two pieces of string, or use a couple long pieces of grass and make an "X" over the top of everything. This will tell you if mama has returned without getting close to the nest.

Mama rabbits normally feed in the morning and then leave the nest until evening, so her not returning NOW is not reason for concern.

[Rob]

the momma came out and ran around me when I was holding the baby and he was crying , so she is around . she sat there while I put him in the bucket and I spoke to her and said " momma come and get these babies I messed the nest up " and she just sat there and looked at me and then turned and went into the hedge

[Rob]

I am also going to have to cut the dang grass , and I don't want to kill any babies , it can wait till tomorrow but I'll have to get it soon , I'm in the city limits so I can't let it get too tall

[Rob]

I have the small travel cage of Squirrel's down , should I put some grass in it and get them in there and put it near the hedge ?

[stepnstone]

Hey Stepnstone , I have a small cage of Squirrel's in the attic and I thought about putting them in there and set it near the hedge where momma was and leave the door open do you think that would work ?

Worth a shot, I'd try it.

[Rob]

I wish this had not hapend , I was just going to get ready to cut the grass and now this !

[Rob]

Worth a shot, I'd try it.

I think I'll try it and if the baby makes any noise when I move them maybe she'll hear them and come get them

[Rob]

They are out there with the door of the small cage open and right up against the hedge where the mom was , so I'll keep an eye out for cats and see if they go . I didn't want to try and make them cry out for mom , but I hoped they would make some noise but they just let me set them in and did not make any noise . the small one acts like he is tired , I hope they will be ok

[CritterMom]

Rob, I know it is near the road, but you want the babies as close as possible to where they were...

Can you carefully rake through the grass with a hand rake before mowing? There may very well be more and as bad as this is, at least you didn't hit them with a mower. THAT will break your heart.

[Rob]

I called Nancy at 2ndhandranch and she said if there eyes were open and they ran that they were ready to leave the den soon anyway and that they would find mom if I put them out near the hedge like I did , so I hope they go and find her this evening .

[Rob]

Rob, I know it is near the road, but you want the babies as close as possible to where they were...

Can you carefully rake through the grass with a hand rake before mowing? There may very well be more and as bad as this is, at least you didn't hit them with a mower. THAT will break your heart.

Yes I'm going to rake around before I mow , and Nancy said that she has never seen more than 4 babies at a time , and I rounded up 3 of them and the fourth one went under the tree nearby so she said that was probably all of them . I looked them over while I was moving them into the small cage and did not see any blood or anything wrong from the weed eater , so yeah I'm glad I went out there before mowing

[Rob]

GOOD NEWS ! , I just went out to see what was going on , and all three babies had gone into the hedge where mom was , even the small one :) , so I'll check the grass with the rake tomorrow before I get on the mower and maybe everything will be ok:thumbsup

[CritterMom]

:thumbsup:grin3:alright.gif:alright.gif:alright.gi f

[stepnstone]

I called Nancy at 2ndhandranch and she said if there eyes were open and they ran that they were ready to leave the den soon anyway and that they would find mom if I put them out near the hedge like I did , so I hope they go and find her this evening .

I totally agree with Nancy...
They will be alright Rob, you did good! :thumbsup

[sdreamcatcher]

Squirrel would be proud; you helped 4 little souls get back to their mommy today :Love_Icon:Love_Icon:Love_Icon:Love_Icon:Love_Icon :Love_Icon

[Kageri]

Just for future info, rabbits can't move their offspring. They need returned to a nest with enough warmth and protection, mainly mother rabbit fur and some have used dryer lint to replace it, plus the ability to get out of it unassisted when ready. They are very very hard to hand raise partially because rabbit milk is very hard to replicate as they grow and wean, those that adjust to handfeeding often die when solids are introduced, so it's better to try putting them back. It only takes about 2 weeks before they are mobile and can return themselves to the nest area and survive without mom's fur. After that point if they have to be removed from the area they are much easier to feed because they can eat formula soaked items like pellets, oatmeal, or bread and avoid the difficulties of hand feeding.