Wild Bunny Help, Please

[skwerls_R_soft]

DH found this juvenile bunny in the yard just now. It appears to have 3 major wounds. The two on her side look as if the skin has been peeled off. The wound on her head looks like a puncture. She is too calm and probably in shock. I have her in a large plastic tub with a towel with a screen on top the tub in a quiet indoor spot right now.

I have a few years of Vet Tech experience and have handled pet rabbits, but know little about injured wild rabbits. I do know that they are fragile little things and can injure themselves trying to escape captivity. I would imagine that less stress is important.

I'd like to find a rehabber in the MD/DE area for her.Can someone assist me in finding one?
Meanwhile, can anyone recommend anything I should be doing for this bunny?

8126

[Gabe]

Clean with water, apply antibiotic ointment. Put the bunny in a dark, quiet area away from the scent and sounds of humans and pets. Pull a handful of greens from an untreated lawn and check the forum here that lists rehabbers by state.

[Gabe]

P.S. Assemble everything you will need and work efficiently and quickly. Should not be alot of talking or handling.

[skwerls_R_soft]

Gabe,
Thanks! I was in the process of picking thru my pet triage kit just a minute ago.
Will do.


The rehabbers on th eMD/DE list are all defunct. I have tried them all in the past. I do have an idea though....I think there may be someone new nearby and I need to run up to the Post Office to see if her ad is still there.

Will update in an hour or so.

[skwerls_R_soft]

Gabe, is Chlorhexiderm (Chlorhexidine...for dogs and cats...the blue stuff) safe to flush a bunny wound? Or should I stick with water??

[Gabe]

That would be fine, but dilute it. Maybe half and half. If you were to pull that bunnies skin, you could pull it all the way off, they don't have much attaching the skin to the muscle and tissues underneath. Whatever you wash him with, can go everywhere and the debris will go under his skin also. Don't use too much force. I've gotta go feed babies. Good luck with him.

[skwerls_R_soft]

Gently flushed the wounds and applied antibiotic creme. The wounds on the sides were large. There was a pocket of skin on one, but not really deep. Looks like the skin is gone on the two large wounds. Each is about 2" square. Poor thing!!! She is resting in the tub now. I'll check on her throughout the night.

If I cannot find a rehabber, what will I need to do tomorrow AM and through the day for her?

[skwerls_R_soft]

Well. poo! The lead I had on a local rehabber fell through. The folks moved out of state.

I will call the DNR tomorrow to see if they know of anyone nearby.

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

That is your best bet. If you can't find a rehabber, I am sure Gabe will be able to give you further instruction tomorrow (I am not too good with the injured guys). For tonight, I would keep in a quiet, warm, but not too warm, and dark room and try to disturb him as little as possible. They freak out soooooooooooooooo easy. Good luck with him. Even though the wounds look bad, I don't think it really is. Bunny skin can peel off easilly as an escape mechanism if they are attacked. They can get away and the predator just gets their skin. They have gotten babies in with all the fur on their back peeled off and some of them actually survived!

[Bravo]

Hope you can find someone... poor cottontail. :thumbsup

[skwerls_R_soft]

I am cautious about telling our local DNR too many details so I will play that by ear. I want to do what's best for bunny. Will see tomorrow AM how she is and keep y'all posted.

[skwerls_R_soft]

Went out to check on the bunny. Put a small dish of water in the box and a warm rice-buddy sock to snuggle up to. The weather here is mild tonight (60 degrees).

[Buddy'sMom]

Good luck with the bunny, Skwerls. I hope you have better luck than I did with DNR -- they gave me the number of a center on the Western Shore -- which had voicemail saying they were not accepting new animals and helpfully providing a number to call for help -- the DNR number! :shakehead

[Gabe]

I'm sorry you are having such a tough time finding a rehabber in your area. It is imperative that that bunny is started on antibiotics quickly. Are you able to get some antibiotics?

[skwerls_R_soft]

Good luck with the bunny, Skwerls. I hope you have better luck than I did with DNR -- they gave me the number of a center on the Western Shore -- which had voicemail saying they were not accepting new animals and helpfully providing a number to call for help -- the DNR number! :shakehead

I believe that is the same place I had been to when I found my very first squirrel years ago. They are up at the far end of Forest Drive if I remember correctly. Not a very friendly operation and very hard to contact. They were not taking any new animals at the time either.

[skwerls_R_soft]

Bunny seemed fine this morning. I didn't fool with her much beyond just looking in on her. Gabe is working with me on a course of action right now, so bunny and I are in good hands :)

[skwerls_R_soft]

Just got word from DH (I am at work , he is at home) that bunny is not doing well. She is lying on her side, alert, but not moving much. Any suggestions on any intervention at this point??
Still have not heard back from my vet.
We'll see how she does when I get home.

[susanw]

I wish I could help you, they are very hard to raise! Wishing you much luck!

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

I hope he is ok. I don't think there is much you can do, except get the antibiotics in him if you haven't already. The hard part with bunnies is that they stress so easilly and it can kill them very easilly so if you try to do anything further to help him, you may actually make his situation worse. I hope he pulls through.

[Gabe]

Squirrelsrule is right. A predator makes eye contact before the kill, then grabs the bunny around the middle. Everytime you look at him, he thinks "this is it", then when you pick him up his heart just races.
Keeping my fingers crossed for those antibiotics.
Has he eaten?

[skwerls_R_soft]

Well bunny didn't make it. DH called again and said that she appeared to have some sort of neurological episode where her back end was doing something spastic and different from what the front end was. She passed away peacefully. She actually was quite calm in the presence of DH...he does have a special charm around all sorts of animals.

On a more encouraging note, my vet gave me some Albon for the bunny. Since I never had a chance to give her a dose I will have some on hand for a future emergency.

Thank you Gabe for your constant support and thanks to you all for your words of encouragement.

[Buddy'sMom]

So sorry, Skwerls. Poor bunny. :Love_Icon You and DH are wonderful for having tried so hard to help her. She apparently knew she was comfy and safe in your care. :grouphug :grouphug

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

So sorry to hear the little guy didn't make it.:sad

[Gabe]

Sometimes the best we can do is to give them a second chance, and that you did. Her injuries were more than could be fixed.

[Bobo's Mom]

You might want to throw a handfull of timothy or alfalfa hay in there for her/him to nibble on as well. You could also put a small piece of carrot in there which will also provide water. If you notice these items are being nibbled then you could sprinkle a pelleted feed around. Good luck, I hope everything turns out. I've always had a big old soft spot for the bunnies.

[ravenlaws32]

sorry to hear that, bunnies ARE SO HARD to rehab . i know i have helped some and others died on me for no apparent reason. this next question might seem morbid but when the bunny passed away did it take a lst breathe and make a popping respitory sound ?? like one pop ??

[skwerls_R_soft]

sorry to hear that, bunnies ARE SO HARD to rehab . i know i have helped some and others died on me for no apparent reason. this next question might seem morbid but when the bunny passed away did it take a lst breathe and make a popping respitory sound ?? like one pop ??

DH says no. No popping noise.
Why would that happen??

[ravenlaws32]

DH says no. No popping noise.
Why would that happen??


i was just wondering , no reason really, just in my experience with the bunnies that have died in my care there was a pop in the end. im doing some research work and i thought i would ask and this case seemed like the right one to ask.nothing happens out of ordinary but some fellow rehabbers i know are researching the problems that folks have with bunnies since there is a high mortality rate and hopefully down the road more info came become avaliable to help bunnies.

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

I think the pop noise may mean that they had a respiratory infection. Did they make a little clicking noise when they breathed before they started to die? I have found that bunnies aspirate very easilly when they are fed the regular way and that they are very prone to respiratory infections. That is why I tube feed mine: it is quicker, less stress, and no milk in the lungs. That may or may not be the problem. I have only had one make any kind of noise with its last breath, and it was a squeak.

[skwerls_R_soft]

The little bunny we had was way too big to be on milk.

My dumba$$ cat, Booger, brought another one home last night. I heard the screaming in the woods and caught him walking through the yard with another bunny of the same age as the last one in his mouth. The bunny seemed totally unharmed beyond being scared silly. So I put her back near where I saw the cat first with her and put Booger inside (which is not going very well right now I might add...this is an outdoor cat!) It is pretty funny though to see bada$$ killer cat get ninja-ed by my 4lb female housecat :) It is so hard this time of year to keep an eye on Booger and we try our best. I swear I will never keep another feral cat, rescue or not!

[Bravo]

Sorry to read about the rabbit... there must have been more going on internally than it could handle. You did everything you could.

[ravenlaws32]

I think the pop noise may mean that they had a respiratory infection. Did they make a little clicking noise when they breathed before they started to die? I have found that bunnies aspirate very easilly when they are fed the regular way and that they are very prone to respiratory infections. That is why I tube feed mine: it is quicker, less stress, and no milk in the lungs. That may or may not be the problem. I have only had one make any kind of noise with its last breath, and it was a squeak.


yeah that is first choice that its is respiratory in nature, also trying to figure out the mortality rate . you would think in 2007 more would be known about bunnies but its not lol. there was no clicking as in squirrels who click with pneumonia .

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

It probably wasn't pneumonia then, just a weird quirk with bunny death probably. They die from so many things. I think most of it has to do with their stress around people though. They are so low on the food chain that just about everything is a predator to them, including us, so it freaks them out. I think that is why the majority of them die. And if its not that it is digestive issues. They have such a specialyzed digestive system with the gut bacteria that they get from eating their mothers special night time poop that it is just so hard for us to get their gut flora right. Hopefully, one day soon, someone will find a trick to keeping them alive and healthy to be released.