How Many Babies Does a Rabbit Have in a Litter

EasternCottontail rabbits reproduce throughout the jump and summer, typically starting in mid-March and nesting through mid-September. Nests are found in shallow depressions on the ground [cottontails do not burrow]; nests are covered with soft grasses and are lined with tufts of the female parent rabbit'south fur. The boilerplate litter size for rabbits is five, though mothers may requite birth to as few as one and as many equally 12! Since immature rabbits grow up quite apace, "doe" rabbits may have three or 4 litters in a flavor. Mother rabbits are very secretive, so they don't draw attending to their nest; information technology is very rare that you lot will meet a mother rabbit coming and going. The doe feeds her young only twice a twenty-four hours -- at sunset and dawn.

Young rabbits disperse from the nest at 15-20 days old. By three weeks of age, they are on their ain in the wild, though are nevertheless very small -- they're simply well-nigh the size of a softball! Rabbits have the best take a chance of survival when they are cared for by their mothers.

If you discover a baby rabbit:

Is the rabbit injured (bleeding, cleaved basic, puncture wounds, been in a cat's mouth, open wounds, etc.)?

• If Yep, have the rabbit to your nearest wildlife veterinarian or rehabilitator.
• If NO, see below.

Is the rabbit fully furred with its optics opened?

• If YES, if the rabbit is larger than a softball and weighs more than 4 ounces or 100 grams, it is on its own and does non need human intervention.
  
• If NO, endeavor to locate the nest (a shallow low on the basis possibly lined with rabbit fur and/or grass) and put the rabbit back.

  You lot volition not see a lot of action at the nest; female parent rabbits stay away to avoid leading predators to the nest. If you do doubtable the nest is abandoned, lay 4 pieces of string or twigs in a tic-tac-toe pattern over the nest as straight as you possibly can. Get out the area and check back in 12 hours.

  If the mother rabbit has returned to the nest to nurse her young, the string/twigs will be out of place. If the string/twigs are undisturbed, and the bunnies appear thin and weak, with wrinkled, baggy skin, the babies may be orphaned. The babies should be taken immediately to a state permitted small mammal rehabilitator in your expanse.

A Word Most Mowing

It'south a adept idea to cheque your grand before you mow; because rabbits are in shallow nests, it's easy to mow the "meridian" off of their nest, perchance injuring babies. Exercise not try to mow within ten anxiety of a rabbit's nest if in that location are babies present. You can protect a nest during mowing by placing a plastic lattice laundry handbasket upside down over the nest. Information technology'due south best to remove the basket later on mowing. Leave the nest expanse equally undisturbed as possible while the immature rabbits grow.

If the nest must keep to exist protected, cutting a hole in the laundry basket very close to ground level about 3-4 inches in diameter so that the mother rabbit can enter/exit from either side. If you have a domestic dog who has access to the nest/basket, place a very heavy rock or object on the overturned laundry basket (not then heavy as to crush the handbasket). In one case the babies are gone, the handbasket can exist removed and the nest destroyed if you are trying to forbid the nest from being reused.

Recollect …

• Never chase a rabbit to capture information technology. The stress of being chased tin can exist dangerous to a baby rabbit. Rabbits are a high-stress species prone to a condition called capture myopathy, which is acquired by hunt and stress. Capture myopathy can pb to harm to internal organs, and even decease.
• Never give food or water to injured or orphaned wildlife. Inappropriate nutrient or feeding techniques can lead to sickness or death. Infant rabbits have especially sensitive stomachs and require a special diet. Cow's milk volition brand them sick.

Note: Each animal'south nutritional, housing, and handling requirements are very specific and must be met if they have any run a risk of survival. Raising a wild animate being in captivity is illegal unless you lot take a country let. For information on how you can become a permitted wild animals rehabilitator, contact the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries [PDF], visit our wildlife rehabilitation training page, or contact your country's wild animals agency.

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Source: https://www.wildlifecenter.org/baby-rabbit

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