Any Resident "Wildlife" Experts on Board?

[gayef]

Living in the country as I do, I am well familiar with the specifics cruelties of nature. I see hideous things happen all the time and I try to intervene when I feel it is safe to do so.

Today, as I was walking Lexus on the porch, I noticed a crow diving at something in the grass ... then a field rabbit popped out of the underbrush at the edge of the woods and tried to drive the crow away ... then I saw the baby. *sigh* The crow has injured the baby bunny and he is not moving. He is breathing and there is a fairly serious-looking wound on the side of his head, right below his jawline as it were.

I frankly do not know what to do. I have called the local animal control, who referred me to Dept. of Game and Inland Fisheries, who referred me to animal control. *sigh*

Do I wait and see if Momma comes back for this baby or do I take it inside and try to assist?

Additionally, in the melee with the crow, the rest of the babies scattered and now there is one, a healthy, non-injured one, under the leaves of my hostas in the front garden bed next to my porch deck.

Does anyone have any ideas for me, I can't stand to see the hurt baby suffer and I don't know what to do for the healthy one to protect it from the blasted crow bird!!

 

[EnzoLeya]

Is the baby old enough to eat food and not milk? If it is you could take it in, give it food/water, and try to nurse the wound if you can. I doubt it stands a chance if you leave it out there. However if it's young enough to still need milk, it probably doesn't have much of a chance either way.

 

[gayef]

Thank you for responding so quickly. I have absolutely no experience with baby bunnies and so therefore, cannot tell if the baby is old enough to be on it's own eating and the like. It is very, very small. I have a picture on my phone ... let me see if I am technically savvy enough to get it posted here. Please check back in a minute or two and tell me what you think? I am really concerned.

 

[abbycats]

I would try to save the poor little baby too. I don't think it will survive if you leave it out injured like that.

 

[gayef]

It isn't the best of pictures but I am hoping someone can tell me how old this little one is and whether or not it can be on it's own without Momma ...

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3.../babybunny.jpg

The hurt one has passed away. *sigh*

 

[sharky]

Do you have a humane trap?>??

 

[gayef]

No I don't have a trap and none of the local shelters are returning my urgent calls.

My husband suggests that he saw Momma rabbit at the edge of the woods and when she feels safe, she will come and get her baby out of my garden.

As I mentioned, the little hurt one went to the Bridge.

 

[kluchetta]

Oh, I'm so sorry, sweetie. At least he wasn't terrified when he went. Thank you for doing what you could.

 

[EnzoLeya]

He/she is old enough to eat on its own. By my guess it's probably 2 weeks old.

If you can make some sort of safe house that it's mom can come find it in, that would probably be best. If you leave it out in the open it's at high risk for being eaten. If you do take it in and care for it I must warn you that wild bunnies are somewhat hard to care for. They always stay wild and are sometimes hard to keep alive. I don't think they do well in a cage mentally. So releasing young is a good idea.

 

[gayef]

Thank you for your assistance. I see that Momma rabbit is now venturing out of the woods and closer up to the porch deck where the baby is resting under the hostas. I am going to wait for a short while, observe from my living room window and see if she gets baby to move along with her. Otherwise, I will bring baby inside tonight and try to do what I can. What do they eat? I have clover aplenty in my grass much to my husband's chagrin, but other than that, I am clueless! With such a little one, is a jar lid of water OK because if I fill a flat saucer I am afraid he will get in it and drown ... oh my! I have so many questions and feel quite helpless.

 

[EnzoLeya]

No problem! I'm by no means an expert, but we've taken in several baby bunnies because of cars and hawks.

The hosta is a great place for the little thing. Momma's probably searching for her right now. If you do end up needing to take her in you can give her clovers/grass/apples/carrots. Of course you don't have any rabbit pellets laying around

Just stick to what they eat in the wild mostly. If you have a garden I'm sure you know what they eat

And yes a jar lid is a good idea, they drown easily. If it keeps spilling the water you can use a bowl and put a large rock in it.

Also, a lot of people say "don't touch it because wild animals won't except their baby anymore" but I don't really believe that. In my experience the moms almost always take their baby after humans have touched them. They just might not take it back right away, and as long as you don't keep it with you for days, the mom should care for it.

 

[butzie]

You are about 3 months early for an answer from me. I am going to take a class to be certified to take in and care for injured wild life. I checked the web site for rabbits and it said not to feed them or give them water and bring them in if injured. I think that I would wait for momma for the healthy one which is probably old enough to be on its own anyway.

 

[strakatz]

This is bound to be too late but here goes. Cotton tails won't live in captivity. The hurt one will die. Sorry, I'm sure that it has already. The others are best left alone as mom will come and find them when things settle down.

 

[babywukong]

OK this is gonna sound mean, but my advice would be the next time you see a crow divebombing a baby bunny, let it be. That's the cycle of life, it was meant to be this way. Crows need to eat too, even though they aren't as cute as a baby bunny. Bunnies aren't endangered and are a very valid food source for birds of prey.

RIP little injured bunny

The remaining one, I'd say leave it where it is for the momma to find in the night. Bunnies being wild might be more comfortable collecting her baby under the cover of night, especially if she's had a scare by that crow attack.