If a mother rabbit rejects her babies, first confirm abandonment by checking for full bellies and warmth (they nurse once or twice daily, often at night). If truly abandoned, create a warm nest, contact a wildlife rehabilitator or rabbit-savvy vet, and supplement with Kitten Milk Replacer (KMR) using syringes, ensuring babies urinate/defecate after feeding. Hand-raising is difficult, so professional help offers the best chance of survival, though you can gently encourage the mother by holding her over the nest if she's not aggressive.
When the mother rabbit is still lactating but not feeding her babies, a forced latch technique can be employed. This involves covering the mother rabbit with a towel and gently holding her with her stomach exposed, allowing the kits to nurse.
Sometimes rabbits will reject a litter or will be unable to feed them. You might find them crawling out of the nest looking for food, cold and with empty bellies.
If this is your rabbits first time having babies she may not know what to do and a number of things can make them stressed and reject the babies. It is also possible you just aren't seeing her feed them. They prefer to feed their babies early morning and in the evening. They like it to be quite and private.
The 3-3-3 rule for rabbits (and other pets) is a guideline for adjusting to a new home: 3 Days for the rabbit to feel overwhelmed and hide, 3 Weeks to start settling in and showing personality, and 3 Months to feel truly at home and build a strong bond. It helps adopters manage expectations, understand that fear and skittishness are normal, and encourages patience as the bunny decompresses in its new environment, emphasizing providing a safe space and routine.
Signs of a stressed rabbit include body language like ears pinned back, a tense hunched posture, wide eyes, and stillness, combined with behavioral changes such as hiding excessively, aggression (biting, lunging), destructive bar biting, changes in eating/toileting, restlessness, rapid breathing, or unusual vocalizations like grunting. These signals, often a prey animal's reaction to feeling threatened or unhappy, need prompt attention as chronic stress can cause serious health issues.
Rabbits need unlimited access to grass and hay, so they shouldn't ever be left without food. However, if it's an emergency and there's no other choice, then they can go up to 12 hours without eating.
The next morning, check the nest to see if the yarn has been moved. If the nest was untouched, the babies have been orphaned. Another test is to pick up one or two babies and look at their bellies. In their first week of life, a cottontail's belly skin is very thin and partially transparent.
Babies open their eyes at 7 to 10 days and leave the nest at 3 to 4 weeks. Mother rabbit comes to feed the babies at dawn and dusk, but otherwise stays away so she doesn't attract predators to the nest. She sits on top of the nest to nurse for only a few minutes, and then she is gone again.
If the babies' tummies are round and full looking, they are warm, their skin is not wrinkled, and they are sleeping calmly in the nest, then the mother rabbit is likely feeding them. If the babies are wrinkled, cold or have shrunken bellies, then this is a sign you may have to intervene.
The milk is very rich and the babies fill up within minutes. Then they can usually go 24 hours without another feeding. Often, people find infant rabbits that appear to be too small to be on their own.
Encouraging the Mother to Nurse
Sometimes, a rabbit mom just needs a little encouragement to nurse her babies. If she's alive and calm, try placing her gently over her litter for a few minutes. Stroke her to keep her relaxed. This can trigger her to nurse, especially if she's a first-time mom and unsure of what to do.
Wildlife rehabilitators receive numerous orphaned or injured baby animals annually and the most difficult wild baby animal to save is the cottontail rabbit. If you stumble on a seemingly abandoned nest of babies, unless you know the mother is dead, the best thing you can do is LEAVE THEM ALONE.
If a nest is moved, the disturbance is likely too great, and the mom will most often abandon her babies. Never handle the babies. Mother rabbits are very sensitive to foreign smells and may abandon their young if handled.
While you should do everything you can to avoid touching a bunny at all, much less with bare hands, a mother will *not* reject her babies because they have been touched by humans.
The reality is fewer than 10% of orphaned rabbits survive a week, and the care that people attempt to provide can be illegal, unnecessary, and potentially harmful. Most of the time, wild rabbits do NOT NEED any help and are hopping around, learning, and waiting for mom to return.
The 3-3-3 rule for rabbits (and other pets) is a guideline for adjusting to a new home: 3 Days for the rabbit to feel overwhelmed and hide, 3 Weeks to start settling in and showing personality, and 3 Months to feel truly at home and build a strong bond. It helps adopters manage expectations, understand that fear and skittishness are normal, and encourages patience as the bunny decompresses in its new environment, emphasizing providing a safe space and routine.
There is a 90% mortality rate with orphaned baby rabbits in human care, especially cottontails. This number increases if the rabbits are very young and their eyes still closed. They are extremely difficult to "save". There is little substitute for the nutrients their mother's milk provides.
It is best to keep the babies in a warm, quiet place in a nest. Bunny fur is the best lining for the nest, but clean cotton wadding will do as a substitute. Just be sure the babies do not get tangled in it. For heating, two or more babies usually are able to snuggle and keep each other warm if they have a good nest.
No, a mother rabbit will not abandon her babies because you touched them. While it is advisable to handle them as little as possible, and to wear gloves while doing so, you can rest assured that mom will return to care for her little ones if she is able.
MYTH! If you touch a baby rabbit, its mother will not usually abandon it.
The average litter contains four to five babies. Young rabbits disperse from the nest at 15-20 days old. By three weeks of age, they are on their own in the wild and no longer require a mother's care. This means that young rabbits found on the ground may be completely healthy.
A previous study based on primary veterinary care showed that the most common causes of death in pet rabbits were myiasis, myxomatosis, and bite injuries, which could be prevented by improved housing and suitable care [5].
Signs of pain include: > grinding teeth > rapid and shallow breathing > pulling hair > decreased grooming > hunched posture > lethargy > increased thirst and urination > a reluctance to move > bulging, strained, staring, or unfocused eyes.
Start baby rabbits on Alfalfa Hay at around 3 weeks old, and keep it going until about 6–7 months of age. Gradually switch to Timothy Hay using a blend, reducing Alfalfa week by week. Stick with high-quality, fresh hay—and store it properly to keep it that way.