More Info on Baby Rabbit Care: Baby Rabbit Care

Ever hear it said that you should NEVER touch a baby rabbit. The tales of penalty for the violators range from, the mom will eat the babies, to the babies will be left to fend for themselves. The human scent will magically rub off and the mom will thing they are human babies!

Wild Rabbit

Well nothing could be further from the truth. There are two separate cases that could be discussed here. The first is wild rabbits. It is best for wild rabbits that indeed you do not touch them. First, although their nest may appear to be unattended by the doe, the truth is she may only return once a day to feed the kits, and it would probably be at night. They probably haven’t been abandoned.

Their interaction with humans should be at a minimum. As they become adults, they will need their natural instincts to survive. Its not natural for them to interact with humans. If you should need to move the kit, they will not be rejected by the mom.

Domestic Rabbits

The second situation is a domestic rabbit. With domestic rabbits you should touch, handle, carry and every other thing you can think of to get the baby used to being handled by people. We start the very day the rabbit is born. By the way, they are a lot of fun to hold in your hand. In all of our years we have not had a single kit rejected by the doe. As the bunny grows you will want it to be used to human interaction. It will make for a better pet, a better rabbit on the show table, and typically a better disposition when breeding.

Try to avoid handling wild rabbits, but don’t stop handling domestic rabbits. One word of warning, domestic kits like to urinate!

Rob Usakowski
Three Little Ladies Rabbitry