Have been thinking we need an area for animal husbandry. As we all search out that self sufficiency balance, animals large and small come into it. While getting ready for bed at 0200, I took the dog out and he alerted on something in the woods. Told him to go and check it out and he took off like a shot.. I was thinking a bear, moose, or a cat was out there.. He came back with a surprise for me. This from the mouth of: THIS!! Mean's a quick trip to town for something to feed the rabbit..
One of my Dobie's (Ninja) would routinely bring me baby bunnies and baby birds to nurse. I also had a cat at one time who brought baby birds. As I cared for them, I would put the baby in a cage on the picnic table and the cat would lay on top of the cage, guarding the baby.
Max fended for himself in the mountains until he found us. He doesn't bring home live furry animals. He will likely always see them as food.
That Rott of mine looks to everything as a potential food source.. He caught a mouse in his food bowl.. He walked around with that tail sticking out of his mouth for a moment or two and then .... MUNCH! My other pound dog was the protector.. He would lay out guarding faun's until they die unless I catch him.. Never a mark on them.. Just laying there as if they are asleep.. Keep both in the house until mid June so the deer have a chance..
My dogs get The Heart, Liver Lungs and Bones when I butcher, so when the find a baby rabbit that escaped, They eat it like a Furry Cream filled Meat Doughnut!
Was wandering when you would show @Gopherman .. As soon as the dog dropped that rabbit at my foot and I started to wander what I had to do, I thought of you.. That Rott has about convinced me that reincarnation is actually true.. He loves hunting.. Even on TV. Figured that I would have to feed it milk for a couple weeks before it would take any solid food, if it survives that long. Not an easy thing to take something that is born of the wild and try to keep it. Best not to even try most times.. However, this little one was brought to me so it is my duty to do my best to keep it alive and healthy.. Advice??
Find the nest it came from. Easier than you might think, just look for some disturbed grass pulled over to top the nest. Good Luck
Did! He has a much better nose and hearing than I do.. Besides he has been there at least once.. That is the 8th Rottie I have had.. In many ways he is the better one.. And like all the ones I have had, I can't even go to the bathroom without him chasing after me.. I do love those dog's..
They dig burrows, If you don't put it with the siblings right in the nest, the mother won't and it will starve. Use kitten supplement but only if the eyes are open. If its not walking around on its own, do it a favor and kill it quick, it will not survive.
It died during the evening.. I do not make a habit of picking these critters up out there.. Nature has it's own ways and you just have to get out of the way and go with it.. Years ago, the wife was on her way to work one night and as she was driving down the she came across a fawn laying on the side of the trail out.. I explained to her that we needed to take it back to where she found it and that momma would be out looking for it and you just can't pick them up like that.. People that move out to the country from a city find these babies abandoned and all alone and they are going to save them, when in fact the momma knows where they left it.. On reflection on this case, one do's not find a baby rabbit out of the nest this young and was probably rejected for some reason. It was meant to die and that is the hard truth of nature and man has to go along with it, live with it, and stay out of the way..
An example of a ground/in the grass nest I found this spring. I watched as a rabbit fought with a crow. I left them to their own devices and then checked later. This is the nest I found. I figure the rabbit got most of her brood moved and then the crow tore the nest apart.
