For the fourth time, a mother rabbit had babies in our backyard. Our kids just love it! We’ve done some research on bunnies. Here’s some of the things we’ve learned.
1. Mother rabbits only feed their babies twice a day – once in the early morning and once in the evening. It may appear that a mother has abandoned her babies, but that is not the case. She purposely stays away from the nest during the day to keep the babies safe.
2. It is okay to pick up a baby bunny, just as long as you put it back when you’re done and you don’t let it hop away. (This isn’t a problem in the beginning, because their eyes are closed and they don’t move much. However, during the second week of life this can be a problem). If one bunny is missing from the nest, the mother rabbit will neglect her other bunnies to search for the lost bunny.
3. Babies will stay in the nest about two weeks. After that expect to see juvenile bunnies hopping around the yard from time to time.
4. The average life span of a rabbit is two years.
5. It is almost impossible to raise wild bunnies on your own, apart from the mother rabbit. I know of no one who has done this successfully.
