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hey /out/ I don't post here often, but I need a little advice. We found a pair of cottontail bunnies, and before anyone screams "Don't move them from the nest!", here's what happened:
>Dad's clearing out the yard for easter party
>Digging out an old stump with a garden hoe
>We spot a bunny crawling out and we picked it up from it's (now destroyed) nest
>Start rummaging through the wheelbarrow that he was throwing the stump pieces in
>Sure enough, theres one in there, miraculously unharmed
>Start digging down into the nest to see If there are any more trapped in there
>Get viciously attacked by fire ants that are now everywhere
>Brought the two bunnies inside and started seeing what to do
Now, I'm sure the mother is still out there somewhere, but the nest is completely destroyed and infested with fire ants now, so there's no way I'm putting them back. My sister wants to keep them as pets, and I kind of want to as well. I know that every piece of information screams "NO, YOU CAN'T KEEP WILD RABBITS, YOU HAVE TO RELEASE THEM!", but fuck that, this is the internet, and I don't give a shit.
So far, I bought a couple cans of goat's milk, and some heavy whipping cream, and they've been drinking it like crazy through the syringe, so they're pretty healthy and they seem fine (they're a little freaked out, but they're getting better). I got a cage, some hay, one of those cage watter bottles that you hang, some rabbit food and a couple mini bowls.
They're almost exactly the size of (pic related), and are both about 4" long, give or take. So I'm not sure exactly how old they are, or when and how to start weening them off the milk. And when I do ween them off the milk, is the generic rabbit food I got ok for them, or should I just feed them wild grass? Do I give them water too, or do they get plenty of hydration from the milk as babies, and from the grass when they get older?
>TL;DR: I found a pair of baby cottontails and I'm keeping them as pets. How can I make it happen?
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Keep feeding em till they are big enough to eat then make a stew
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>>993244
As much as I love rabbit meat I couldn't do that after raising them from bunnies. I was kind of thinking about it, but no.
Besides, aren't animals that live in neighborhoods not good to eat?
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>>993249
Not if you've kept them and force feed them krispy kreams and big Mac! Make some bunny liver pate!
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>>993250
Nah, if I was gonna eat them I'd probably feed them beer. Especially if it was gonna be their livers.
But, fuck that, I'm not eating them, they're fucking adorable.
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>>993235
Just keep them as pets, feed them some veggies and maybe have a small nest or something, it ain't too hard.
Btw you seem to be underage so you have to go back to /kikebook/ and /tumblr/
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>>993255
this.
OP youre a dumbass. Have fun with rabbit shit everywhere and holes in your walls/wires chewed through.
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DONT MOVE THEM FROM THE WILD!! REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
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>>993325
Also, you are a dipshit that deserves the feels you will have when you wake up one morning to two dead baby bunnies.
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>>993235
Her3e you go:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOnkVbcYXRQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwsLHs5pc58
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>>/an/
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>>993235
Google "bunny care sheet" or "baby cottontail care sheet"
http://rabbit.org/faq-orphaned-baby-bunnies/
http://www.mybunny.org/info/caring-for-newborn-baby-rabbits/
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>>993235
Rabbits are awesome; they eat yard waste and make fertilizer. What could be better?
They need to always have pellets and water available, but they probably won't eat the pellets if there's anything fresh. They'll eat grass but they prefer dandelions, radish and carrot tops, spinach, and pretty much anything else you'd rather keep for yourself.
Cottontails are pretty low maintenance compared to specialty breeds, but all rabbits are prone to heart attacks if they get cornered by predators, even just a playful dog.
Also, if you have a male and female from the same litter, there's a pretty good chance they'll make deformed kits, so get the male neutered.
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one in my yard every morning for years. It's gotten huge.
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>>994188
>one in my yard every morning
That's a lot of rabbits...
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>>993235
We did that as children (Golden retriever brought us three baby bunnies) and I have fond memories of how sweet they are to hold in your hand :))))
I don't remember many specifics to help, but good luck and thanks for the nice memory.
Will you keep them always? I think when ours were getting adult size we "freed" them which I guess basically they instantly became some critter's dinner.
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>>993235
Build a little fence and start a rabbit farm.
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Honestly OP, they will never be tame. They are right now of course, because they are that way until they are old enough to leave their little rabbit nest. I've found a few of their nests in my yard and even with my fat bulldog sniffing them, they didn't move. They will start to get a little more active, and then one day they will panic every time you're near them. They will develop their survival instinct that says "RUN AWAY AS FAST AS POSSIBLE FROM EVERYTING THAT ISN'T A RABBIT".
They just don't make pets, they're wild animals, and will never be tame in a humans hands. They do not tolerate being caged, and will continually try and chew their way out, even to the point where their mouths are bleeding trying to chew through metal.
After a few weeks as baby bunnies they will no longer tolerate being held, being petted, or even you being near them. They will be in constant fear and under extreme stress. You should raise them until they can be weened off milk, and release them. It's selfish and just frankly idiotic to think you can have a nice pet with them.
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>>995162
>no animal was ever domesticated.
Okay.
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>>993235
bunnies are hella easy dude, just take em to a vet, get meds or whatever and dont feed them foods except greens, and no iceberg lettuce, kill em for some reason.
Also they love parsley and good luck OP.
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>>995162
nah dude my gf has a rabbit and he loves people, he will usually come to greet me and comes into the kitchen while we eat to get treats, she holds him and he just passes out, he's a lionhead I believe.
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>>995475
lionheads are a domestic breed, and weren't born in the wild
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>>995162
Reddit pls go.
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Rabbits make so many fucking babies, plus they're a pest. go for it.
Even if just so you can learn not to do it again when you kill them by being a big fucking idiot who has no idea what he's doing.
Goats milk and heavy cream? This ought to be a short lesson.
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>>993327
;( my buddy got 6 bunnies with a mower tire in 4 foot grass in his new forclosure property. ON EASTER SUNDAY.
1 was dead.
We go watch drag races, come back after a few hours, 3 more are kill.
Pick related is one of the 2 seemingly healthy and happy bunnies.
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>>994093
Eat weeds, my cherry bushes, veggies in my garden. At least their bones make a satisfying crunch when my dog catches them.
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>>997461
This is retarded.
You can keep the rabbits and be just fine with them. Most of these people saying "it's a wild animal. Muh not tame." Are just retarded metrosexuals who have no experience with any animals other than their own cats.
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>>997461
>it takes generations for an animal to become comfortable with people
I'm not disagreeing with the point you are making, but want to point out that some animals are comfortable with people. Much of the natural fauna(birds) in New Zealand are not wary of people, and it wasn't due to generations of adaptation. Sometimes to their demise. Again, not disagreeing, just adding.
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>>995472
It takes GENERATIONS of animals to domesticate an animal, and some animals it took centuries.
Taming a wild animal is not the same thing as domestication. You're truly too stupid to argue this with.
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>>997483
and these guys are just awesome
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>>997483
It's usually because those animals evolved with no natural predators. Its why almoat every animal in the galapagps has no fear of humans.
Rabbits evolved as a prey species.
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Just throwing an idea out there.
You can make an outdoor pen for them. Just a wooden frame with chicken wire. Leave them outside in it with some food or whatever. You won't have to worry about hawks or predators because they're in a cage. If the mother comes back she can dig a hole under the cage to free them. If she doesn't come back, at least you tried, enjoy your new pets.
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>>993235
1: minimize physical contact, baby bunnies are covered in fleas.
2: put them in a big card board box with water in a dish and some lettuce.
3: go to the supermarket and buy a cat flea collar. cut it in half length wise and stick it on the bunnies.
4: While you are at the supermarket buy 3-4 heads of lettuce, any pet medicine that claims to be 'anti flea' and a bag of sunflower seeds.
5: wait 48 hours, either the babby bunnies will adjust or they will die. They are fragile and they die if you sneeze on them. If they live past 72 hours and you managed to get a flea collar on them congratulations, google how to care for a pet rabbit.
Thread posts: 34
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Thread images: 6