Can you touch a baby cottontail rabbit?

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.

Can you raise a wild baby rabbit?

Baby wild rabbits are like domestic rabbits – they will not bite you and are safe to raise. They are really jumpy, though, and will try to escape whenever they get a chance. Not many people have been successful in domesticating wild rabbits.

Why are there so many baby cottontails in the wild?

Most baby cottontails end up in human care for all the wrong reasons even though the heart of the rescuer was surely in the right spot and their intentions honorable and motives kind. If you come across a nest of bunnies in the wild and the mother is nowhere in sight, please DO NOT disturb them!

How can you tell the age of a baby cottontail rabbit?

You can identify the age of a baby cottontail rabbit by noting a few of its characteristics and behaviors. A baby cottontail rabbit can sometimes be found alone without its mother in the wild. Mother cottontail rabbits leave the baby rabbits during the day and only return to feed them at night.

Where can you find a cottontail rabbit in the wild?

Cottontail rabbits have been running around the forests, meadows, woodlands, and lawns of North America forever. You might have seen these bunnies hop into your yard to eat a few clovers or seen one dash across the road as you drive. They are one of the sweet creatures we see in nature and admire from afar—most of the time.

How to take care of an orphaned cottontail baby?

Babies need to be kept in a warm, dry, quiet location. Very young babies (especially single babies) need to be kept warm. The new heating pod obtainable in pet stores works very well and can be used inside the nesting box.

Baby cottontails are incredibly fragile and do not take handling by humans well. THEY WILL DIE OF STRESS IF HANDLED IMPROPERLY. Keep baby rabbits in a box in a warm, quiet place away from children, household noise, domestic pets and bright lights.