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disturbed wild baby bunnies

22 10:20:44

Question
Hi Dana,

About a week and a half-two weeks ago, we found a bunny nest outside in our yard. They were doing fine and they were taken care of because we saw the mom come by a few times. Well, yesterday my dog got loose and he got to the nest and chased all of the bunnies out. We found most of them and tried to put them back in their nest but they just ran of again. I think they ran off to a small area i cannot reach to where there is tall grass, and i cannot see. There is one all by itself on the side of my house but i don't want to scare it away again. Are they alright off by themselves? Their eyes are open now but do they still rely on their mom for food? What can I do? I know the mom has probably came by and realized they were gone..

Answer
Dear Mina,

Check the nest tomorrow morning.  It's not unlikely that the babies will have returned by then, as the mother actually calls to them when she comes to feed them.  They should come running, and if she's near the nest, they will probably cuddle themselves back into the nest if they still need it.

If they are still scattered around by tomorrow morning, you might try to very gently herd each one into a little box (avoid touching the babies directly, as this will be more frightening and stressful for them), and with as little fanfare as possible, gently deposit them back into the nest.  It might help to put a laundry basket over the nest after you replace each baby, and leave it there until they re-establish themselves in the nest.  When they are calm and quiet again (this could take a couple of hours), you can very gently and quietly remove the basket, and they should stay in place.

If they readily run away again, it's likely that they are just about ready to leave the nest, and will do fine anyway.  Mama will find and feed them.

I hope this helps.  Thank you for caring for the wee ones!

Dana