Cotton Tail Babies

Question
My husband was mowing in our small dog pen and moved over a bush and removed it.  He found 3 baby cotton tails!  They are very young. Their eyes are not open yet and they are about 3 inches long.  I wasn't sure they were rabbits. they looked more like like rats but without a tail.  Cute though!  My question is:  can we move them out of our dog pen and place them away from our Maltese and wiener dog. They are house pups but have a doggie door and can go in and out unsupervised at any time.  We have a huge big yard, why the dog pen?  Our doggies are not killers, but they will be curious, I am sure. I just want to protect the little newborn babies any way we can.  Any suggestions?  Thanks so much!

Answer
Hi Karen

I am sorry it took me a few days to get back to you.  Sadly if you move the babies and the nest the mom won't know where to find them.  If it were possible I would suggest trying to keep your dogs in a different area for a few weeks.  These babies grow very fast and are usually out on their own by 4 weeks.  I do understand that this could pose quite a problem for you.

The best thing I can suggest is to call a wildlife rehabilitator.  They can try to live trap the mom as then relocate her as well as the babies.  Most SPCA shelters know where you can find a rehabilitator in your area.  The only issue I see with this is that they may not survive.  If the mother can't find them or they can't live trap the mother then the babies would have to be hand fed by the rehabilitator.  Even though these people are specially trained to care for wild rabbits the rabbits still have an extremely high mortality rate.  Generally it is because the mothers milk is much better for them and it contains all the necessary nutrients they need.  It helps their digestive systems to form the necessary bacteria they need and lowers the chance of them getting enteritis.

You have to do what is best for you.  Personally I would just wait it out and I would just walk my dog in the front of the house.  However I do know that people generally have dog runs because they are extremely busy and they want their doggies to be happy.

I know that you will do the right thing either way and I am sorry that I don't have a better solution for you.

Good luck

Pam