Newborn Rabbits in Wild

Question
I came across a "nest" of newborn rabbits in my yard on Sunday.. Looks like they were newly born, there are three huddle together under my flowers and one who keeps dragging himself away from the group.. One was dead about a foot away from the rest of them.. I have not seen the mother,and was wondering if she comes back during the night to feed them, and if that is normal for them to be left alone during the daylight hours. Is there anything I can do if they have been abandoned, and how can I tell ?

Answer
It is very normal for mother rabbits to leave their babies alone during the day. In fact, most only feed them once or twice a day. This prevents predators from seeing the mother come back all the time and figuring out there are babies there. If you must move one back to the nest, use sterile plastic gloves (like latex) so you do not put your smell all over them.

If they are being fed, they will not have very prominant ribs. If they are getting ready to the fed (the mom will not come near while you are around, so be careful), they might look a little skinny, but ones that are not being fed will look very shrivelled.

As far as what you can do; contact your local Fish and Game Department if you are pretty sure they are not being fed. It is VERY difficult to hand-feed baby rabbits, and even very experienced people often end up loosing the babies. So it is best to let someone with some experience try.