Understanding Rabbits: When to Help

• Southern Oregon is home to multiple rabbit species: the Black-tailed Jackrabbit, Brush Rabbit, and very rarely, Pygmy Rabbits and Mountain Cottontails. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife just recently lifted rehabilitation restrictions on rabbits, originally placed due to Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus (RHDV).

Found a Baby Rabbit?

• Rabbit mothers only visit the nest to attend to their babies twice a day, usually at dawn and dusk, so baby rabbits are unlikely to be truly orphaned. When possible, reuniting a baby rabbit (or rabbits!) with their mother is the best thing that can be done for a baby rabbit. 

Reuniting a Baby Rabbit

• If the nest site is known, attempt to construct a new nest as close as possible to the original nest. Use the material from the original nest. Using string, sticks, or pine needles, create a cross-hatch pattern on top of the nest. Check the nest in the morning to see if the nest has been disturbed. If the nest was disturbed and the babies are still there, the mom has returned and is caring for them.
• If the nest site is unknown, construct a new nest nearby where the baby was originally found. Place the nest in a sheltered area, such as underneath a bush. Line the nest with grass, pine needles, and leaves. Repeat the cros-hatch pattern described above to see if the mother returns to the nest. 
• If the mother does not return, please call our Wildlife Hospital hotline at 541-441-7193 for further advice.

Injured Rabbits

If you come across an injured rabbit (e.g., bleeding, or visibly hurt, or acting unusual), it will need medical attention. 

When to Intervene

Call our wildlife hospital hotline at 541-441-7193 right away if you find a rabbit that has any of the following symptoms:

• Obvious wounds, actively bleeding/swelling/bruising
• Respiratory distress (barely breathing or labored open-mouth breathing)
• Neurological symptoms (head ticking back and forth, falling over, stargazing, etc.)
• Shivering or trembling
• The den was destroyed and cannot be rebuilt in the area
• The mother is deceased and baby is too young to live alone
• Mother was trapped and relocated
• Entangled in barbed wire/fencing/netting
• Hit by car
• Caught by a cat or dog
• Reuniting strategies have been tried and failed

Carefully contain the animal in a secure and ventilated box and bring it to Wildlife Images for medical care and rehabilitation during our patient intake hours, 9am-4:30pm 7 days a week. We prefer if you call ahead so we can prepare for the animal’s arrival, and to ensure that our clinic is able to provide rehabilitation services.

***Do NOT offer food or water to an injured, sick, or orphaned animal unless instructed to do so by clinic staff. Many species require a specialized diet or formula, and young animals and birds can be easily aspirated without proper training and equipment.***