Raising orphan hares

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by Burra

It was my son and husband who gave them to me, in a cardboard box to take home to fatten, thinking they were baby rabbits! They are busy building an enclosure to put them in for when they are weaned and ready to start eating grass.

The babies are doing really well, down to three feeds a day and starting to put some weight on. They are just starting to test their teeth on things but aren't noticeably interested in hay yet. I'll keep you all informed how we get on, hopefully with photos.

Thanks again for all the advice!

Good luck and if the milk was not suiting them you would know by now as they would not thrive..
All the best and looking forward to the pics and sorry you cant get puppy formula in your Country..
Its a bit expensive here though..

take care.

[Burra]

I thought it was time I posted an update. Both leverets are doing really well and are now weaned ready for release over the weekend.

I did modify the milk quite drastically as although they were 'developing' on semi-skimmed goats milk, they weren't gaining weight. I started off putting a couple of drops of cod-liver oil on their heads, as I noticed that they would wash each others faces after a feed and thought it would be a good way to get them used to the taste without risking putting them off their milk. Then I mixed up some olive oil with cod liver oil and started to add up to a couple of mls to each feed. This helped, but still wasn't really enough, so we drove down to a big agricultural place and managed to find some lamb milk replacer. I started to add powder to the goats milk until after a few days it was finally at the same strength as esbilac puppy milk replacer, and then they finally started growing!

They soon started eating alfalfa based rabbit pellets, and we made some lovely fresh hay for them from local grass very similar to the ones they'll be eating after release.

I've been amazed at how differently they behave. The male is a complete extrovert. He will drink like mad, then look at you for a second or two and leap at your face and lick you constantly for as long as you'll let him. The female hides at any sign of human activity and is very reserved and thoughtful. She will flick drops of milk off her paws, and this soon turned into a way of saying 'go away - I don't like that', using one paw for mild annoyances and both front paws for major ones. I've also caught the male annoying her by licking her face too much and she will sit up and flap both paws in his face. After a few days that turned into nearly a full blown boxing match as he licks, she flicks, then he flaps back and they sit there for a few seconds flapping madly at each other. She always gives up first though and bounds away and tries to hide from him.

I've tried to make sure they were only handled for feeding, and for the last week the plan is not to handle them at all. That suits the female well, but the male still goes crazy when he sees me and tries to jump into my arms when I open the run to feed them. I just hope he forgets me after the release - he's a bit too tame for his own good!

I'll let you know how the release goes, and try to put some more photos up. Thanks for all you help and encouragement everyone - it's much appreciated!

[Burra]

Here's a few more recent photos...

[Burra]

[The Woodman]

Hi Burra
Despite the earlier comments about the neccessity or otherwise of taking in the leverets, you've seen it through and kept WABbers informed.

Well done for successfully raising and releasing two young hares.

I daresay that you'll be keeping an eye out for everyday from now on!

[Dutchess]

I have only just caught up with this thread. What a delight!

Well done, Burra

Have you ever heard of the book "A Hare About The House" - by Cecil S. Webb? He tells the true story of Horrie, a day old leveret that he took in and raised as a pet. He became as tame as a cat or a dog, and had the run of the house! It is quite a scarce book nowadays though....

D.

[Burra]

I googled that title and guess what I found!

http://www.medirabbit.com/Books/hare_about_house.PDF

Shortly before we found the leverets, we had found a shallow 'rabbit hole' that had appeared overnight in the pea patch. It wasn't very deep and the boys poured a can of water down it to discourage the rabbits from moving in. Two days later the hole mysteriously filled itself in, and a few days later we found the leverets a few metres away.

My husband has just told me that an identical hole has just appeared in another pea patch. I have the strange feeling that I've been here before...

I'd better get that pond dug asap so they'll all move out of my garden!

[Dutchess]

Brilliant! An online copy!

D.

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by The Woodman

Well done for successfully raising and releasing two young hares.

All together a hare raising experience

[Hedgehoggy]

Fantastic news! Well done, Burra And thanks for keeping us posted on their progress and subsequent release - along with all those wonderful photos too. It's always great to hear success stories