| LITTLE MELVIN WAYNE OUR BABY COTTONTAIL RABBIT |
On December 26, 2006, we discovered a lone survivor of baby cottontail rabbits. Clint found it
an immediately picked it up and brought it into my parent's house. We were there for Xmas.
We had never rescued a baby wild rabbit before, so this was new for us. His eyes were not yet
opened so we knew it was under 8-10 days old. We retrieved information on the Internet
regarding the care of a little one to tide us over until we got home. The next day we traveled 8
hours back to Mauriceville with little Melvin snuggled up in a small igloo, with the lid ajar. When
we stopped mid-day to feed him, his eyes were opened. The little rabbit was named Melvin
after Sandy's dad. The above pictures were taken on 2/28/06.
Over the next few days I gathered information on a possible formula and finally settled on a
combination of several I had read about. The following recipe seems to be working very well.
Melvin's bodily functions are as they should be and he loves the formula. We also give him a
mixture of grass, clover, dandelion, & blackberry leaves. He began nibbling on them very soon
and now (1/01/07) it is a main part of his diet every day.
an immediately picked it up and brought it into my parent's house. We were there for Xmas.
We had never rescued a baby wild rabbit before, so this was new for us. His eyes were not yet
opened so we knew it was under 8-10 days old. We retrieved information on the Internet
regarding the care of a little one to tide us over until we got home. The next day we traveled 8
hours back to Mauriceville with little Melvin snuggled up in a small igloo, with the lid ajar. When
we stopped mid-day to feed him, his eyes were opened. The little rabbit was named Melvin
after Sandy's dad. The above pictures were taken on 2/28/06.
Over the next few days I gathered information on a possible formula and finally settled on a
combination of several I had read about. The following recipe seems to be working very well.
Melvin's bodily functions are as they should be and he loves the formula. We also give him a
mixture of grass, clover, dandelion, & blackberry leaves. He began nibbling on them very soon
and now (1/01/07) it is a main part of his diet every day.
FORMULA & FEEDING & CARE SUGGESTIONS FOR WILD BABY COTTONTAIL RABBITS
1 Part KMR powdered milk replacement ...or...
Hartz powdered milk replacement
2 Parts Warm Water
1 Part Pedialyte
1 Part Heavy Cream
1 drop Daily Liquid Multi-Vitamins for Pet Rabbits (may vary)
Thoroughly mix warm water with the powder milk. Then add Pedialyte, heavy
cream and vitamins. Depending on how much you mix up, the vitamin amount
will vary. You should only mix enough for 1 day so we put very little; not even
1/2 drop. The portion you use for each feeding should be microwaved until
warm, not hot. We put approx. 1 1/2 tablespoon's worth in a pet nursing bottle
and then fill a 1 cc syringe to administer the formula. We keep the bottle
floating in a glass full of hot water to keep it warm. We have found that Melvin
prefers it warm. He seems to snub it when it's cooled down.
At first we used the syringe to give it to him orally in the mouth and he drank it
ok. After a few days, though, we found he would sit in our hand and drink it
from the cupped area of the palm. Now, he drinks it from the little blue cap that
is from a gallon jug of water. We squirt 1 cc at a time in it, and he drinks it right
down. And, he stops when he's full. We have found that rabbits do not overeat
as some other animals.
Melvin gets his formula 2 - 3 times a day. At first he only drank about 2 cc per
feeding; but, now, at 2 weeks old, he is drinking 4-5 cc per feeding, plus his
greens.
Hartz powdered milk replacement
2 Parts Warm Water
1 Part Pedialyte
1 Part Heavy Cream
1 drop Daily Liquid Multi-Vitamins for Pet Rabbits (may vary)
Thoroughly mix warm water with the powder milk. Then add Pedialyte, heavy
cream and vitamins. Depending on how much you mix up, the vitamin amount
will vary. You should only mix enough for 1 day so we put very little; not even
1/2 drop. The portion you use for each feeding should be microwaved until
warm, not hot. We put approx. 1 1/2 tablespoon's worth in a pet nursing bottle
and then fill a 1 cc syringe to administer the formula. We keep the bottle
floating in a glass full of hot water to keep it warm. We have found that Melvin
prefers it warm. He seems to snub it when it's cooled down.
At first we used the syringe to give it to him orally in the mouth and he drank it
ok. After a few days, though, we found he would sit in our hand and drink it
from the cupped area of the palm. Now, he drinks it from the little blue cap that
is from a gallon jug of water. We squirt 1 cc at a time in it, and he drinks it right
down. And, he stops when he's full. We have found that rabbits do not overeat
as some other animals.
Melvin gets his formula 2 - 3 times a day. At first he only drank about 2 cc per
feeding; but, now, at 2 weeks old, he is drinking 4-5 cc per feeding, plus his
greens.
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MELVIN AT 2 WEEKS OLD
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Melvin and Jane
Melvin Wayne Whitman
Melvin, Jane, and Sophie
Melvin and Jane snuggling
MELVIN AT 6 WEEKS OLD
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MELVIN AT 3 WEEKS OLD
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MELVIN AT 8 WEEKS OLD
