Milk replacer for baby rabbits

Hello. Last week I tried to help one baby rabbits perhaps with 1 month old. He looked sick because he wasn't running from me like rabbits do. He  wasn't eating hay or pellets. Then I decided to give a milk replacer with a 1ml syringer and for my surprise he sucked the milk really fast and seemed really hungry. I didn't have milk replacer for kittens so I used what a had: powdered milk for baby goats, sheeps and cows. I read that goat milk was the adequate milk for rabbits so I read the instructions and prepared the milk for baby goats : 40 gr of powder for 250 ml of water. I gave the rabbit the milk. Perhaps I gave 10 ml or less.  The next day he showed up dead. And I felt really guilt about it. I work in a farm but we had an oubreak od myxonatosis and it is being really hard to controll. If anyone could help about  how to prepare milk for baby rabbits I would appreciate a lot. In where I live vets ate not experts in exotic species so no one could ever help me how to help rabbits especially when they  are so little. Thank you

Hello and thankyou for this fascinating question, although I am afraid that you may be disappointed by the answer to it.  As you may know, the rabbit is classed as an invasive species to the UK, brought here by shipping, quickly colonising the island and widely considered a pest.  There is a UK law - The Wildlife and Countryside act - which states that it is an offence to take a rabbit into captivity for a time and then release it again.  As a consequence of this, a lot of local vets will feel obliged to offer euthanasia in such cases.  However, the scenario that you describe is not uncommon and I have heard many stories of people having tried to foster baby wild rabbits (my Mum included, when we were kids).  The overwhelming majority of them - likes ours, sadly - end with a sudden, unexpected death.   I would hypothesise that, for a passer-by to even be in a position to pick up a baby rabbit, it is likely to be ill in the first place.  Rabbits are very bad at dealing with stress and will drink and eat normally until they are very frightened, at which point they will freeze.  This behaviour 'hides' a multitude of illnesses and for those two reasons - the difficulty and the legality - vets may not encourage it.  To answer your question, there are some commercial preparations for (owned) small herbivores and there are feeding guides available - you should ask your vet to reccommend one where it is appropriate.

Thank you so much for your answer  Liz. But the rabbit was a domestic one he was white and not brown, but he was already sick. I guess it is because of myxomatosis. The mother was vaccinated but she died. Rabbits seem to be really sensitive. Actually I didn't know  about that law in the UK. I live in Portugal.  I have already  tried to help once one wild rabbit but he died because he was too weak. Unfortunately some if the vets here are not specialized in rabbits health but I know that in the UK vets are really good so that' s why I came here. Thank for your help.

Aw, Im sorry.  Yes - Myxo is a huge problem for rabbits, in the UK too. I think it is specific to that species - never heard of another species getting it.  With a Mum dead from it, even with the very best nursing in the world, you would have struggled to keep this baby alive.  It's really hard to wean even healthy rabbits.  I wonder if vaccination is an option for your bunnies? - the vacc companies may be able to advise you about that, given that they may have already been in contact.  Best of luck with your bunnies going fwd.

Thank you. Yes it is a terrible disease. I will do it. Wish you the best