How can I make sure wild baby bunnies aren't orphaned?

Question

A few weeks ago I saw a wild rabbit eating my green beans. I kept seeing her, but she sort of stopped. Sort of.

Last night, while it was still light, my dog had something in his mouth, I yelled at him to drop it because 2 years ago, during Easter, he had a baby bunny. Anyways, he dropped it and it was a newborn baby bunny. I put on gloves and put it in an open plastic container, putting the fluff surrounding the nest in it, and what did I find? 7 more newborn bunnies. When I say newborn, I mean they were born at the very least on Friday or Saturday, if not yesterday.

The nest was in my yard, which is fenced, and with my dog being an avid hunter I decided I would dig them another little nest nearby. Just as I was picking up the container, their mother was a few feet away and darted under the fence. I dug them a little burrow on the other side of my fence, so my mean dog wouldn't kill them. I would say a few yards away. The entire time the mother was watching me. I put them in the nest, I checked on them this morning and they were all still in there and burrowed together (so adorable) but I was wandering a few things.

• Is there a way to tell if they are orphaned?
• Is there a way to tell if they are unhealthy?
• What do i do if they are orphaned or unhealthy?

P.S. I can post a picture if needed, but they look healthy and made little cut noises too.

Answer 1

I would make a little tell-tale setup to let you know if the mother is around. Maybe push a couple of sticks in the ground around the nest and prop up grass stems or something like that. If the mother is coming around, she'll knock the stems down and you'll be able to see if she is coming and going. Or you can just set up a game camera if you know someone who has one or use binoculars. The biggest thing you shouldn't do, though is continue to go around the nest.

Newborn rabbits, especially babies without fur, aren't going to last long. I'd suggest searching online for wild animal centers or contact your local game and wildlife management office and ask them for more information. They'll be able to point you to a rescue if you think the mother has abandoned them. Also, they'll be able to tell you of any legal ramifications. For instance, in many states, it's illegal to keep a wild rabbit as a pet without some type of license. You're not trying to do that, so there isn't an issue, but if you did try to keep them and raise them, it's just something to keep in mind.

Good luck and I hope they do okay. I imagine that since you didn't move them very far and the mother saw them that she'll come back and take care of them.