How To Tell How Old Baby Rabbits Are? 3 Easy Steps!

If you are curious how to tell how old baby rabbits are, the truth is there is no easy way to tell what age a rabbit is.

Here’s what you should know:

It’s almost impossible to time their lifespan to a specific number of years or dates.

Nevertheless, there are some things that you can use as a hint in determining the age of a rabbit.

In reality, you can only identify if a rabbit is still very young or if it is already a young adult. You cannot guess beyond that!

For instance, if you found a wild rabbit and wanted to adopt it, of course, you would want to know what its age is.

Generally speaking, a newborn rabbit would normally weigh between 1 to 1.5 ounces.

When they reach the age of 2 or three weeks, they will weigh between 3 and 5 ounces.

Also, take note that baby rabbits are born blind and deaf; they remain like this until the age of three weeks.

In addition to this, baby rabbits also do not have fur when they are born. It will only start to grow after two or three weeks.

So these are the most common signs that can help you identify their age.

Other than the signs above, there are also some other indicators that can help you tell how old a baby rabbit is.

To know all of the indicators, just read until the end of this post.

Steps To Follow When Finding Out The Age Of A Rabbit

How to tell how old baby rabbits are?

To easily identify the age of your baby rabbits, you can do the following steps:

Step #1. Check the rabbit’s eyes

First, check if the eyes of the rabbit are open.

Baby rabbits typically open their eyes within ten days. At this age, they also start becoming adventurous.

So if you see that the baby rabbits already have their eyes open and move in small and tentative hops, they are probably 10 up to 14 days old. If you want to know more about when do baby rabbit open their eyes, you should read this article.

This is also the age that you will see them with their ears perking up, and they would also look more like a rabbit because this is also when their fur will start to develop into a full coat.

Step #2. Observe your pet’s behavior

Second, you have to observe their behavior.

If you notice that the baby rabbits are already developing their legs’ strength and are starting to explore further than the nest, they are approximately 1 or 2 months old.

However, they would begin leaving the nest regarding wild rabbits when they are about 4 or 5 weeks old.

They will be exploring their surroundings, but they will still return to the nest to sleep and be fed by their mother.

When you have baby rabbits at home, it is best to bunny-proof the whole house when they reach this age.

Just like toddlers, baby rabbits at that certain age will be very curious about the world, so you have to ensure that all your belongings are protected from them. 

That is because there are high tendencies that they would bite just on anything they find.

Bunny-proofing is necessary because they can become aggressive and destructive when they enter adolescence at about three months old.

Because just like humans, adolescent rabbits will experience behavioral and hormonal changes. What does that mean?

This means that they will chew anything as well as defecate and urinate just anywhere.

At this time, pet owners can get very frustrated with their pet’s behaviors.

But here’s the good thing:

It’s an indication that baby rabbits are now approaching their maturity stage. 

Step #3. Take your pet to the vet

Lastly, you can take your rabbits to the vet.

It is ideal to find a veterinarian that specializes in small animals or particularly rabbits. For sure, he has a better idea of identifying the age of a rabbit.

Take note of this, though:

The visit would be essential if the doe abandoned the newborn rabbits.

As we all know, rabbits below 10-day old can rarely survive.

Even if the most experienced individuals handle them, the survival rate is still very low without their mother.

Aside from that, it would also be very beneficial to visit the vet when your rabbits are about to reach maturity.

At their adolescence, you can also start thinking about neutering or spaying them. Getting your pets neutered or spayed not only saves you from the possible behavioral problems from them but also exerts a beneficial impact on your pets’ health.  

It can also make life easier for you as a pet owner. Some researches have shown that neutering and spaying prevent many deadly problems in future and help your pet live a longer, healthy life. 

At What Age Can A Bunny Eat Food?

At the age of two months, a young rabbit can already eat something similar to adult ones.

You have to remember that hay should be the most important part of their diet. Meadow hay or grass should be the first ones that you have to give them.

Some owners even decide to offer alfalfa to their pets. However, some are just confused with grass.

Here’s what you can do: You might as well mix hay with alfalfa if you do not want them to eat just any one of the two.

If you are wondering about the major distinction between young and adult rabbits’ diets, you just have to take a closer look at their calcium content.

That is because the younger ones need more calcium than adult ones.

Rabbits should be fed with 16% protein, so make sure that you will acquire foods with sufficient protein. Protein is essential for the growth and maintenance of muscle mass and overall normal functioning of the body as well.

Another thing to note is that you should be gentle in introducing rabbit pellets because rabbits tend to get addicted easily.

Excessive pellet consumption can cause teeth issues.

More so, they wouldn’t want to be fed with hay anymore that is the most vital part of their diet. 

What Age Can A Rabbit Drink Water?

The kits or the baby rabbits have been drinking milk from their mother since they are born until they are 8 weeks old.

In two months, they will start drinking water. In fact, 10% of their body weight is roughly due to their water intake. 

But if your rabbit does not seem to drink enough water, you can do several things about this.

This includes keeping the water healthy and safe because rabbits tend to enjoy nutritious and warm water. They would also prefer to drink in a bowl or a cup.

Aside from that, leafy greens can also help since they contain a lot of water.

You can serve them green plants like mustard greens, parsley, or roman in order to meet their water requirement. This is also beneficial to them since it is full of nutrients. 

Conclusion

How to tell how old baby rabbits are? There is no certain way of telling the age of a baby rabbit, but some indicators can greatly help identify it.

This includes their physical attributes, behavior, and weight. You might as well see the vet in order to be sure.

But the one thing common to all rabbits of any age is that they are all adorable!

Thank you for reading and keep on enjoying life with your lovely pets!