I could also use some advice on this topic. My husband came home with 2 baby snowshoe hares that he saved from certain death. He watched a bird take off with 2 of them before he realized what they were and when he wandered over to where the bird was snatching them from he found one frozen to death (we'd had a dump of snow the night before) and only 2 left. He picked up the two remaining bunnies (with an angry bird circling above him) and actually had to gently peel one of them off the ground, it had started to freeze there. So now we have these baby bunnies at our house. We've already fed them once. I'm pretty sure we're ok in the feeding, caring for them area. The only time we've even touched them is to move them or to feed them. My question though is...how do I know how old they are??? I want to be able to release them again but I don't want to do it to late or to soon. I have read that snowshoe hares are actually born with fur, eyes opened and ready to hop. So apparently those aren't going to be good indicators. Does anyone know approximately how old a snowshoe hare might be if it's only about 2"-3" from bum to nose?? Please help. :) Thanks.

If you have had her a couple of years and she was adult when given to you she could well be at the end of her productive years. Personally, I would not breed a doe with her track record again, unless I felt that I had solved the cause of her problem. I'd cull her for the table or keep her as a pet. If you have other breeding does, save a couple of their most promising youngsters as future breeders. Or bring in some new blood. A few things to consider before making a decision: - Is she in excellent health generally? A run-down or overly fat doe may have trouble kindling. - Does she have her own cage in a peaceful place? Kindling does need privacy and quiet. - Did you examine her teats to see if she had milk for the babies? - Has the same buck sired all her litters? - Have you bred other does to the buck with success? - Were there visible birth defects in any of the litters? It is fairly common for a doe to lose her first litter, due to inexperience and confusion. It is more frustrating and sad to lose litter after litter. A replacement doe should not be that expensive. I would look for one around a year old that has already successfully raised a litter.

Beautiful, great picture, boy what a tough lady you are I needed drugs to have mine you look great. Lili is still the prettiest one. give a hug to daddy but tell him to let you rest for awhile what a miracle she is. blessings to you all . lots of love and giant hugs auntie carol

A day or so after my husband mowed the lawn he pointed out a bare spot in the middle of the back yard. He said it wasn't there when he mowed. So I decided to take a closer look. I poked around with a twig and was frightened by movement and what appeared to me to be the head of a small snake. On closer look I thought it was a rodent and immediately wanted it out of there. Poking some more, I counted 3. So I put on gloves, removed them and the nesting material under a tree in an unsold lot adjacent to our unfenced backyard. I then went on the internet to see what I could find out. Baby bunnies...don't remove the nest....yada, yada. Now I panicked thinking Mom would abandon them. One did not appear very alert...almost comatose. Frightened or in danger? Periodically I looked out to see if Mom was there and she showed up over the nest. Back to the internet for more research.T wo days now and I only saw her that once. The babies were about 3-4 inches long, ears back, eyes closed and plump bellies. At 6:30a yesterday I checked to see if they were there and breathing and arranged some twigs over the nest so I could see if the nest was disturbed later as proof Mom returned. Late that afternoon/early evening it became a gully washer with thunder and lightning and I feared their nest would be flooded. The best I could do was put a folding canvas camp chair over the nest. An hour or more later I looked out and it was blown over. Dashed out and flipped it over so it formed more of a tent over the nest and then worried I was too late. 4:00a this morning I went out with a flashlight and changed the chair a bit to make it maybe a little easier for Mom. I was shocked to see the babies (only 2) huddled on top of the nest completely exposed. I fear the comatose one didn't make it. Now I'm checking every few minutes to see if Mom is there with them. It's not raining right now but threatening. I don't know if they are out of the nest because it's flooded or the sibling died and Mom got them out. It's 74 outside and I worry I'd they are warm enough. It's thundering and lightening again, but not raining. They looked healthy, but not quite as frisky as they were the day I moved them briefly. What's the danger to them now? They look much bigger than they were when I first found them. I recall seeing the Mom sitting in the lawn a day or two before my husband pointed out the bare spot. I'm guessing they are maybe 5-7 days old now. Seems she put them in the worst possible location, right in clear sight. Could she be ready to move their nest elsewhere? Maybe I shouldn't worry about them as this is probably very common in nature. It's just the first time I've witnessed it!