Wildlife Clinic
Found an animal?

Your answer

Put it back, and leave the nest alone.

A cottontail nest is a shallow scrape lined with fur and dried grass, often in the middle of a mown lawn. The mother visits twice a day, at dusk and again before dawn, for about two minutes. Her absence is the strategy: she is not there because she is not what a predator should be able to find.

What to do right now

  1. 01Return the rabbit to the nest cup, curled in the same position as its siblings.
  2. 02Rebuild the cap over them with the original fur and grass, loosely enough that they can push out.
  3. 03Lay two twigs across the nest in an X and photograph it.
  4. 04Check the twigs in the morning without touching the nest. Moved twigs mean she came back.
  5. 05Keep pets indoors or leashed for the next ten days. The nest empties on its own by then.

What not to do

  • Do not feed the rabbit anything, including cow milk, formula, or water. Cottontails are among the easiest animals to kill with a syringe.
  • Do not move the nest to a "safer" place. She navigates to a location, not to her young.
  • Do not keep it overnight to check on it in the morning.
  • Do not worry about your scent. That is folklore.

Change your mind if any of this is true

Any one of these changes the answer above. Call a rehabilitator instead.

  • Flies, fly eggs that look like grains of rice, or maggots anywhere on the animal.
  • Cold to the touch, limp, or unresponsive when handled.
  • The twigs are undisturbed after two consecutive nights.
  • You know the mother is dead.

Get professional help

Showing rehabilitators permitted for small mammals.

Accepts Eastern Cottontail

This list is not complete. Some licensed rehabilitators choose not to publish their details, and the state list is updated quarterly. Always call ahead: a rehabilitator may be full even when listed.

All 43 rehabilitators permitted for this animal.

Choosing a county puts the nearest first. It never hides anyone — someone further away may still be the one who can take it.

Understand the animal

Knowing why this happens is what makes the next one easier to read.