What to Feed that Baby Wild Animal
There is one very simple answer to this often asked question: nothing.
Wild animals in distress are compromised. They almost always have some degree of dehydration, may be injured, cold or lethargic. No matter if this is a baby or an adult, it is under great stress. Animals with these conditions cannot readily process food. If you feed it you can kill and at the very least, will add to its suffering.
If you were injured in a car accident would want a bystander to take you to McDonalds? NO, you need an emergency room and they are not going to feed you.
All animals that come into our center are immediately given IV fluids and sucrose. This allows they body to begin working properly before they start processing food.
Milk formulas for baby animals.
We are often presented with baby animals that people have fed milk for days or weeks before bringing them to us. Often these babies are suffering digestive distress and malnutrition. Before you attempt to feed milk to that baby animal, please consider the complexity involved:
Each species of animal has different nutritional requirements for proper development including a fat/protein ratio of the milk. Milk designed for cats (a carnivore – meat eating animal) is high in protein so the kitten can develop strong bones and muscles more slowly. Bunnies (Herbivores) need high fat to grow very quickly and do not need the high protein of a carnivore diet. Thus feeding kitten milk to bunnies (which we often see suggested on various websites) is totally incorrect.
Besides having the right milk formulation, the correct amount needs to be fed at proper
intervals. Most baby animals’ stomach capacity is a percentage of their body weight and varies by species. Babies must be weighed daily to determine the proper serving amounts. If the wrong a
mount is given, the animal either develops diarrhea from too much or starvation from too little.
Caloric intake must also be monitored to make sure the animal has the energy to grow properly. The calculation for a baby mammal is 70 x W75 x S = Kcals / 24 hours. (W = weight in KGs) (S = Stress factor)
Other factors in successfully raising a baby animal include feeding methods, conspecific digestive enzymes, habitat enrichment, bathroom stimulation and imprinting.
Rehabilitators have the tools and knowledge to raise that baby correctly and offer it the best chance at a healthy, normal life. Rehabilitators have zoological milk formulas for various species, feeding tools, scales, incubators and much more. They also have the training to provide the right diet and environment which most people cannot provide at home.
May 2nd, 2007 at 5:52 pm
I’m not sure that I agree with you when you say that feeding baby animals causes them more pain. We found a baby coyote that was abandoned by it’s mother, and very badly needed food. It was only a couple of days old, and when we held him he would try to nurse. We fed him with a syringe, and he readily ate. We called a shelter and were able to find him a home with a coyote mother that had babies.
May 4th, 2007 at 10:00 pm
Baby animals dehydrate very quickly. If an animal is dehydrated it can not properly process foods. Fluids must be replaced first or feeding an animal not only compromises it, it can kill it.
Of course there can be cases where hydration is fine but the average person isn’t usually equipped to determine that. Feeding the animal is a gamble and the animal’s life is what’s on the line.
I’m very glad you helped the coy pup. They are wonderful, but often misunderstood creatures. I’m also glad that it was put with a foster mom. That was the best choice.
June 1st, 2007 at 8:25 pm
my neigbor almost ran over 4 baby bunnies,so i am now taking care of them,they have fur and there eyes are open,and they hop a little.they dont eat by themselves though.what type of formula shopuld i be giving them.and where could i get the formula?
June 2nd, 2007 at 3:51 pm
Holly, Did you not read the article? Get them to your local wildlife rehabilitator right away!!!!!!
To find one near you go to http://wildliferehabber.com/modules/xoopsmembers/
July 8th, 2007 at 2:40 pm
What kind of a moron would feed Similac to any animal (let alone a human?!) That stuff is often contaminated and is not the right food for any living creature. Milk from the animal’s mother is the right milk for that animal, period. You don’t see wild animals going to the grocery store to buy pasteurized cow’s milk or trying to nurse off a goat!
August 22nd, 2007 at 8:52 pm
Heyy im Grace.And this is my friend Andrada we love what your doing to help animals!!We love animals they mean the world to us!But it’s a shame that so many people be mean and dont care about them.I mean whats not to like about animals!!We love every kind of animal!Its truley sad that people have to dump toxic things or even shopping carts in teh watter and on the ground!Andrada and I have been cleaning up around the creek we live near by!It’s home to over 100 ducks and there young also water rats and a heron haves moved in!!We just love to watch them!! Me and all my friends go down there almost every day a clean it!! We pulled out more than 8 shopping carts in less then 3 days!And all kinds of bags and pop cans.we live in kitchener ON. and I am 12 ! my friend Andrada is 11 ! We are really trying to make our local creeks and parks safer and cleaner for the animals btu people aren’t really helping!! So please look at our site and tell ur what you think!!
March 31st, 2009 at 3:18 pm
how to care for two abandoned baby bunnys that my dog carried in. they dont even have there eyes open. should i find the nest and put them back in???????
March 31st, 2009 at 8:41 pm
To Rose,
No. Please find your local wildlife rehabilitator at http://wildliferehabber.com/modules/xoopsmembers/
If the bunnies were in the dogs mouth, there is a chance they will need antibiotics.
April 21st, 2009 at 5:12 pm
I’m so happy that I was able to help a 3 week old baby bunny. My son found it in a parking lot, and we weren’t sure what to do. I drove 60 miles round trip to Red Creek, and it was worth the time and effort. They are obviously very passionate about what they are doing, and the bunny is in good hands. I feel much better knowing the bunny is going to be OK.