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
- 01Return the rabbit to the nest cup, curled in the same position as its siblings.
- 02Rebuild the cap over them with the original fur and grass, loosely enough that they can push out.
- 03Lay two twigs across the nest in an X and photograph it.
- 04Check the twigs in the morning without touching the nest. Moved twigs mean she came back.
- 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
Tell us where you are — your state, then your county — and we will list the people licensed to take it there, nearest to you first. Rehabilitators are licensed by their own state, which is why we ask.
Understand the animal
Knowing why this happens is what makes the next one easier to read.