Welcome
Welcome to Moon Gazers, a website dedicated to the care of orphaned Leverets and juvenile Hares. Also see the Hare Preservation Trust for lots more information about hares.
Introduction to Hand Rearing a Leveret
If the leveret in your care has injuries it is important that you have these injuries assessed by a vet as soon as possible.
Leverets 3 - 4 weeks old
Orphaned leverets can be very difficult to hand rear but this doesn’t mean you wont succeed in doing so. If for whatever reason you are unable to do this, then where possible I will take him/her on for you, hand rear, rehabilitate then release.
Like deer, leverets are highly strung by nature, so should therefore be kept in as quiet an area as possible. They won't feed well if surrounded by noise and movement. Usually, there are two to four in a litter, born above ground, fully furred with their eyes open. To avoid the entire litter being lost to predators they will separate to an individual resting places known as a 'form'. The Mother Hare usually feeds them morning and/or evening and will call to them when she arrives. By nature and their feeding pattern, hares and leverets are more active between early evening to dawn.
Leveret 3 - 4 weeks old
If required and whenever possible I can offer you support to help you hand rear the leveret in your care. This has been achieved successfully via email and telephone. I would take you through feeding, weaning, rehabilitation and discuss release options. Depending on the age of your leveret and the time of year, you would need to allow around 6 - 8 weeks to achieve this.
PLEASE KEEP YOUR LEVERET DRY, QUIET AND SECURE.
Please be guided by the information throughout this website. It has been based on 17 years experience and hopefully it should save you some of the stress in dealing with small, but worrying, complications. Should there be anything that you are unsure of please ask, my contact details are at the top of this page.
To help me advise you, please would you email me a photograph of your leveret (for identification), also his weight, circumstances of his rescue, what you have been feeding him on, quantity and frequency.
Release
If you do have the enchanting experience of helping an orphaned or injured hare then please complete your good work by releasing them back into the wild. This should be at around 8 weeks for hand rearing; age, weight, health and weather conditions considered. If you truly care about Wildlife, care about their future ... RELEASE them.