Everyone now:
AWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!
Damned if that isn’t the cutest thing ever.
Zette
Well, it looks like I got here late, but you have been given some great advice. The House Rabbit Society site is excellent, everything you need to know about keeping a rabbit indoors. You definitely want to give him some type of rabbit food, supplemented by dark green leafy vegetables and plenty of timothy hay, not alfalfa. No more bread! You probably do want to get him/her spayed or neutered, whether or not you plan on getting any other pets…it will greatly reduce various undesirable behaviors, to say the least. Try to find a vet who specializes in rabbits.
As to whether it is a wild rabbit or not, I have always heard that the rabbits normally found wild in North America (cottontails, around here) could never be domesticated…they always die in captivity. It could be a “feral” domestic rabbit-all breeds of domestic rabbit are descended from the European wild rabbit, and I have heard that there are feral populations in some parts of North America. Most likely, though, it is someones former pet. A “rabbit vet” could probably tell you what kind it is. What color(s) is it?
By the way, Tapswiller, you mention you are a single guy. Well, I can tell you authoritatively that little bunnies are babe magnets of almost unrivalled power. Stronger, even, then golden labs wearing bandannas that catch Frisbees in their mouths.
Just something to think about when you are deciding whether or not to keep the little guy.
Name it “Cocoa Puffs” because that’s what they make.
How big is the bunny, Tapswiller? If it’s over 100 grams, or about as big as the palm of your hand, it’s old enough to be on it’s own. If it’s a wild rabbit, they don’t do well in captivity. My experience is with Eastern cottontails, and the wild rabbits in Oregon are Brush rabbits, according to my guidebook.
Wild rabbits are tricky to raise. If they’re babies, the nursing phase is fraught with diarrhea problems. Past that, they’ll seem to be doing OK, and then either succumb to “capture myopathy”, where they just up and die, or all of a sudden kick hard enough when you pick them up to break their own backs. I work in a wildlife rehabilitation center, and am known as the person with a “touch” for bunnies, but their flighty digestive and nervous systems make them a real challenge. As babies, they tolerate those who care for them, but there’s a certain point that they get twitchy and wild. That’s the time to let them go. Bunnies are awfully cute, but wild rabbits are not pets. I’m sparing some sad details of experience.
Near your area, in Corvallis, there is this wildlife rehabilitation center. If your bunny is wild, I’d contact them for advice.
If you have a stray domestic bunny, the links here are fine and good. Bunnies have delicate nervous systems and appreciate calm and quiet. They’re very sweet because of that, to my mind. I would like to hear the “It’s allright, bunny” song, though… 
Bunny update:
Thanks again for all your good advice, folks.
I got the bunny a nice salad and he has put away a remarkable pile of greens.
But, alas, I think I should let him go. I asked around, and nobody cops to losing a bunny. He is dark brownish–camouflage colors. So I am pretty sure he is a wild bunny who somehow wandered in.
I was torn last night and this morning—he obviously doesn’t like being caged, but then again he would probably get used to it, and would at least eat better…
But after reading elelle’s post, I think my mind is made up.
Babe magnet factor aside (thanks, LL!), I think I’m gonna call him Cocoa Puffs (the color is about right, too), let him finish off the expensive salad I bought, and then take him out to a field and say goodbye.
sniff
Tapswiller, is there a varied-animal shelter or animal control officer in your area? I don’t think you should keep him either if he’s wild, but if you’re not positive that he is, he could be a domestic rabbit (even if he doesn’t belong to someone right near you). Some of them are the color you describe. If he’s domestic and you let him go, he’s sure to be killed; he’ll probably be killed even if he’s wild because he’s so young. I know it’s just nature, but I can’t stop thinking about that poor bunny getting attacked by some dog.
If you have an SPCA or other decent animal facility near you, they can probably tell right off whether he’s domestic or wild and if he is wild, they might be able to care for him until he can be released. Any possibility that you can try and get him to someplace like that?
elelle beat me to it, but I would like to reinforce the notion that wild bunnies won’t tolerate captivity. When I was 12, my dog dug up a bunny nest. The babies were so tiny- hairless, eyes closed, tiny ears like squirrels. My best friend and I fed them with an eyedropper every two hours around the clock; a vet had given us the formula but warned that all the bunnies would die no matter what we did.
They all lived. Hazel, Blackberry, Dandelion, Bigwig, Pipkin, and Hyzenthlay. They grew fur and ears and opened their eyes. Then one day, as if on cue, they all became terrified of us- the only mothers they had ever known! We, who had saved their lives, were suddenly the enemy! We let them go tearfully, but for a few years afterwards we always knew which rabbits were “our” rabbits: they were twice as big and had glossy coats, like the rabbits in the Warren of the Snares except happier.
So, if it is indeed a wild bunny, let him go and rejoice vicariously in his freedom. If it’s a dometicated bunny, don’t let him go, or he’ll probably die.
BTW, yes, there are some horrible diseases you can get from wild rabbits.
I see a little guy in the early morning and evening around the yard. Perhaps he will come by to visit you.
Okay, missbunny, just for you, I will try to find somebody to give me a positive ID.
That’s really probably the best thing you could do for him. Let us know how it turns out.
There sure are a lot of “rabbit people” on this board!
Is it bad that I keep checking in here, thinking “oh please let it be a bunny he can keep”?
I can’t think of anything cuter than a guy with a bunny.
Bunny report, third and last.
Verdict of local veterinarian: wild bunny.
Vet lady concurs about impossibility of domestication, opines bunny is old enough for release.
A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.
So last night, at dusk, after a hearty dinner (pizza and beer for me, salad and water for CP), we hike to nearby Wild Place.
I say, “Okay, pal, you’re free.”
Receive cryptic black-eyed stare in return.
I remove bunny from box, place him on ground.
He takes a few uncertain hops, as if unable to believe in his new freedom.
“Go,” I say quietly, “with my blessing.”
He bolts headlong for the nearest stand of brush.
“Good luck, little bunny.”
And I walk away.
FAREWELL TO COCOA PUFFS
by Tapswiller
Goodbye, little fuzzy one!
May your ears grow long,
May you hop strong,
And may you die an old, old rabbit,
Surrounded by a hundred fluffy-tailed offspring,
And ten thousand fuzzy grandbunnies.
Very cool.
I know it’s all for the best but anyway.
good for you. you did the right thing. a friend and i once raised a baby squirrel that we found on the street. when he was about 4 months old, he started acting really wild, and hanging on the screens, staring out the windows. i convinced my friend that it was time to let him go, that he really wasn’t happy in an apartment. we both cried a lot, then opened the door, and he was off like a shot. we still see him every now and then. we know it’s him, because every once in a while, a really mouthy squirrel will climb the screen and chatter madly into the house, until we bring him some cookie dough. he eats it, flicks his tail, and runs off.
you made friends with the bunny god today.