Here’s the story:
We’ve always had rabbits in our yard, your basic medium-size brown rabbits. No big deal.
Yesterday evening, I let the dog out, and I saw a rabbit in the middle of the yard. I said, “Molly, go get the bunny!” and she took off after it. Of course, the rabbit was faster than the dog, and got away.
A little while later, the dog wanted out again, and I saw a rabbit in the same spot. I said, “Molly! Bunny!” and she took off. Rabbit, 2, Dog, 0.
Even later (about 11:00), I let her out for the final pee-time, and once again, the rabbit was doing something right in the middle of the yard. The dog took off after the rabbit, but the rabbit got away.
This morning, I noticed what looked like a little mound of dried grass where the rabbit had been, but since the dog sometimes digs, I didn’t worry about it too much. Around noon, my daughter went out with her, and came running back in screaming about “something” moving in the ground, scaring the dog. I went out to look, and there are baby bunnies in a hole in the ground! There are at least two, maybe three, and they’re really tiny, and their eyes aren’t even open. The hole is covered with dried grass and matted hair or fur. The hole is right in the middle of the yard, out in the open. I can’t believe a rabbit would leave her babies in a hole like that, in the open, especially in a yard that smells like “dog.” Don’t they usually make their holes under bushes?
I keep looking out for the Mommy Rabbit, but haven’t seen her. Will she come back for them? I have some lettuce and carrots - should I put it out for the Mommy to get?
Should I keep an eye on them, and maybe take them to the vet? My first instinct is to leave them alone, and we’ve been taking the dog out on her leash in the front yard, but has the Mommy Rabbit abandoned the babies? Is she bringing them food? How long will it take them to mature?
Hey! Same thing going on in my yard. Almost. Lucy-dog found the bunny nest this afternoon. Right in the middle of the yard. She was much less benign than your dog though.
Dog: 4
Bunnies: 1
There were five bunnies in the nest. I’m hoping Mommy Bunny comes back tonight.
Huh.
How odd.
What are those bunnies thinking?
Unless they’re quite staunchly Darwinian, you’d think they’d give their offspring more of a fighting chance, yes?
I wish I knew what to tell you. I’d take the dog out on a leash and then maybe check back?
Do you have a local extension service?
They might know what to do.
The reason bunnies survive is because they breed like, well, bunnies.
We have dogs, and our neighbor has dogs. So, of course, rather than build her nest off in the woods or in the neighbors yard, mrs bunny always decides to build her nest right in between the two dog yards. :smack: The first year, despite all of our best attempts, the bunnies all became dog food. The second year, we decided to try and save the bunnies. We consulted our local vet, who said that baby bunnies are very difficult to keep alive. We rescued them from the yard, kept them in a little cage with bits of grass and such so it felt kinda like home, fed them baby formula, and they all died anyway.
Mama bunny usually brings food right around dusk. Our mama bunny kept bringing food despite being scared off by dogs several times, so you may want to just hang out and watch and see if she comes back. I’ve never managed to successfully save the bunnies, so I’m afraid I don’t have any good advice for you.
I had a coworker once who brought in shoeboxes with baby birds in them all the time. She found them fallen out of nests, too young to fly. Every year, three or four of them. They all died. She called this activity saving the baby birds. I called it starving the baby weasels.
Siccing your dog on the bunnies does seem just a tad harsh, though.
Aww…that reminds me of a sad story that happened here. We live across the street from a park which is basically an empty block with grass and some trees. Right smack dab in the middle of the park, out in the open, a mother bunny built her nest. I didn’t understand why - the city guys come by weekly to mow with their big, noisy riding mowers, and there is plenty of cover in our yard and in the huge hill of woods behind us.
One day we (my SO and I) notice the mother bunny chasing crows around in the park (this is when we discoverd that she built her nest there). I had never heard of a rabbit chasing crows, so I took a closer look. She was defending her nest valiantly, but the crows picked up one baby bunny and carried it off. They grabbed another, but dropped it in the border between the street and the woods behind us. He wasn’t doing too good, and we didn’t want to take him back to the nest (the crows were still around), The mother bunny didn’t come and rescue him. So we put baby bunny under our hosta, in the shade. He died. It was really sad. My SO cried, he is so sensitive.
Leave them alone. Baby bunnies are basically impossible for the average person to keep alive, and you probably won’t have much luck finding someone who would be willing to raise them. The mother feeds the bunnies early in the morning and in the evening, so she might come around when you’re inside. If she has abandoned them, they have all most zero chance of survival:(* Oh, according to the rehabilitator in my area, rabbits shouldn’t really be given lettuce, but the carrots should be ok.
I wish someone told me that last spring.
::: pointedly ignoring all the smart-aleck answers, ya big meanies :::
We checked on them this morning, and they’re much bigger already. The hole is deeper than I thought yesterday, and we saw at least four of them. We’re going to just leave them alone, and take the dog out in the front for now.
They’re really cute.
Bosda, I wasn’t trying to offend, sorry if I did. I should have pointed out you are evil because I now have to have my shirt cleaned. Cherry Pepsi everywhere.
I have to agree that they’re very hard to raise. One of my co-workers managed to keep a couple who were several weeks old but she couldn’t save the one that came in a month or so ago. She did fine with a couple of raccoons though.
I remember the hole my friend’s rabbit dug in his pen when we were kids. It looked shallow but it was actually several yards long.
Hey, do they have their eyes open yet? That’ll make quite a difference.
Oh, by the way, that’s right about the lettuce. It’s very low in food value and it contains the stuff laudnaum comes from. (You know, the stuff Victorian ladies lived on until they invented Valium!) Hmmm, stoned bunnies!
Cabbage isn’t as good as you’d think either. Gives 'em gas. Ahhh, the garden breezes…
