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Post by breezygardener on Jul 6, 2022 12:00:23 GMT -5
Would they have crawled there? Yes. It's sad, but when they're too young to be out on their own, mom leaves, & they start getting cold & hungry, they'll just start crawling away in all directions until they die. Also I had a 5' and growing sunflower that looked like it was eaten at the base. It was laying on the ground when I came from in the evening. Would a rabbit do that? While a rabbit "might" do that, a sunflower that tall & with a thick base would more likely have been downed by a groundhog.
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Post by lilolpeapicker on Jul 6, 2022 16:28:22 GMT -5
they start getting cold & hungry, they'll just start crawling away in all directions until they die.
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Post by breezygardener on Jul 6, 2022 17:06:36 GMT -5
I know. It IS very sad. Over the decades I have rescued more than my fair share of bunnies from nests that have been lawn-mowered over, attacked by dogs/cats, or just abandoned. I've always been very careful not to interfere until I'm absolutely sure that mom isn't coming back, which sometimes means some in the nest have expired by the time I make that decision. I've raised them from naked with eyes closed to furred but with eyes still closed (normally if they're furred & their eyes are open they can survive on their own if they're mobile). Survival in my hands has been a crapshoot. Some have taken formula very well & grown up to the point where I've been able to release them; others haven't. I console myself with the knowledge that if I had just left them they would have died anyway & Mr. Breezy would have had to play Digger O'Dell yet again.
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Post by Wheelgarden on Aug 27, 2022 17:07:17 GMT -5
Came across this article about garden wildlife by tendingmygarden on her website. She mentions the "unlikely friendship" she had with a rabbit in her garden, and I related to that. I've had a few of those encounters with the critters over the years --- crows, mockingbirds, and Mr. Bull-bunny who was big as a beagle and would walk (not hop), unafraid, right around me. Animals can certainly be pests, but they are fascinating. tendingmygarden.com/an-unlikely-friendship/
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Post by gardendmpls on Aug 28, 2022 1:51:16 GMT -5
Mr. Bull-bunny who was big as a beagle and would walk (not hop), unafraid, right around me Maybe not a wild bunny, but an escaped Flemish Giant. I've seen some as large as a shetland sheep dog (see picture in article below) homeandroost.co.uk/blog/flemish-giant-rabbits/
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Post by Wheelgarden on Aug 28, 2022 15:09:41 GMT -5
gardendmpls No, he was just another Eastern Cottontail, just really big. They seem to grow large around here...they're evidently well-fed. I used to let an elderly gentleman set and harvest traps around the place, but he's now passed away. Haven't seen as many this year, maybe the snakes and coyotes are being well-fed too.
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Post by lilolpeapicker on Apr 10, 2023 12:33:02 GMT -5
I have question about rabbits. Last year rabbits had their litter inside the corn rows. Over the last few days the space under the a cement bench near the back of my house has been clean out of grass and a small depression was dug out. Would rabbits do that?
First day the grass was removed, a couple days ago. Today the tuffs of grass are gone now a depression is there. Maybe it was the dog looking for a warm dry spot but I usually see her coming out from the spots she has dug. Maybe a pic will be better. Just wondering.
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Post by breezygardener on Apr 10, 2023 13:05:53 GMT -5
Usually rabbits will dig a shallow depression where there is vegetation that they can pull down over the nest a bit to hide it. Then they'll line the nest with cut grasses as well as fur that they pull out from their own bellies. But there have been bizarre instances outside of the norm.
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Post by Mumsey on Apr 15, 2023 4:25:23 GMT -5
I have been seeing a round depression every morning next to a Hibiscus bush, in wood chip mulch. No sign of any digging or nest, I even looked nearby for a nest but didn't find anything. It's about 12-15" diameter. There is no vegetation grown up yet.
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Post by breezygardener on Apr 15, 2023 12:18:47 GMT -5
It's about 12-15" diameter. That's really large for a bunny nest. They tend to go as small as possible to avoid detection. If the soil there is dry, they could be using it as a "dusting pit".
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Post by binnylou on Apr 15, 2023 13:16:41 GMT -5
Mumsey, I had a round depression like you describe in last years garlic bed. No damage was done…it looked like somebody curled up and took a nap. I think it was a fox.
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Post by Mumsey on Apr 15, 2023 15:18:12 GMT -5
Not a fox, though they have been seen in town in recent years. Back yard is fenced. I would level out the depression every day, now whatever it was has decided it's not the place to be!
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Post by binnylou on Apr 15, 2023 16:25:59 GMT -5
A fence won’t stop a fox…they can jump, so I’ve read.
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Post by gardendmpls on Apr 15, 2023 23:25:18 GMT -5
it looked like somebody curled up and took a nap Maybe a cat? Mine has spots he likes to go for a cat nap.
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Post by Mumsey on Apr 16, 2023 5:41:59 GMT -5
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