# Fuzzy Kids Loose Backyard Priviledges



## BlueWedge (Sep 11, 2005)

I mentioned this to several people at the spring rally. One of our dogs discovered a cottontail nest in the backyard. Here are a couple of photos with mom sitting on her nest.



















She only has one eye (photos are of her bad side). I think there are 4+ in the nest and they look just like mini 4" bunnies. She feeds them in the mornings and probably during the night. The bulk of the day she spends under a bush behind our Outback trailer keeping an eye on her nest. She took one of our dogs on a merry chase around the backyard. They no longer have access to the back.

Our dogs are not impressed - they have to use the front yard because C.B. and family have taken over the back.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Keep us posted...I'd like to see the little guys as the grow up.


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

I 'spose it comes as no surprise that I'm thrilled!!!! Good for you!!!!

We don't have rabbits here - too many coyotes - but my yard in Ohio was, apparently, posted somewhere as a 5 star hotel for rabbits! I had nests everywhere and, no, my dog was also NOT impressed .... but learned to 'be gentle". He would go out with me when I'd take the Strawberry stems out to the babies - - - and he'd lay with his nose almost in the nest as I gave them their "treat". Magic thought the bone he got when we went inside was MUCH better and he never did figure out the Strawberry thing. But - oh - how he loved his rabbits!!!

Enjoy! I think there may be NOTHING cuter than a baby rabbit (once it gets it's fur, that is).


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## Doxie-Doglover-Too (Jan 25, 2007)

awwww! so sweet!







can you get pix of babies or will you be attacked?


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

wolfwood said:


> Enjoy! I think there may be NOTHING cuter than a baby rabbit (once it gets it's fur, that is).


Compared to baby Pigeons that is for sure.


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

Doxie-Doglover-Too said:


> awwww! so sweet!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yeah...gotta look out for those killer rabbits ... fangs, claws







YIKES!!! *RUN! CRICKET ... RUN!!!*


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

CamperAndy said:


> Enjoy! I think there may be NOTHING cuter than a baby rabbit (once it gets it's fur, that is).


Compared to baby Pigeons that is for sure.








[/quote]
Sorry... but I gotta agree with you on that!!! Of course, once they get their 1st feathers ...well, now, _that's_ a different story...


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## bradnjess (Mar 25, 2007)

We had this happen in our backyard our first year in this house, apparently the neighborhood rabbits didn't know we had a crazy lab that was always up for a good chase. Our lab didn't like the mama rabbit but seemed quite fond of the babies, she'd chase the mom off every morning and then check on the babies, I guess its the price a rabbit pays for making a home right in the middle of a lab's backyard.







Okay here's the gross part, I let the grass grow up a little around the hole and was going to allow them to stay until the babies were old enough to move on. One evening my DW and I were eating dinner and looking out the bay window watching the mamma looking after (we thought) the bunnies. We could tell she was eating something, so I got the binoculars and sure enough she was....... every single bunny.







We were pretty shocked but after a little research online we found out that that sort of thing is common when rabbits have babies too young, evidently they just don't know what to do.

So now we rabbit proof the back yard as much as possible, they can do whatever they want in the front yard. If they get in the back yard they better get out before Molly sees them, after all its her yard. Luckily for the rabbits though she's been preoccupied with squirrels lately. Yesterday I found Molly standing guard at the edge of the vegetable garden, not even letting the robins look for a meal.

Kudos for allowing the bunnies to stay and for protecting them. I hope your dog gets its backyard back soon and doesn't get too offended.

Brad


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## BlueWedge (Sep 11, 2005)

OK - I braved the backyard. Snuck by C.B. and took some exclusive photos.

Here is one of the nest. Hard to notice it except for the fence we put around it. 









Here is a photo of the kits. I am not sure if their eyes are open yet. I tucked them back in. C.B. appears to be a great Mom.









Hopefully she won't move them. Our back yard is relatively safe. The front yard didn't work so well for some kits a few years ago.









Just looked outside - Looks like C.B. caught me. She is giving me the evil eye.

Dogs love the front yard - that way they can leave/read messages from the whole neighborhood. We don't normally let them out in the front because of their hearing problem if you know what I mean.


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## Doxie-Doglover-Too (Jan 25, 2007)

BlueWedge said:


> OK - I braved the backyard. Snuck by C.B. and took some exclusive photos.
> 
> Here is one of the nest. Hard to notice it except for the fence we put around it.
> 
> ...


awwww, so cute! is it a hole covered with grass ? Heck, I know nothing about Bunny homes. Better watch Thunder, he will steal one of those for a companion for Bonnie The Bunny


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## Doxie-Doglover-Too (Jan 25, 2007)

wolfwood said:


> awwww! so sweet!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yeah...gotta look out for those killer rabbits ... fangs, claws







YIKES!!! *RUN! CRICKET ... RUN!!!*








[/quote]

Cricket likes rabbit stew. Penny would like Squirrel Stew but since she stares up the trees all day, therefore making them stay IN the tree, she won't have much luck catching one


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## BlueWedge (Sep 11, 2005)

Doxie-Doglover-Too said:


> awwww, so cute! is it a hole covered with grass ? Heck, I know nothing about Bunny homes. Better watch Thunder, he will steal one of those for a companion for Bonnie The Bunny


It is actually a hole she started digging perhaps 2 weeks ago. It is deeper than it looks. There are more bunnies than the photo shows. I mowed over it once hoping she would select the 3 acres behind instead. Near as we can guess she had them last Wednesday/Thursday. She originally covered it with dog fur we left out for the birds and grass. It now appears she has added a lot more of her own fur and grass. They are tucked in really well. I won't disturb them again.

Not sure why she picked our back yard. She knows about our dogs, they have chased her on more than one occasion. They are 14 years old and know they shouldn't chew on the wildlife but that doesn't mean they don't try.

Here is a link if anyone is interested about wild rabbits FAQ - House Rabbit Society.


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## BlueWedge (Sep 11, 2005)

C.B. didn't like the photos of her bad side so here are a couple of new ones. She has had a tough life dogs,cats, kids and wild animals all want/had a piece of her.



















Just to her left ( my right ) is our Outback.


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## 4ME (Sep 11, 2006)

Doxie-Doglover-Too said:


> awwww! so sweet!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yeah...gotta look out for those killer rabbits ... fangs, claws







YIKES!!! *RUN! CRICKET ... RUN!!!*








[/quote]

Cricket likes rabbit stew. Penny would like Squirrel Stew but since she stares up the trees all day, therefore making them stay IN the tree, she won't have much luck catching one
[/quote]

Cricket might have met his/her match with the killer rabbit. May the best Fangs win!


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

Monty Python did call in a "missing rabbit" ....


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## Doxie-Doglover-Too (Jan 25, 2007)

wolfwood said:


> Monty Python did call in a "missing rabbit" ....


GULP... Cricket, where are you?


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## BlueWedge (Sep 11, 2005)

Not sure how I missed posting this one earlier.










Vorpal Bunny.


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## JerseyGirl86 (Mar 30, 2009)

So sweet and so lucky to have you being their protector. They'll appreciate it so much that someday they'll pull together and you'll never have to cut grass again!


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## BlueWedge (Sep 11, 2005)

Made a 9:30 wake up call for the kids this morning with the lawn mower. They fussed a bit but never got out of the nest. Mom tried to lure me away from them as I made passes along the back yard. Luckily no rab...bits.









The dogs love the front yard. Previously they were not allow out there because they had developed seeing problems. They couldn't see listening to us.


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## clarkely (Sep 15, 2008)

we get them as well.................our dog got a couple of them last year......tragic for my son who was taking care of them........

They are cute little buggers


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## battalionchief3 (Jun 27, 2006)

We had a box turtle nest once ( I guess they call it a nest ). She dug a hole and buried the eggs. She sat on them all day but we never saw them hatch but we do have a few more box turtles around now.


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## BlueWedge (Sep 11, 2005)

Here are a few more photos taken today. It rained heavily and blew yesterday. They look a bit damp this morning. The woven grass/bunny fur cover was gone. The sun is now out so they should be drying. Maybe CB(mom) removed the cover so they would dry out. Or perhaps she is trying to get them to leave the nest. Still very tiny and really cute.

This is a close up of one of the buns. Not sure if this is the one our dog named Tasty or not. 









Here is a blurry photo of the nest. It is getting a bit crowded in there. Lots of ears.


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## BlueWedge (Sep 11, 2005)

Well the kids are leaving the house. Or at least they are out of the nest for a bit. Kind of hard to see them at this resolution. You can see the nest at the left of the photo. The yellow arrow point towards a couple of them outside the nest. They stretch from the nest on the left in a upward progression passed where the arrow is pointing.

















Looks like they may be older than I thought. I wonder how many times I mowed over the top of them. I remember at least twice. Pretty sure nothing was in the nest the first time.


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## BlueWedge (Sep 11, 2005)

Ok One more photo. The kids are running around.










If you would like to see more photos you can go here. Bunny


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## Doxie-Doglover-Too (Jan 25, 2007)

BlueWedge said:


> Not sure how I missed posting this one earlier.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Ha Ha! I am laughing so hard! I missed this one! OMG! that is soo funny!


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## Doxie-Doglover-Too (Jan 25, 2007)

BlueWedge said:


> Ok One more photo. The kids are running around.
> 
> 
> 
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Thanks David for sharing!


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## BlueWedge (Sep 11, 2005)

Ok one last update. Bunny town is closed as everyone has moved out of the nest. I just missed getting a photo of the last 2 leaving the backyard last night.

Mom spent the last 2 days guarding the kits the best she could from the crows. She was actually attacking them. I did see one of the kids going for a short flight in the backyard. Hopefully the rest of them adhere to the bunny laws and stay hidden during the day.

Later today the girls should get back their priviledges.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

BlueWedge said:


> Ok one last update. Bunny town is closed as everyone has moved out of the nest. I just missed getting a photo of the last 2 leaving the backyard last night.
> 
> Mom spent the last 2 days guarding the kits the best she could from the crows. She was actually attacking them. I did see one of the kids going for a short flight in the backyard. Hopefully the rest of them adhere to the bunny laws and stay hidden during the day.
> 
> Later today the girls should get back their priviledges.


By short flight, do you mean it was dropped or the crow took it into its nest?


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## BlueWedge (Sep 11, 2005)

Oregon_Camper said:


> Ok one last update. Bunny town is closed as everyone has moved out of the nest. I just missed getting a photo of the last 2 leaving the backyard last night.
> 
> Mom spent the last 2 days guarding the kits the best she could from the crows. She was actually attacking them. I did see one of the kids going for a short flight in the backyard. Hopefully the rest of them adhere to the bunny laws and stay hidden during the day.
> 
> Later today the girls should get back their priviledges.


By short flight, do you mean it was dropped or the crow took it into its nest?
[/quote]

Around 15 feet and dropped. Mom was on it very fast. Not sure what it was doing running around the yard in the middle of the day. Of course then the crows were playing the gang up routine. Mom was very mad. Little bunny was trying to jump the 6ft fence, he was way too active. Hide little bunny. Mom was trying to get the crow(s) on top of the fence. I told the crows to find something easier. The bunnies are a bit big for them.


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## Scoutr2 (Aug 21, 2006)

We always seem to get a momma bunny nesting in the middle of our back yard, too. And I never understood why, what with a dog in the yard. Seems like they'd choose a yard without a dog.









But an old guy up the street, with a lot of woods wisdom, answered that puzzler for me. He asked me, "Are there any neighbors nearby that let their cats run outside?" The answer was "Yes."

Well, it seems that momma bunnies are pretty smart. They know that a cat can smell their babies and would definately raid the nest. But dogs, on the other hand, cannot smell the babies while they are nursing. (When they start eating greenery, though, dogs can then begin to detect their odor.) So the momma bunny builds here nest where the dog lives (not being able to smell the babies), knowing that the dog will most likely chase away the cats, thereby keeping the babies safe from the cats.

Isn't it wonderful how nature seems to work everything out?!

Just a bit of my neighbor's "woods wisdom" for us Outbackers.

Mike


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

Scoutr2 said:


> Well, it seems that momma bunnies are pretty smart. They know that a cat can smell their babies and would definately raid the nest. But dogs, on the other hand, cannot smell the babies while they are nursing. (When they start eating greenery, though, dogs can then begin to detect their odor.) So the momma bunny builds here nest where the dog lives (not being able to smell the babies), knowing that the dog will most likely chase away the cats, thereby keeping the babies safe from the cats.


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