You would even consider tossing baby bunnies into a fire???
No matter how much hosta, roses, petunias they might eat....that is way too cruel and barbaric for me!
Mother will likely come back and raise them....if a hawk or a rat or a cat doesn't get them first.
Burn baby bunnies??? Please....no!!

Lesson on rabbits from someone who raised grand champion pedigreed show rabbits for years.

First, mother rabbits generally only feed the babies once or twice a day since her persence at the nest would draw attention to the nest, this is why you never see momma rabbit feeding her kits. If you get the babies back in the nest, the mother will find and feed them, you'll just never see her do it.

Second, touching the babies won't matter, Mom will still feed them since she basically gives them no more attention than sitting over top of them and giving them a meal.

Third, this is to anyone who has come across a tiny baby rabbit in the garden and thinking it's been abondonded and thinks they need to rescue it. Momma breeds again within minutes of giving birth, they, well, breed like rabbits. Since gestation is 4 weeks, by the time litter number one is 4 weeks old, Momma is off with another litter, leaving litter number one to their own defenses. That tiny baby rabbit you think needs rescueing, is in fact, on it's own and able to take care of itself. If it is furred, has it's eyes open and able to hop away from you, it doesn't need your help.

Fourth, cruel fact, rabbits have such a high breeding rate because most of those babies will be eaten, over 90% are born to die, that is the way of nature. Most of us have eastern cottontails running through our yards and eating our hostas, these are far from endangered. There are species of rabbits that are endangered, most of us do not have these species.

The best thing to do when coming across a rabbit nest is to go ohhh and awww and how cute, and then just leave it alone.

No, I can not harm any babies I come across, I'm a sucker for babies, but then again, armed with the facts, I know that most, if not all, will be killed in one form or another in the next few weeks anyhow, so I endulge in my, oh how cute instinct and then let nature take care of them from there.

Sorry if I'm coming across cold hearted, but remember, I'm an organic gardener, I enjoy sharing my gardens with nature, but I also don't help or hinder nature.

I'm with choc. Leave them alone. If it was a nest of something rare/endangered, I'd call in some local wildlife experts, but other than that you don't need to take care of them. And you probably don't need to worry about these particular rabbits as garden pests, either. They probably won't survive to destroy your hostas, so let their bodies nourish other creatures, whether it be hawks or 'possums or worms.

Val

Death by fire was just a fleeting thought. As I said none of us could do the "act"

They are 15 ft. from the back door so you can't help but look for them now that we know they are there.

We don't want to step on them or get them with the mower.

We'll let nature do it's thing, but I just wish they were much farther away from the house.

Connie

Chocolate-great informative post. Thanks!!!

Connie-I understand the frustration with rabbits. Hope they don't trouble you for long!!!

LOL, now who wants the lecture on how to attract butterflys and toads, why you should allow snakes in the garden, the wonders of spiders, natural ways to deter deer, yadda, yadda, yadda. OK, Barbie climbing off her soap box and giving your poor eyes a break.

Connie, I'm glad your family is too soft hearted for the burning thing. I have had to dispatch critters I knew were suffering, something that always tears me up inside, but I take the instant approach, burning would not have been instant.

But take heart. If a snake, raccoon, cat, ect, does not find that nest soon, you won't have to work around it for long. If the babies had hints of fur, figure two to three weeks, the general rule is, eyes open at 10 days, full ablility to see at two weeks, totally dependancy at 4 weeks.

Now for some fun, who knows the difference between a rabbit and a hare. Granted in some species there is a marked difference in apperance, but in others it would be difficult to tell an adult hare from an adult rabbit. The deviding line is something other than apperance. And yes, this is somewhat hosta related, there are hares in hosta growing areas, they do not all live in the west, New Enland does have hares,lol.

Hiya Choc

If I remember correctly there are physical differences
like longer ears and bigger size for the Hare. Also thier ability to jump higher and quicker development of their young. The babies may even be able to see immediately after birth. I had a Hare as a kid and he was a terror.
He would fight with the puppies and buck with his hind legs. Hares are what the original 'Bugs Bunny' was patterned after though he softened to a 'wabbit' over the years.

I couldn't have burnt the babies Connie. You'd be amazed at the tender heart residing inside a huge football player when it comes to most anything baby.

Curtis/m2m

My dogs eat them.....Bunny Sushi ;)

OMG weed! LOLOLOL!

Bunny sushi sent me into fits of giggles!

Alexa

Oooh, I want the attracting toads and snakes lecture! My mom always had toads and garter snakes in her garden, and I have none. I was thinking of putting in a water feature. I don't have my lawn sprayed, but I do use slug bait and spot-spray my weeds with roundup. Would that keep toads and garter snakes away?

Val

Bingo Curtis, give the man a cigar. The difference between hares and rabbits is the stage of developement in which the young are born. Rabbits are born blind, hairless and totally dependent on a mothers care. Hares are born eyes open, fully haired and while a mothers care does insure a higher survival rate, if push comes to shove the young can survive on their own from birth. Yea, I know, worthless information, but still interesting.

And you don't have to tell me that rabbits, or in your case, hares can have attitudes, I have had more than one that could and did take on the dogs and win. Still carry a few scars from those who took on me, lol. For those who are thinking of getting a rabbit as a pet, they can make the most wonderful affectionate pets, more intelligent than most people give them credit for. But get a male, aka, buck. With rabbits, it's the females, aka, does, that keep a territory and the bucks roam around looking for love and the does do defend that territory. When I had the show rabbits, it was the does I was always fighting off because they did not want me to intrude into their territory, aka, their cage. Once I got them out of 'their territory' and on neutral grounds, 99% of the time the same rabbit that tried to tear me to shreads turned into a sweet docile animal. Most of my bucks were puppy dogs no matter where they were.

Now for some more useless information. Domestic rabbits, the ones we enjoy in all it's man made forms, no other animal has been more malupulated as much as domestic rabbits other than dogs, is decendended from the English cotton tail. Anyone who has ever read Watership Down as a child will remember how those rabbits, English rabbits, dug warrens. Ferrets were first domesticated as an aid in rabbit hunting, going into those warrens to flush out the rabbits. Our American cottontails do not build warrens. While domestic rabbits, aka, English cottontail decendants, can and will breed with American cottontails, most of the time the young are in fact, mules, sterile.

Omg, lecture, lecture, lecture, I should be at some school with a bunch of bored students suffering my endless rantings, lol.

Hosta, let us know when and if your baby bunnies leave the nest and go on to ravish your hostas.

Let's not forget that the "jackrabbit" is actually a hare, and the "snowshoe hare" is actually a rabbit... But they all taste good fried, stewed and in hossenpfeffer.

Indyrose

Here's my rabbit friend (as long as he only eats the clover). PIM

{{gwi:1045793}}

"Barbaric" -- yeah, that's exactly what I thought, fleeting thought or no. "Do the deed" and "get rid of" ...I am speechless. Try blood meal and milorganite instead. Slightly less cruel.

I'm just now getting seriously interested in hostas, and I have some I really love. I have a collection of daylilies that includes '06 intros from Rice, Lambertson, Morss, Hanson, Biaglow, Apps, Herrington, etc, and hard-to-find rarities from Whatley, Doorakian, etc etc etc; to say these are not inexpensive would be the understatement of the year. I also have voles in my yard and a rabbit the size of a planet. I'd be upset if my plants were eaten, but no plant is worth the life of an animal.

Soapbox lecture to continue in half an hour. Bring paper & pen and be prepared to take notes. You will be tested on this in the midterm :-)))

Ummm, Weed - can I PLEASE pretty please borrow your dog for a while? My plants really are worth a heck of a lot more than these wild uninvited and definitely unwanted cottontailed quasi rats. No apologies all round.

Digs.

Sure, Digs. I think they'd rather enjoy going 'out' for dinner for a change. {{gwi:529114}}

WOW!!!!! What a varied group of responses! Did I stir the pot or not?

I just was scrolling down the posts and couldn't believe 16 hits!

So I reread the few I got right away and then the others. The rabbit and hare information was very interesting Chocolatie

Toads and snakes I haven't found yet, but we do have a frog in the small catch pond we have.

Two of the babies died and the other three have disappered.
I haven't searched very hard for the missing babies. We did see a rabbit close to where the babies were so we thought it was the mother.

Connie

I did the "irish spring" soap shavings around my hostas and so far so good, I have seen my three rabbits hanging out in the backyard and no more hosta damage. my mother raises the lop eared and the rex rabbits (okay and also the eating variety) but she sells them all for easter gifts.(as far as she knows) I think that is probuably why I can't let my hubby kill the wild ones, Here I am playing w/my moms rabbits, then you have the hubby cackling while looking down the scope of a shotgun (one thing I can say for him, if he kills it he eats it, he don't believe in hunting just for fun)
micke

When our sons were younger we bought them a dwarf rabbit for Easter and they named it Thumper. Sadly, she died after a year but we told them that Thumper was still around because memories never cease. Well, that winter we had a hare that just loved to nestle on our front walk or in the planting beds and that Easter there was some snow on the ground with bunny prints and the kids were convinced that Thumper had come back but they knew that he was a wild rabbit now. So we just let it go because sometimes there's no need for explanations. For two years "Thumper" came around in the winter and left in the spring, and the third year, there was a nest of baby bunnies up against our house that of course were "Thumper's" babies. Well, of course, they were tiny and could barely open their eyes so the boys would set out fresh carrots and water for them and not once did they ever go near my plants. Is this a solution, I don't know, but I still find it a heartwarming story. And yes, now that they're 20 and 17, they still refer to any bunny in the neighbourhood as "Thumper" coming back for a visit and still leave carrots and water for any of "Thumper's" babies that they find. I guess something's never cease, thank goodness.

Know what you call a cat more than 30 feet from the house?

A target.

Ditto for rabbits, but its the *ten foot* rule there.

Alas, it's a moot point, not having something wit which to attack the target.

^ _ ^

dave

trying to skim thru all these postings, but havent gotten thru all yet. sorry if i am being redundant with my question. this is my first summer in my house, and never having to landscape, mow, etc, i am learning much quick. my bulldog uncovered a baby rabbit nest tonight, they cant be more than a day or two old, as the one i saw almost looked like a mouse (which completely freaked this chicago girl now living in central illinois out). if i keep doggy away and let them be, will they leave us alone?? i dont want to upset nature, but i also dont want nature to upset our lifestyle. any tips about being a "bunny grandma" who can barely tell her dog 'no' would be quite helpful. thanks.

Katiecasey: I live in NW Chicago 'burbs and always have bunnies - and chipmunks. They leave my Hosta alone because 1. I leave the wild clover that grows under and between - they prefer it and I can't see it. 2. I have rubber 'toy' snakes placed near the prized hosta and the ones that I can see all sides of, and 3. they will leave when they are grown - it'll be very soon. I never mess with Mother Nature and I prefer animals to humans anyway.

Westy

lmao@"rabbit the size of a planet", lynxe

ademink, I recall the first time I saw it. I was looking out toward the back fence, and I saw something brown moving around. At first, I actually thought the thing was a small dog--or a large racoon. I haven't seen it since forever. Maybe it moved on to greener pastures, or to the great hosta....er, I mean carrot patch in the sky. I've had a hawk in the yard, too. Maybe the hawk saw it and thought, "All-you-can-eat Bunny Buffet!"

Anyway, even if it had stuck around, I wouldn't have harmed it. There's plenty to munch on here, including clover, so I'm sure my plants would have been fine. If not, well, there's always cayenne pepper or blood meal. And I really like the idea of plastic snakes. Will keep that in mind for the future.

I saw toads mentioned a couple of times.
A couple of days ago while mowing grass with garden tractor I actually found myself scanning the grass in front of me looking for toads. Within an hour I removed/rescued a total of 3 toads, saving them from their impending demise.
One snake wasn't so lucky though.
As for rabbits, my 3 cats get them, along with beautiful birds and cute chickmunks. Just one reason I hate cats.
Anybody want 1-3 cats?

no plant is worth the life of an animal

What if the animal is a rat? What if the rat carried disease that you could catch? What if the animal is a venomous snake? What if it's your MIL? (KIDDING!)

Do plastic snakes work for chipmunks?

If plastic snakes work for chipmunks, I'll be running to Big Lots or somewhere to buy me some snakes! My dog tries to catch them, but he's 14 and they always end up running up the rain gutters.

I don't know what kind of rabbits I have in my yard, but they love hostas. They also have very big back legs and ears. Not your normal cottontail.

"no plant is worth the life of an animal"
"What if the animal is a rat? What if the rat carried disease that you could catch? What if the animal is a venomous snake?"

My answer to your hypothetical questions is still the same.

Rats: I'm not planning to have them as house pets. No plans to snuggle up to them either. Venomous snakes: what about them?
Besides, one can theoretically catch diseases from any number of animals. Or from soil-borne microorganisms. Hmmmm. Do I need to obliterate all the soil in the garden?
Besides again, I don't know what rats with diseases or venomous snakes have to do with plants in my yard. :)

lynxe,
Just curious, do you happen to be a member of Peta?

"lynxe,
Just curious, do you happen to be a member of Peta?"

No, I'm not. I think their ranks contain a high proportion of nut jobs, either that or a kooky philosophy about appropriate actions and activities. Or both. There, now that we're WAY off topic, that should stir things up a bit. :)))

BTW, why did you ask?

Kind of have to jump in again and open my big mouth and most likely put my foot in it, getting ready to duck under the computer desk, lol.

It is no big secret on this forum that I am a nature lover and do my best to live WITH nature, I would much rather have their company than a perfect garden. But I am also practical when it comes to nature, I am a naturlist, a conservationlist, and sure no where near what meets PETA's standards.

The reason I'm writing this is just last week my God daughter brings me a baby cottontail that her boyfriends cat got and with weepy eyes, asked me to raise it as a pet. I had to be cold hearted, I told her it was fully furred, eyes open and hopping quite well so go turn it loose in the back pasture.

Here are the plain cold facts about rabbits. That tiny little rabbit hopping on your lawn is on its own, Mamma abondoned him in order to raise a new litter, she breeds right after giving birth, so when one litter is 4 weeks old, she has a new one. She breeds like a rabbit because most of the young she produces will be killed, that is natures way. If they were not killed, we would be up to our eyeballs in rabbits like they are in Australia where they are an introduced species with no natural preditors. Another fact, the nest you find is not abondoned by Mamma, she only feeds her young once or twice a day, her presents brings on preditors, so she stays away from the nest. Not seeing Mamma feeding does not mean the nest is abandoned, leave it alone.

So while I do not do anything to discourage rabbits on my property, I also do nothing to protect them. Let my hawks, snakes, cats, raccoons, whatever, keep the numbers down. If I see a little baby, I leave it. And if I find a nest, I just leave it be. I still have rabbits, always have, always will, but never enough to cause me much damage, just enough for me to enjoy.

I take this attitude with all of nature. I educate myself about the animals that share my home and take proper measures from there. I know it's so easy to fall in love with the cute and cuddly and hate the ones that offend your senses. But it's education that leads to a more proper balance. Hey, if I hadn't researched those totally gross, ugly things eating my rue, I wouldn't have my beautiful giant swallowtails today. And how many of you actually think a preying mantis is cute other than me?

Sigh, going to get off my soap box hoping I made you understand that nature has a place in all gardens, but it's up to you to educate yourself on the facts of the particular animals that share your world. In doing so, you might be surprised.

lynxe, Oh I was just curious, that's all.

Oh, back to hostas....Did you ever wonder why nobody has ever invented with a spray to make our beautiful plants less tasty to slugs? I mean, there's deer repellent,
rabbit repellent, dog and cat repellent.....why not slug repellent? They'd make a fortune!

A wild mother rabbit gave birth right out in the middle of my lawn, about 15 feet away she made a nest but hasn't moved her babies yet. It's been about 4 hours. Does anyone know if a mother rabbit will move her babies to the nest?