Uncovered a rabbit nest iin my half-barrel planter

Just discovered them while trying to put in some big Coleus. What on earth made them think it was a good place for a nest up off the ground, and what, if anything, should I do? I don't want them in there. Will the mother move them for me? Abandon them? What if I do (or don't) cover them back up? I'm not sure if I hit one with my hand spade or not.

They're so widdle, I don't really want to kill them...at least not until they start eating up all my plants, as they always do. We've already got a ton of 'em around here, living underneath a shed out back. (And we're not allowed to shoot them. In fact, it's illegal to even throw a snowball in this town. Literally.)

Any suggestions?

Reply to
Nelly Wensdow
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Ask a pet store if they want to take them for sale?

And try not to think about their fate once sold to careless buyers

Persephone

Reply to
Persephone

Um, thanks, but besides not being pet-quality (the adults are actually slightly ugly) I'm pretty sure they would die. There are at least five of them all snuggled together, about 3" down into the soil, and right now they are not much bigger than mice (which I initially thought they were, but they're definitely rabbits).

I really want to encourage the mom to come get them out of there. She must be one dumb bunny, because there are acres & acres of vacant fields nearby and I further don't know why she'd put them 2 feet up, inside a (then-empty) planter in a fairly high-traffic place outside my front door. I've never been successful at rehabbing baby bunnies...And, I don't want her dumb ass squashing or chewing on my newly planted big-leaf Coleus, either.

Reply to
Nelly Wensdow

No help on the rabbits, but your mention of poor judgment reminds me of the time I lit the gas grill without looking inside and this mouse went three feet in the air with his little whiskers crinkling up. From the speed at which he disappeared into the distance I suspect that he wasn't badly damaged by the experience, but this was way out in the country where there were a vast number of better places for a mouse-nest than in a gas grill.

Reply to
J. Clarke

Grow a heart in that garden of yours.

Reply to
Jangchub

Humans are the dumbest animals on the planet. They're also the most vicious, heinous, violent, and heartless.

Reply to
Jangchub

Still I wonder what to do tomorrow Wondering Yet dinner is announced

No choice but to ingest

Bill

Reply to
Bill

WTF are you talking about? Relax, I'm here trying to save the babies. How about something a little more constructive...like maybe how to relocate that multi-family colony under the shed.

There are rabbits everywhere here, and their recent choice of a nesting site leads me to think they're running out of room here, which isn't good for anyone - most especially them. I can't even count how many near-misses I've had, running over all the young'uns with the mower the last few years. (I always mow high for that reason.) And if I did shoot a couple of them (adults, in case I needed to spell that out), I'd be doing dual favors really. They're good eating, and they would certainly not go to waste. And they'd also stop eating all of what few vegs I try to grow in my tiny garden to offset rising food scarcity/costs. And maybe they'd stop nesting in inappropriate places & abandoning their babies. To me there's nothing worse than watching babies starve (unless it's running over them with a mower ). And maybe with a few less around maybe they'd start to look healthier, less mangy & emaciated as they do. If you thought I advocate shooting rabbits just because I prefer not to have them around then you assumed too much.

Reply to
Nelly Wensdow

I don't eat any animals or eggs any more, either. Next to go is all dairy. Not sure the relevance of your poem, but one of my favorites is...

And Death Shall Have No Dominion By Dylan Thomas

And death shall have no dominion. Dead men naked they shall be one With the man in the wind and the west moon; When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone, They shall have stars at elbow and foot; Though they go mad they shall be sane, Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again; Though lovers be lost love shall not; And death shall have no dominion.

And death shall have no dominion. Under the windings of the sea They lying long shall not die windily; Twisting on racks when sinews give way, Strapped to a wheel, yet they shall not break; Faith in their hands shall snap in two, And the unicorn evils run them through; Split all ends up they shan't crack; And death shall have no dominion.

And death shall have no dominion. No more may gulls cry at their ears Or waves break loud on the seashores; Where blew a flower may a flower no more Lift its head to the blows of the rain; Though they be mad and dead as nails, Heads of the characters hammer through daisies; Break in the sun till the sun breaks down, And death shall have no dominion.

So kill away all human animals who have no hearts. It will all ripen one day...

Reply to
Jangchub

Haiku by Reginald Horace Blyth

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is freaking transformative.

The one who loves most tips the umbrella over the other

Reply to
Billy

Speaking of global warming, and the little time that humanity has left for its' conceits. The Senate put-off till next year a bill to reduce green house gasses. The U.S. produces a quarter of the worlds green houses. We HAVE to make HUGE changes in the way we live, and our representative aren't giving us the leadership to make that possible. They would rather play footsies with lobbyists for campaign contributions and higher quarterly profits. Are the sheep going to stand for this behavior?

We need leadership and we have pillagers.

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Reply to
Billy

Grow a heart in that garden of yours.

Reply to
Jangchub

stealing as we had in the last two general elections.

My husband just opened the back door to step outside for a minute and there was a baby oppossum right on the deck outside the screen door. I hope that little creature continues to find safety from the ugly violence against wild animals who have been displaced as people build their McMansions. My entire property is host to wildlife including rats, snakes, fox, oppossum, mice, birds, lizards, frogs, toads and a huge array of insects, spiders and bugs.

I think I'm getting more rare as people think killing everything is the perfect answer.

Reply to
Jangchub

If we're not supposed to eat them, why are they made of meat?

Chris

Reply to
Chris

The simple fact is that humans have altered the ecological landscape so much it is not longer possible to "let nature take its course". Humans have to actively manage wildlife populations now, whether it's rabbits, polar bears, or deer. If, as Nelly says, the rabbit population is booming, then it's also headed for a crash, and the best thing to do is reduce the population- by hunting or trapping. And yes, it is possible to trap animals humanely. The alternative is to have a pile of starving rabbits (or deer, or what have you) dying truly miserable deaths, and making life miserable for the humans who would not take the responsible steps.

And yes, feeding them really does make the crash worse in the long run. Look up the history of the Jackson's Hole elk herd.

Chris

Reply to
Chris

If your municipality bans you from trapping them yourself (using a live trap, like a Hav-A-Heart) then they should have some means of animal control. Perhaps your county agricultural extension agent could make a suggestion there? Most places will trap nuisance animals for free, or low cost, and they would probably transport them to some nearby wildlife area.

Good luck on that.

Chris

Reply to
Chris

Humans are made of meat, do we eat humans, or apes, rats, cats, bats, dogs? Some eat puppies I suppose somewhere in Asia. What is your argument? I'm a vegetarian weaning off all animal food to vegan. There is nothing wrong with that. I am the first to say one of the most delicious things are lamb chops or prime rib. After seeing a slaugherhouse while driving through Amarillo, TX I stopped eating beef. I haven't eaten lamb in almost 40 years.

Reply to
Jangchub

So by your explanation we should go to Africa and just shoot people including orphaned children to AIDS to prevent them from starving to death? I suppose I see things from different point of view. All I said to the OP was to grow a heart in that garden of hers. I didn't get all histrionic.

Reply to
Jangchub

If humans weren't supposed to eat meat, then why do they have canine, central, and lateral incisors? Were we supposed to be vegetarian, we would have *only* molars. Humans are omnivores.

I always find it rather humorous when people play the "I saw a slaughterhouse once..." card, to try and rationalize their point. Do you think it was any more "humane" when prehistoric humanoids hunted their food? Death to cattle in a slaughterhouse is much quicker than it was when they were beat to death with a rock.

Reply to
Eggs Zachtly

Omnivores can eat meat and or vegetables. I haven't eaten meat of any kind in years and I don't lack anything nutritionally.

It's not a "card" I'm playing. Animals are electricuted. Nice. I always find it amusing when someone uses the caveman card to compare how they did it then vs. how they do it now. I would think we would have been further along in the evolutionary tract to understand the suffering humans cause to animals. My entire point was that I don't kill anything in my garden and if the animals eat the food I grow I am not freaked out by it. They have every right to live as I do. We have overpopulated the planet with people. I hardly think anyone posting on a computer to Usenet is in any danger of running out of food. If they are, maybe they should sell the computer.

Reply to
Jangchub

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