Garden

[JustJazzmom]

I noticed in our backyard today, the next generation -- a baby rabbit nibbling on the grass. It ran into the daylilies when I went to take a photo.

[Mom2Dogs]

We have a similar problem every year.  Baby bunnies born under shrubs in the back yard.  Last year the mother burrowed a deep hole in the mulch down to the dirt.  There were 2 baby bunnies in there!  We put up a barrier so the dog could not get to them...it was a pain because our dog was determined to get to find them.

I watched the mother come and feed them one day.  She carefully moved back the mulch, fed the babies, covered the nest and left.  If I had not seen her feed them, I never would have known there was a nest there, she was very clever.

This year a small bunny ate all the blooms off of one very pretty pot of petunias, ugh.

They are fun to watch but can be difficult to deal with in the yard, especially when you have pets.

At @SeaMaiden  is there no way to cover the bottom of your deck, possibly with lattice?

[SeaMaiden]

@Mom2Dogs      yes...Hubby is going to get some chicken wire or something with small holes so rabbits can not squeeze through... plus to keep dog out from under deck..... Buddy our black lab is BUNNY CRAZY now.... that is all he  thinks about when outside... looking for bunnies... now that he caught those two baby ones...

  Now that the baby bunnies are gone.. ( one was rescued by a neighbor... the other sadly died) I hope buddy chases the mother bunny away out of the yard until we can get the deck fixed so she does not go under it anymore. 

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@Mom2Dogs wrote:

We have a similar problem every year.  Baby bunnies born under shrubs in the back yard.  Last year the mother burrowed a deep hole in the mulch down to the dirt.  There were 2 baby bunnies in there!  We put up a barrier so the dog could not get to them...it was a pain because our dog was determined to get to find them.

I watched the mother come and feed them one day.  She carefully moved back the mulch, fed the babies, covered the nest and left.  If I had not seen her feed them, I never would have known there was a nest there, she was very clever.

This year a small bunny ate all the blooms off of one very pretty pot of petunias, ugh.

They are fun to watch but can be difficult to deal with in the yard, especially when you have pets.

At @SeaMaiden  is there no way to cover the bottom of your deck, possibly with lattice?

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[JustJazzmom]

Try to find flexible aluminum screening to put behind the lattice so nothing can fly in or squeeze through. 

[SeaMaiden]

UPDATE JULY 16, Thursday.

I thought I was done with the bunnies...it has been a week since the last bunny problem.  No more rabbits under the deck.

 Today Buddy caught an young bunny.... it must have come into the yard under the fence.  Buddy would not give it to me....I chased him all over the yard.  When I finally got hold of the bunny....Buddy's teeth had injured  the bunny....not fixable... bad wound.

Rather than just let it suffer till death, I called a local vet to ask if they would put the injured bunny to sleep....they said yes and pro bono.....❤️how good of them as I expected to pay. DH just took the bunny to the vet.  

This is wearing me out....so sad...never had a problem with baby bunnies before this year.  I am just sad😢

[Mindy D]

@SeaMaiden @Keep the dog leashed but let him bark and sniff or else fill a coffee can with change or metal objects and keep shaking loudly for a few days. Momwill move the babies elsewhere. Just give her a chance.

[mousiegirl]

@SeaMaiden   This may not be doable for you, but I have a good sized fenced in area for my pups, they can watch the bunnies and squirrels, but not get to them.  One dog I have on a leash to and from, otherwise she would tear off and catch anything moving, the terrier in her, and disobedient, but the male will obey me as in come when I call even if he were chasing something.

I found two baby bunnies, one deceased and one almost, still with eyes closed, so something attacked the nest, don't know if the Mom escaped, traumatic for me to find them, ruined my day.