So what was going on?
Well a very interesting event was taking place. The two quiet rabbits wee does that were very close to giving birth. The other three were very over anxious males who didn't want to miss out on the action. No they weren't interested in seeing the new babies.
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| This little bunny is probably 5 or 6 days old. |
When a Jack rabbit gives birth she is ready in a few hours to bred again. That's why the three males were quite agitated and fighting with each other. They growl at one another and cuff each other. We usually think of a rabbit being rather quiet and docile. At this time in their life they can be vicious fighters. So the male rabbits want to remain close so that when the female is ready to breed they will have their position established.
I few years ago a doe gave birth in my back yard. My wife accidentally looked out the window when the birth was in progress. Since my wife has a nursing background she was not only interested but had a much greater understanding as to what was going on. Four bunnies were born. The doe licked them off and then away she went. She was ready to breed gain. The four little bunnies disappeared within and hour. My wife was quite concerned as she thought that the bunnies had been abandoned. Even thought the bunnies are scattered the doe will come back and find them and nurse them.
So now you may think of rock n roll as music but before rock n roll music rock n roll meant sexual activity and still does. You may have also heard "breed like rabbits" and thought that they just produced a lot of offspring but it also meant that they would breed right after giving birth.
OY!!! yikes!
ReplyDeleteYou said it all!
DeleteNow I know a lot more about bunnies.
ReplyDeleteAll you didn't need to know!
DeleteHilarious Red on the rabbits, sad in other respects!
ReplyDeleteNever a dull moment in the animal world, is there?
Makes one wonder!
The "two legged ferals" here breed almost as fast. The government hands out maternity payments on each kid born. Pity the little kids have no idea of who is the father!
The mother buys more drugs, the kids are neglected and in many cases absolutely filthy and uncared for. Unfortunately these kids have no future and end up as street urchins and then into junior criminal gangs, before graduating into the higher league of criminality.
I think the rabbits are far better as parents and decidely far better looking after their off-spring and they aren't even paid!
So I score: Rabbits: 10 - "unemployable ferals and druggies": ZILCH.
Interesting blog on rabbit life, well done.
Colin (Brisbane. Australia)
Colin wee stole the land from the aboriginals and now we knock them down for the problems we gave them. we have to find a better way.
DeleteI am SO glad we aren't like rabbits! Good grief! What a cute photo of the little one - thanks for the interesting biology lesson.
ReplyDeleteThe little one was late as the picture was taken Sept. 5.
DeleteNo rest for the weary bunny, it seems. I really didn't know anything about the breeding habits of rabbits, other than the stock phrase. Thanks for enlightening me. :-)
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't know either except when we saw the first incident and thought it was abandonment I did some research.
DeleteWow you'd think the fighting would be the females shooing the males away. Hours after birthing? "Leave me alone, you dumb bunny!" That wee one is such a cutie.
ReplyDeleteInteresting how things work in nature. In these guys the sperm brings bout ovulation. sounds crazy but that's the way it works.
DeleteWhen I was in high school my brother raised rabbets as a 4-H project. I know we always had a lot! :)
ReplyDeleteHe was probably giving a few away.
Deletethanks for the post, I have learned more about rabbits. hugs!
ReplyDeleteThey do have different systems as do many other mammals.
Deleteoh my gosh.. i am glad I am not a rabbit.
ReplyDeleteBut just think how fast you could run?
DeleteCute they are, but my daughter is fighting the battle of the bunnies in her flower pots. They are coming up on her front porch and getting in the pots and eating tasty greenhouse morsels when there is plenty of natural forage. They live in the middle of Minnesota farmland with lovely conservation set aside land carefully managed by my son-in-law for wildlife.
ReplyDeleteThey know what they like. Pretty cheeky of them. I lose some stuff from time to time. Predators have driven some of these creatures to a safer territory.
DeleteI love our bunnies. Thanks for sharing yours.
ReplyDeleteOMGoodness, Red, I couldn't even imagine "being" ready to breed after just giving birth. I have heard the term "breed like rabbits", however, after reading your most informative post, I see the term in a different light. We do not have a lot of rabbit sightings here, as the coyotes keep getting them. Wish they favoured skunks :)
ReplyDeleteThis was a great post and I found it very interesting. Thank you :)
Just to think I did all this research because we thought the doe had abandoned the litter.
DeleteI'm with SaucyKod ... goodness...I never knew...and I'm a country girl for generations of country.
ReplyDeleteI too wish the coyotes enjoyed skunk...
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com
The old country boy didn't know this either until I checked to see why the doe as I thought abandoned the litter.
DeleteThe little bunny is so cute.
ReplyDeleteIt must have been interesting to watch the scene while knowing what was going on. There are so many situations happening in our close proximity that we don't understand at all. :)
This little bunny was about 5 days old and the photo was taken by my neighbor.
DeleteWhat a cute bunny! I found out the hard way that Rabbits can have babies every thirty on days. I had two supposively female rabbits in a cage together..well guess what?? Babies..and apparently he visited her right after the birth..so I had twenty some babies I feed three times a day all winter til I could let them all go. There are still weird colored rabbits running around in these woods and that was oh..20 plus years ago:)
ReplyDeleteI'm sure many people have had your experience.
DeleteWow, this is so interesting. I never knew any of this, now I can go to bed tonight saying I learned something new today, thank you Red. :-)
ReplyDeleteThe photo of the bunny is so adorable, my next question though is who looks after the babies while mommy rabbit is otherwise engaged?
That little bunny is the cutest thing. And wow, I thought Muscovy ducks were randy, but bunnies are much worse!!
ReplyDelete