Eight days ago I reported on the birth of four jack rabbits in my Yard. I further posted about one of the liverets (babies) I found in the yard. This little guy is still sitting in my tomatoes and my wife's afraid he's going to die. Don't worry his Mommy knows where he is and comes back every night to feed him. He has tripled his size so he's doing well.
I had always thought and read that these little guys left the area of their birth. I thought they traveled more so I'm very surprised to see this guy holding his spot in my tomato patch. I watered him a couple of times and then he found a secure spot. I checked on him several times a day. I found he was terrified of the garden hose when I tried to fill the bird bath. I'm painting the fascia on the house. I put up a very noisy ladder. When I checked the little guy was gone so I was a little sad that he had disappeared on me. This morning I found him right back in his favorite spot.
I have a large overgrown rhubarb patch and I started to clean it up this morning and suddenly there was a second bunny. I suspicioned that they would all be in the yard but I wasn't going to search for them.
Now Colin in Australia is going to be chortling with glee as he has been forecasting dire problems from these little guys. The jack rabbits that I'm observing are not rabbits but hares. These guys are born fully furred with their eyes open. Rabbits when born are not covered with fur and their eyes are closed. The jack rabbit is fairly large compared to rabbits.
So these little guys never cease to surprise me. At about age two weeks they start to move more. Nursing stops at about thirty days.
well, i had wondered about that. the cottontail rabbits i've seen have naked, closed-eye babies, but yours were furry and alert! now that makes sense! so cool!
ReplyDeleteYes I had to learn quite a bit with this story.
DeleteI'm learning a lot about hares and bunnies.
ReplyDeleteYou're not the only one learning things!
DeleteHare today, not gone tomorrow! Sounds like your jack rabbits... well have become your jack rabbits. I hope once they get bigger they don't start to breed and have their babies on your lawn. I can just envision it not, Red's yard littered with baby jack rabbits. If this ever happens, I want to see a photo k? ;-)
ReplyDeleteNice play on words! I think she just found a very quite spot to have babies. They will leave and probably not set up territory here.
DeleteIs this wishful thinking Red? ;-) Have a wonderful weekend!
DeleteI can't believe you'll have any vegetables left once those bunnies start feeding in earnest.
ReplyDeleteI presume they know better than to eat rhubarb leaves, which I believe are poisonous. The unwanted visitors to my vegie garden are native turkeys and swamp hens. The former scratch up the soil looking for insects, and the latter peck at anything that looks edible. One particular turkey often eats his way through all the bananas on a plant just before they are ripe enough to pick. We used to have hares too but I haven't seen one in years. We do get the occasional wallaby (a small kangaroo) but they don't seem to care about my vegies. Worst of all are the large fruit bats. When the mangos are ripening they will take a bite out of each one if I don't pick them as soon as they're nearly ready.
These guys seem to prefer natural foods.
DeleteInteresting what plants you have and what eats in your garden.
We have had moose in the yard as well as mule deer.
I had never thought about the difference in hares and rabbits - didn't know there was any! We have had a bunny living under our deck this year - when our little dog goes outside to do her business, we tell her to leave the bunny alone. She does, and the little thing just stays where she is eating and watches...seemingly unconcerned.
ReplyDeleteYour little bunnies are quite trusting. They can run very fast and get away from dogs. These are all over the place at my daughter's place in La Grange Illinois.
DeleteHow great is this to be able to follow the continued saga of the new born bunnies. I think this is great Red and I have very much enjoyed following the story. Do you think at the end of feeding period, the small bunnies will be more used to you puttering about in the yard, making them feel less vulnerable as they get "used" to seeing and hearing you. Just don't shower them anymore. ha,ha One day you will come out into your garden and they will have ventured for greener pastures, unless they decide by then they feel so comfortable and you start feeding them. We had a fella here, just down the road, that he fed a few small bunnies and then they stayed and eventually multiplied. He had a very large farm, with lots n lots of pine trees out front, all trimmed and beautiful. You could drive by and see and count anywhere from 20 - 50 bunnies hopping around their home in the front of his property. Don't know where they were in winter, but they were there the other 3 seasons - perhaps in a warm nest? I do love your very versatile site.
ReplyDeleteI hope I'm not imprinted on them. In general the population has become more tolerant of humans. They run right by me within a couple of meters
DeleteAnd your garden disappears ten days after that!
ReplyDeleteI hope not!
DeleteI'm glad your bunnies are staying around. Do they leave your garden alone? Or maybe that's why you planted it, just for Peter Cottontail and his girl friend! :-)
ReplyDeleteThese little guys don't touch anything as they are still spending 99% of their time completely still. I like you appreciate fresh produce from my own garden.
DeleteIt must be a very interesting pastime for you to often check on the babies. I always do that with the birds/kittens in the garden at home.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting and you become attached to them.
DeleteAhh...I understand the feeling of being a little sad that it might have moved on. But finding that they are still there...priceless.
ReplyDeleteLinda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com
Sooner or later they will leave so suck it up.
DeleteWell then it's true what they say... "hare today, gone tomorrow." But they never told us they'd be back again the next day. ;)
ReplyDeleteGood play on words. I think these guys will very quietly leave some dark night.
DeleteWhat a story! It seems that you've grown accustomed to their presence and will miss them if they disappear one day. Hopefully they won't eat all your vegetables!
ReplyDeleteNot worried about these guys eating too many vegetables. They like the wild stuff.
Deletehave fun with your bunnies...our next door neighbor has names for them he got so attached!
ReplyDeleteWell , I don't think I'll name them. We didn't name our cows once we got so many.
DeleteMy dear Red!
ReplyDeleteJust back from 2 nights on the Gold Coast, where surprisingly "peace" reigned supreme and the weather was perfect. I did NOT look at the 5,000 European photos - just Venice, Salzburg and that area - Berchtesgaden and the "Eagles Nest", then the provences of France and the battlefields of WW 1 & 2, and every magnficently manicured war cemetery, plus a most splendid Seine River Dinner Cruise undertaken by my brother and his wife.
The menu was mouth watering, took me ages to work out what I would have had on the menu.
The cost of this cruise - best not mentioned! ha ha!
Anyhow for any of your viewers who may travel to Europe and are in this War memorial cemeteries area, I suggest they do so. Just incredible and all the history of the battles are recorded in the museums. Such a terrible pity that lives were lost, for us now to show our respect.
Oh yes, the subect was the "lonely rabbit" which now is a hare! Both eat vegetables! Is that bloody fence up yet????? Now what did you say about "nursing" - stops in 30 days, eh?
I got news for you, breeding will then start from said offspring in 40 days! You will have more jack rabbits or hares than your beloved tomatoes. Start eating fast or fence or else!
Cheers
Colin ( Brisbane. Australia)
Seems we Australians take a dim view of little bunnies or hares! Maybe that's because these are feral animals in our country, introduced by colonists as a source of food during settlement. But with no native predators (foxes were an introduced species too, but they seemed to prefer easier-to-catch local game), the cute little rabbits soon began to hit plague proportions in some areas and a nationwide poisoning exercise had to be launched to try and curb their numbers. Guess that's why we don't take kindly to the presence of bunnies in our gardens.
DeleteI think you're getting quite attached to your little bunnies! :)
ReplyDeleteI am so discouraged with my garden, Red. There are beetles or something, eating my pumpkins, squash, and such. I've tried some insecticidal soap and it doesn't work. You have fun with your garden bunnies!
ReplyDelete