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| I found my dog with his nose in a hole in my front yard and I pulled him up and saw that he was sniffing in a rabbit hole. I quickly pulled him away and left it alone. The next morning I was in the front yard again and found one bunny that was passed away and one bunny that had its eyes closed trying so hard to find its way back to the hole. I was so upset about the first one that I saw I quickly put on some gloves and helped the other one back to its hole. That was my first instinct because I didnt want this one to end up like his brother. My question is, did my dog leave a scent in the whole which scared the mama away and a predator came at night and hurt the first one?? And how can I help them. They are in my front yard and its so sad that all I am going to think about is that poor baby. Please help!! |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| I don't post here much but I hope this is helpful! Sarah |
Here is a link that might be useful: baby bunnies
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- Posted by furrycritterfan 5a WI (My Page) on Thu, Jan 12, 06 at 0:05
| Q. My question is, did my dog leave a scent in the whole which scared the mama away and a predator came at night and hurt the first one?? And how can I help them. They are in my front yard and its so sad that all I am going to think about is that poor baby. Please help!! Mothers' instincts are strong and she'll want her babes to survive. An eyes-closed baby cottontail needs Mom's milk. We observed a female cottontail return to her nest after a pred had destroyed it. There is a low success rate with getting eyes-closed kids to survive, and mature, on formula ~ so please do everything you can to safeguard that nest during the day/evening. You can put strings or two light sticks across the top to see if momma rabbit is comin' back to care for her surviving babe/s...if you don't see her at dawn or dusk. If sticks looks a bit juggled in morning, and the nest hair/grass covering is in place (mom woulda replaced it to protect her babes), good chance momma came back to nurse. Let your dog pee in the yard, well Away from the nest, ... If a predator is in your midst, your dog's scent in the yard or hole will not deter a hungry cat, 'coon, opposum, snake, mink, etc. ... any help you provide would be appreciated by those youngsters ... I'll be happy to help if you need some extra tips. |
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| As stated , the best thing you can do for the babies is talk to a rehabber. Sometimes it is hard to fight our urge to "help", and force ourselver to "observe" to be certain intervention is really needed. I would have wanted to snuggle the baby and get it warm and fed, but that wouldn't have been in the babies best interest. I hope all goes well with them and that the Mom returns. good luck and keep us posted! Lisa |
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