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Even the bunnies need to rest in the shade...
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Posted by tracey_nj6 6 (My Page) on Thu, Jun 22, 06 at 15:14
I even put a bowl of water out for them, just in case ;)
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Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Even the bunnies need to rest in the shade...
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RE: Even the bunnies need to rest in the shade...
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| I loved it. Please post more!! Are those nipples I see? Belly also looks a little widened... Thankfully you've got some protected buns who feel comfortable enough to relax like this. Thanks for letting us see this. Brought a smile - esp. after reading the thread on which predator might have bitten the baby bunny's head off (from juicylucy). If she's a nursing mother, she'll appreciate the extra water. FCF happens to be a big rabbit admirer, |
RE: Even the bunnies need to rest in the shade...
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| I guess I'm pretty ignorant about baby bunnies, but I've had alot of nests around here, but I never knew the mother bunny nursed them. There's just not enough room in that little hole for the mother too. Anybody know for sure? |
RE: Even the bunnies need to rest in the shade...
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| Mother cottontail will position herself above the nest dug in the ground. The babies smell her, and move upwards from their resting spot in the shallow dug hole to reach a milk valve. She'll move aside the grass - plus nesting fur she's pulled from her dewlap and body - to assist her babies in scrambling to a nipple. After nursing is complete, mom will cover the nesting site again. Nest needs cover so aerial predators like crows & hawks won't spot her youngens. Which is why they say place two sticks across the top of a nest to detect if mom is inconspicuously coming back to care for her babies. Q. Are these babies orphans, or is momma in the area? If the sticks are moved from original position and nesting top material is there, mom is very likely caring for her little ones 'til they can scoot to safer areas. Rehabbed cottontail Hutch Blr instructed her kits to run to the safety of a brush pile in our arborvitae cove when they were 13 days old. Her nest was in the middle of our front yard. It was unbelievably endearing to watch Hutch Blr come back to the protected cove area, then see 5 or 6 youngsters scramble out, plunk down on their back, kick up their legs an' plant front paws on her belly to suckle for half a minute. We'd observed via binoculars. Awesome photo you took of mom resting in the shade. |
RE: Even the bunnies need to rest in the shade...
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I love my bunnies! In the past, they've done minimal damage, surprisingly, but I'm having my doubts about what devoured most of my wintersown seedlings that lined the deck. My neighbor said he saw the woodchuck on the deck, but it seems like he's moved on. The bunny shown above is named "Sugar" (well, I think that's her); she's been here at long as we have (10 years) and doesn't get freaked out by me. I've had countless babies, but my favorite sighting was when 4 of the juveniles were hanging out in my back yard at dusk. They were chasing each other around and jumping all over the place; it was very entertaining to say the least! Naturally I didn't have my camera handy :(
Here's two more of my babies.
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