Sometimes Nature Really Sucks (Austin, Round Rock: 2013, house, living) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

JayBrown80 · 07-22-2011, 10:39 AM

So I let my dog out in the backyard to play today, before it got to hot, and all of the sudden I hear terrified squeaking.

I go into the backyard, and my dog has found a rabbit burrow with a baby rabbit in it. She decided that this the most fun toy she had ever found and was shaking the kit in her mouth, letting the kit go to run a few feet then pouncing on her, etc. All the while the kit is squeaking in terror.

So I grab the kit and put my dog inside so the dog doesn't kill it. But now I have handled the kit, so I am afraid the mother won't feed it anymore. I put the kit back in the barrow, and tried to rebuild the nest with the mother rabbit's hair and some straw. I will have to keep an eye out to see if the mother comes back.....

Just really sad. I hate to see animals suffer.

10scoachrick · 07-22-2011, 10:47 AM

We see all kinds of critters in our yard and in the greenbelt behind us; but, I've not seen a rabbit in the three years we've been here. Must be the coyote in the area.

JayBrown80 · 07-22-2011, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

We see all kinds of critters in our yard and in the greenbelt behind us; but, I've not seen a rabbit in the three years we've been here. Must be the coyote in the area.

We see hundreds of rabbits, literally. They are all over peoples lawns when we take our nightly walks. There is one huge one we call Jack, he is about 3 feet we think. He just sits on the green belt every night and glares at people who walk by.

kiacook · 07-22-2011, 11:03 AM

Aw, sometimes nature DOES suck. You did the best you could. If the mother does abandon it, you can contact Austin Wildlife Rescue and take the kit there. They will care for it and release it back into the wild when it's ready.

Mrs.JT · 07-22-2011, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JayBrown80

So I let my dog out in the backyard to play today, before it got to hot, and all of the sudden I hear terrified squeaking.

I go into the backyard, and my dog has found a rabbit burrow with a baby rabbit in it. She decided that this the most fun toy she had ever found and was shaking the kit in her mouth, letting the kit go to run a few feet then pouncing on her, etc. All the while the kit is squeaking in terror.

So I grab the kit and put my dog inside so the dog doesn't kill it. But now I have handled the kit, so I am afraid the mother won't feed it anymore. I put the kit back in the barrow, and tried to rebuild the nest with the mother rabbit's hair and some straw. I will have to keep an eye out to see if the mother comes back.....

Just really sad. I hate to see animals suffer.

I hate that. I hope it works out.

In our previous house in Pflugerville (which was on the cusp of Round Rock), we saw rabbits all the time.

In Round Rock, I don't see many. What I do see quite often are dead birds on our back patio. At first, I couldn't figure it out. I thought maybe the neighbor's cat was the culprit. Then one day, I was in the kitchen, and I heard a loud THUD on the window. I was puzzled. It happened again on another day, and that time, I saw stray feathers floating outside our window, and I realized birds are flying into our window. Some keep going, some don't make it. We have two story windows in our living room(I guess that's what they're called), and we don't have window treatments. My husband blames me because I decided against window treatments for those windows, and he said some kind of treatments would deter such accidents.

Dr.Mom · 07-22-2011, 12:51 PM

Jay,
The same thing happened to us when our Lab was a puppy. He managed to catch a baby rabbit and ran over to show me. Of course, I start screaming my head off at him to drop it, he looks at me totally freaked out (I'm not normally a screamer) and he drops it. It ran back into its warren from there. I checked on the little guy for a few days and he seemed to fit back in with the family fine. Maybe just keep an eye on it for a day or two to see how it plays out.

CarnivalGal · 07-22-2011, 12:59 PM

Keep the baby rabbit where it is. We had a similar incident a few years ago and the wildlife rescue folks told us the mother should still come back.

In other nature sucks news, we have a bird's nest outside our front door. We have one of those arched, 2-story entrances, and it is way up in the corner - about 16 feet up. It was here when we bought the house 6 years ago. Anyway, the same pair of birds (we think) comes back every year and has baby birds. Really cute to watch, as we can see them through the large picture window above our door.

My kids were so excited when they returned recently and we ended up with 4 baby birds. They used to run to the window every morning to see their fuzzy little heads sticking out and watch mommy bird feed them. Well, we return from running errands one day (we come through the garage), and my 4 year-old runs to the window to check on our birds. She starts screaming, "Snake! Mommy, a snake!"

I thought she meant maybe on the front porch. Nope. A rat snake had scaled the wall of our house, the entire 16 feet, and was IN the nest. The mother bird was freaking out, as were my kids. I called the local snake guy here in Steiner, and he got here ASAP and removed the snake, but it was too late. Not exactly the part of nature I wanted my kids to see.

JayBrown80 · 07-22-2011, 01:09 PM

Well, that's that. I just went out to check to make sure the little guy was still in his barrow, and he is gone. He must have run off. It's very hot out, and I really wish now that I had left him inside, but what can you do? Once my dog had discovered him, his fate was pretty much sealed. It's sad, but that's nature......

CarnivalGal · 07-22-2011, 01:28 PM

Don't fret. His mom may have very well moved him after she realized he was "discovered." Also, rabbits go off on their own when they are very young. Were his eyes open when you found him? If so, he was probably ready to venture out on his own anyway.

The person at the wildlife rescue said they get calls all the time about "abandoned" baby rabbits, when they are really already on their own - even if they are only the size of a tennis ball.

JayBrown80 · 07-22-2011, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mm57553

Don't fret. His mom may have very well moved him after she realized he was "discovered." Also, rabbits go off on their own when they are very young. Were his eyes open when you found him? If so, he was probably ready to venture out on his own anyway.

The person at the wildlife rescue said they get calls all the time about "abandoned" baby rabbits, when they are really already on their own - even if they are only the size of a tennis ball.

+

I hope that is the case, b/c I am really sad now, lol.

His eyes were open, so maybe he is just exploring, although it's a bit hot for that.