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anyone see young wildies yet

yes i would expect that many here would have seen adult wild rabbits over winter since they are one of the most commonly seen native wild mammals and they dont hibernate. however it is the observation of juveniles that interests me on this occasion.
 
I believe their mating season is done due to daylight hours as opposed to temperature. I'm not sure how much, if any, temperature plays a part? So they may ot have actually properly started early.
 
ya i think a lot has to do with food avaiability 2. it is said that there are winter pregnancies but most litters are reabsorbed... unless conditions are suitable. i know male fertility is effected by daylight hours but i think it is not so much the number of light hours in the day as it is the period of time that the rabbit is under those seasonal conditions. i.e it is not the increasing of daylight hours in spring that makes a male randy, but it is the length of time he was under the short day length conditions
 
They haven't stopped breeding at all here in Somerset! Not as many as in spring and summer, but certainly have been seeing weanlings all year round. Last year there was a significant gap, but not this year. We also have a growing population of jet black buns mixed in with the usual agouti's and have seen young ones of these also:D
 
changing the subject a teeny bit (apols:oops:) our latest wildie (who was found with run over siblings at side of road and is truly wild) is considerably paler than our other two wilds and has a small white 'dot' on her forehead . .
 
parsnipbun said:
...is considerably paler than our other two wilds and has a small white 'dot' on her forehead . .
Click to expand...
A white dot on the forehead is typical in young hares. How old is your latest wildie likely to be?

grunty-9-1.jpg


parsnipbun said:
whats a c sandy? (or come to that a melanistics 2?)
Click to expand...
I think there was a bit of text speak going on! 2 is probably too, c is see. Sandys, I'm guessing, are lighter coats and melanistic is black as in melanistic squirrels are black squirrels. It's the gene thing.
 
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No youngsters, but we got two huge wildies all winter, outside at work. There's some pretty secure fencing, so they seem to flourish here - apart from myxi year:(
 
sandys are straw coloured wildies often found where their colour suits the background. vegetation/cover. melanistics are black. both occur naturally in the wild. after the commm agouti colour black is the next most common followed by sandy. i remember seing about 20 sandys in a field that had that dry looking grass that was the same colour as the rabbits. natural selection!
 
Tatihou said:
A white dot on the forehead is typical in young hares. How old is your latest wildie likely to be?

grunty-9-1.jpg


I think there was a bit of text speak going on! 2 is probably too, c is see. Sandys, I'm guessing, are lighter coats and melanistic is black as in melanistic squirrels are black squirrels. It's the gene thing.
Click to expand...

Aaah - thank you - I do text but do not text speak (nor do any of the people who text me). So was caught out there.

I have to say that our paler wildie does look very much like the picture . . but no-one has suggested she is a hare. She looks like a rabbit to me (and the vets have seen her as well). She is approx 4 months old now.

The odd thing about her is that although her genitals have a female 'slit' shape she also seems to have an os penis which the vets could all feel. Three GOOD rabbit vets could not come to a firm conclusion about her sex. By this time I would expect sexing to be a doodle.

Although hearmaphrodite buns are known it would seem a huge co-incidence of circumstances that a rare hermaphrodite wildie also became a rare wildie rescue ..

any thoughts anyone???

What are hare genitals like???

PS she also hides in the hay a lot - burrows down and makes little hiding 'bowls'
 
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you are joking!!!! we never ever see her lol

However I will try . .

she was getting on fine with my older hand -reared male wildie - but we have had to separate in last few days due to him fur pulling and chasing 'her'.

We now have 3 wilds by the way . .

a hand reared male (9 days when taken in - now neutered)

this prob girlie taken into rescue at c4 weeks now c5 months??

and another male taken into human company at c6 months (diff to estimate closer or explain briefly!!) now c8 months or 9mths??
 
:love: Love wildies. I've been seeing just my regular wildie Roger, who was very good at the vets today :D who appears to be a ... melanistic?
 
Having done some brief reading, what is the difference between melanism and just a black self?
 
Irishmeat said:
is the 8-9 month wildie neutered yet?
Click to expand...


no - he has had a bit of a rough ride the last few months - with a series of homes/places . . and I do not think he was originally domestic at all so it has been very difficult for him. By the time he got to me however there was absolutely NO WAY he could have been put back in the wild again.

He is due in tomorrow at the vet for his neuter (as he has been with us 6 weeks or so and settled a bit).

It will be very very worrying for us all.
 
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