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I almost killed a baby bunny. I feel aweful.

bunnytoes

Warren Veteran
I just almost drowned a baby bunny. I was watering the container pots. I came to the thyme and noticed that it was bone dry and started watering when out popped a baby bunny. It was soaking wet and sniffling. I must of got water in his/her nose. The others are still curled up sleeping. The babies are at the stage that you can just barely tell that they are rabbits. They are the size of a mouse and their eyes are still closed. This baby is still straight up popped out of the soil. There is rabbit fur and leaves covering the others but this ones lower half seems to be in the soil. She has their hole so that the thyme branches are covering it and I didn't notice the fur. The baby looks like he is sunning now, drying off. I was keeping an eye on him. I think he is okay so I cover him/her up a little so a prey bird won't see him/her. I hope that he will be okay. I keep running out to check trying not to disturb. I swear the cotton tails put their babies in the oddest places. When it first happened I grabbed a towel and was going to dry him as water was dripping off into his nose and mouth but then I decided that it was best not to actually touch him and it is very sunny and he seems to be drying.
 
Oh my god! I assume they're wild??! I can't believe a bunny would make a nest in a plant pot?!:? Is it in your garden? Have you seen the mummy bun since you found the nest?
 
Well you can't have known and you did the right thing. :)
I hope babies are alright!

(Cottontails are wild rabbits but a different species to our European rabbit :wave:)
 
Oh my god! I assume they're wild??! I can't believe a bunny would make a nest in a plant pot?!:? Is it in your garden? Have you seen the mummy bun since you found the nest?

Yes it is in my back fenced in garden. Cotton Tails, the wild rabbits here dig very shallow nests. They have a hard time digging the hard clay soil that we have so I have found 2 other nest in flower pots over the years but this is a shallow saucer style pot so really very odd. I like when they have the babies under the rose bushes. I hate when they put them in the middle of the wide open front lawn. I have not seen the mother at all. I had no idea they were there. My OH saw a rabbit scamper under the fence yesterday though while he was working in the garden. The baby that got the water in his nose and mouth must not of been curled up with the others in the first place. I think he was up and that is why he got the water in his face in the first place. He has crawled out of the nest and lying in the sun in the pot in the open. His eyes are closed but he is restless moving. The others are sleeping. This one is bigger that the others too by quite a bit. I am not sure if he is just advanced or if something is wrong with him.
 
Oh my, what an awful shock for you. :shock: Don't blame yourself - I hope the little ones will be OK, but you could hardly have foreseen finding baby bunnies in a plant pot.
 
Aww. I didn't realise you weren't in the uk, where are you? I hope the babies are ok x

I live in the USA. The bunny that I totally soaked crawled out of the nest and laid exposed in the sun for a while. I was worried about the prey birds and that he might have water in his lungs. He crawled back into the nest with the others after he dried though. He is sleep so I guess that he is okay.
There are a lot of cottontails in our neighborhood and lots in our yard. They love our garden. Once in a while I catch one in the raised gardens too. One almost gave me a heart attack once. I was picking Oregano and it jumped out of the middle of it. It startled me and I screamed and ran. The bunny stood on its hind feet staring at me. I left until she/he finished eating. We can generally get pretty close to them. They also will chase each other near a group of people talking and watching them. Our town was all rural country and now there is very little farm land and woods left. It is all neighborhoods now so the rabbits just kinda co exist with the people.
 
I just saw the mommy bunny. Oh my is she teeny tiny. She is a youngster herself. She is the size of a baby domestic bun.
 
AW, hope the little one is OK now.
I hate, hate the way, they put their nests in such odd places. Two summers ago we had one put a nest right smack in the middle of the front yard, in a shallow dip. DH did not know it was there when cutting the grass, he was shaking and had tears in his eyes when he realized what I happened. I felt so bad for him and the bunnies! :( We are surrounded by woods, I have no idea why she choose that spot for a nest.:?
I'm glad yours turned out better!
 
Oh, poor bunny :( with the mom being so young she probably is inexperienced..hopefully next time she picks a better place for a nest!

For some reason I've never seen a cottontail, which is weird because there's lots of woods around. I guess they just stay in the woods or most are eaten by predators :?
 
AW, hope the little one is OK now.
I hate, hate the way, they put their nests in such odd places. Two summers ago we had one put a nest right smack in the middle of the front yard, in a shallow dip. DH did not know it was there when cutting the grass, he was shaking and had tears in his eyes when he realized what I happened. I felt so bad for him and the bunnies! :( We are surrounded by woods, I have no idea why she choose that spot for a nest.:?
I'm glad yours turned out better!

We have had the shallow nest in the middle of the the front lawn several times. The first time it happened I came so close to mowing them but somehow noticed in the nick of time. Now I swear I run around checking before I mow every time. We have very small front yard and I watch continuously and have run out and chased rabbits from digging.
Your poor DH.
 
We have had the shallow nest in the middle of the the front lawn several times. The first time it happened I came so close to mowing them but somehow noticed in the nick of time. Now I swear I run around checking before I mow every time. We have very small front yard and I watch continuously and have run out and chased rabbits from digging.
Your poor DH.

we do the same, but for lizards and toads:lol: we have to chase them into the bushes before we mow so they don't get killed by the mower.
 
The biggest baby now has his eyes open and is running around the pot. The others are still sleeping in the nest. The problem is that the pot is a wide mouth shallow pot and he is totally exposed. Hie is very cute though.
 
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