Hi, I do hope that some of you rabbit owners and experts can help me.
We seem to be in the process of 'adopting' a rabbit, and are not sure of the best thing to do.
We live on a former farm (ie, big farm yard, loads of fields etc etc), and a little while a go we spotted a rabbit on the farm lane. He (or she!) didn't seem to be that fussed by the car coming (slowly) past, and as we drew near it hopped into an open plastic drainage channel (that funnels rainwater off the field across the road to the field on the other side).
We saw it was about the size of a laptop maybe a bit smaller, but not as small as wild rabbits seem to be, and smaller than tame rabbits seem to be. He's grey/brown, with a very distinctive white fur 'stole' around his front quarters.
Anyway, since then, he's now been seen for a few days down in the farm yard itself. He hops about near a wooden shed and the barn conversion, sometimes on the tarmac, sometimes in the wild vegetation at the side (there's an overgrown orchard beyond that he can get into).
Today he's been very 'tame'. From me he took chunks of carrots - I got a few feet from him - and he hopped up (he'd been grazing nearby), and polished it off, and several other chunks, and some broccoli (hope broccoli's all right for him!), plus nibbled at some dandelion leaves I dropped down for him. He came close enough to sniff at my hand and shoe.
To me, this shows he must, surely be tame - or at least very used to 'friendly humans'!
We've asked the local vet - no 'lost' rabbits reported, and no replies on my niece's facebook enquiries.
My question really is - what's the best thing to do?
At the moment, he seems to be fine, and having a nice life, hopping about, mild weather, plenty of foraging (plus carrots!)
I guess we fear foxes and stoats, and winter coming on.
We don't want to 'catch him and imprison him' in a hutch, but we want to make sure he stays safe, so are wondering whether to put up a nice hutch that he can get into (but foxes can't)(but stoats probably could!), or maybe just train him to go in there over night with the door safely shut, and let him out again to forage in the day time.
Thank you for any advice on this. He's a smashing little chap (or chappesss!) and we are getting very fond of him! We just want the best for him!
Cheers, Jenny
We seem to be in the process of 'adopting' a rabbit, and are not sure of the best thing to do.
We live on a former farm (ie, big farm yard, loads of fields etc etc), and a little while a go we spotted a rabbit on the farm lane. He (or she!) didn't seem to be that fussed by the car coming (slowly) past, and as we drew near it hopped into an open plastic drainage channel (that funnels rainwater off the field across the road to the field on the other side).
We saw it was about the size of a laptop maybe a bit smaller, but not as small as wild rabbits seem to be, and smaller than tame rabbits seem to be. He's grey/brown, with a very distinctive white fur 'stole' around his front quarters.
Anyway, since then, he's now been seen for a few days down in the farm yard itself. He hops about near a wooden shed and the barn conversion, sometimes on the tarmac, sometimes in the wild vegetation at the side (there's an overgrown orchard beyond that he can get into).
Today he's been very 'tame'. From me he took chunks of carrots - I got a few feet from him - and he hopped up (he'd been grazing nearby), and polished it off, and several other chunks, and some broccoli (hope broccoli's all right for him!), plus nibbled at some dandelion leaves I dropped down for him. He came close enough to sniff at my hand and shoe.
To me, this shows he must, surely be tame - or at least very used to 'friendly humans'!
We've asked the local vet - no 'lost' rabbits reported, and no replies on my niece's facebook enquiries.
My question really is - what's the best thing to do?
At the moment, he seems to be fine, and having a nice life, hopping about, mild weather, plenty of foraging (plus carrots!)
I guess we fear foxes and stoats, and winter coming on.
We don't want to 'catch him and imprison him' in a hutch, but we want to make sure he stays safe, so are wondering whether to put up a nice hutch that he can get into (but foxes can't)(but stoats probably could!), or maybe just train him to go in there over night with the door safely shut, and let him out again to forage in the day time.
Thank you for any advice on this. He's a smashing little chap (or chappesss!) and we are getting very fond of him! We just want the best for him!
Cheers, Jenny