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Tame wild rabbits
- Thread starter Fiona
- Start date
Fiona
New Kit
This is Felicity, she is part wild and part Giant flemish, she is not as tame as her brother that I have also kept for the school as a class pet. This makes me wonder whether she would be happier allowed to run free. I feed my wild bunnies so they stay around and being the size she is she should be safe from cats ect. She is also vaccinated so should survive. But she may calm down yet as she is only 4 months old and has made good friends with Gertrude her mother. I handle her at least twice a day and she is easy to catch and handle but has had a taste of freedom as she is an escape artist. Any thought?
Mrsmcarey
Mama Doe
The babies look gorgeous tho
I'm curious but not so much as to try it :?
Who knows what damage this cross breed will do to the environment
and stability of the wild population around you:?If it had been just for curiosity then maybe one breeding and I would have kept the babies myself and cost or no had them all neutered
maybe it would take a while to save for but I wouldDo people catch Wild Rabbits for food in NZ ? Just a question (I'm not starting a debate on here)
Fiona
New Kit
people do catch and eat rabbit as they do in England but it isn't that common wild deer and and wild pig is the popular choice. Also ducks in duck shooting season. in the South Island (not where I am ) they have an easter bunny mass cull shoot to keep on top of the rabbit numbers each Easter.
catxx
Mama Doe
In the UK we see a LOT of "accidental" wild rabbit crosses in rescue, there's no curiousity needed! They often spend their lives far more flighty than a regular domestic bun.
Rabbit Residence had 4 pure wild rabbits for about 6 years now, hand raised after a builder dug up their nest, but still not a fan of people, and sadly we found one passed away a few weeks ago. He was a shyest of the 4 so any sign of illness he would have hidden until the very end - he wouldn't even eat in front of people, even after 6 years!
Rabbit Residence had 4 pure wild rabbits for about 6 years now, hand raised after a builder dug up their nest, but still not a fan of people, and sadly we found one passed away a few weeks ago. He was a shyest of the 4 so any sign of illness he would have hidden until the very end - he wouldn't even eat in front of people, even after 6 years!
I don't think it's a great idea to be honest - it's possible it's also illegal (you'd need to check local laws).
The reason it's not great is because rabbits have evolved over hundreds of years to have the genetic trates that allow them to survive in the wild. Humans have deliberately selected for other purposes e.g. a coat good for clothing, a large rabbit that produces meat for eating, rabbits that are more docile and less reactive to stimulation (and therefore less able to cope with preditors). Those changes have created rabbits that are less well adapted for living in the wild. Wild rabbits are better rabbits - they are healthier, have a body size they can maintain with the available food, less prone to teeth problems, are fitter, can run faster and even have more immunity to myxomatosis. So what you are doing is taking the perfectly adapted wild rabbit and mixing in all the rubbish that humans have created.
So you've got rabbits with part 'wild' personalities that would be happier living wild but that have screwed up genetics which means their ability to survive in the wild is severly compremised.
It's worse if you are feeding them because again you're mucking up the natural selection - instead of rabbits that are good at escaping predators and foraging surviving, you get rabbits that are tame and good at begging for food surving and out breeding them. In otherwords instead of a healthy wild population you are creating a feral pet population that can only survive with your influence. And it will multiply very rapidly - rabbits can produce a litter every four weeks. Your babies are about to hit breeding age.
I'd suggest you either neuter her or keep her confined. It's not pleasent but nature will quickly take care of the crosses that are living wild.
The reason it's not great is because rabbits have evolved over hundreds of years to have the genetic trates that allow them to survive in the wild. Humans have deliberately selected for other purposes e.g. a coat good for clothing, a large rabbit that produces meat for eating, rabbits that are more docile and less reactive to stimulation (and therefore less able to cope with preditors). Those changes have created rabbits that are less well adapted for living in the wild. Wild rabbits are better rabbits - they are healthier, have a body size they can maintain with the available food, less prone to teeth problems, are fitter, can run faster and even have more immunity to myxomatosis. So what you are doing is taking the perfectly adapted wild rabbit and mixing in all the rubbish that humans have created.
So you've got rabbits with part 'wild' personalities that would be happier living wild but that have screwed up genetics which means their ability to survive in the wild is severly compremised.
It's worse if you are feeding them because again you're mucking up the natural selection - instead of rabbits that are good at escaping predators and foraging surviving, you get rabbits that are tame and good at begging for food surving and out breeding them. In otherwords instead of a healthy wild population you are creating a feral pet population that can only survive with your influence. And it will multiply very rapidly - rabbits can produce a litter every four weeks. Your babies are about to hit breeding age.
I'd suggest you either neuter her or keep her confined. It's not pleasent but nature will quickly take care of the crosses that are living wild.
bunny momma
Wise Old Thumper
In 1980 my then neighbor caught a baby bunny in his vegetable garden. It was a very young wild bunny who was likely just weaned from it's mother. My neighbor was ready to kill the bunny when my spouse came home. He knew my spouse and I liked to watch the wild bunnies bink in the yards, so he gave my spouse this little ball of fur. I had not owned a bunny as an adult, so we took her into our home and named her Bun Bun. Bun Bun had a good life, she would run around in our spare room at high speed. We could handle her, but she was never actually tame. A couple years later we got a domestic dwarf rabbit and that is when we realized how different they were from each other. Bun Bun lived five years and will always be remembered as the bunny who opened our hearts to many future domestic bunny friends.
Fiona
New Kit
You are correct but we are lucky in New Zealand as we have very few predators. Life is cruel and time will see how long they all last. As far as my female cross I will keep for a while longer she may calm down. She is definitely half tame and may struggle in the wild. i do hope the half tame/wild bunnies survive until summer when I will see them lounging around in the shade during the day in the garden.
Badger4920
Warren Scout
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That's a lovely picture. Looks quite rural where you live, I yearn to live somewhere like that!
Fiona
New Kit
Hi. We are rural. My husband is a dairy farmer. It is lovely living here.
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Badger4920
Warren Scout
That's lovely. I plan to retire to a remote island off Scotland and can't wait!
Fiona
New Kit
Update on half breads (wild/tame) All the ones I kept to be pets have now been released as they were not happy caged and and spent their days finding new ways to be free. Sadly but not surprisingly the only free one still around is the one I vaccinated all the others have found new homes but unfortunately probably died. Experiment failed.
xxx_Ra_xxx
Warren Scout
That is one cute bunny!!
