About a week ago, Nancy and I were in the back yard enjoying one of those rare, non-raining afternoons and saw a rabbit near our patio. The rabbit kept eating and stuffing her mouth with grass. Her cheeks were puffed out so much that it looked like she had bushy whiskers. We could tell we were disturbing her, so we remained quiet and watched. In a few minutes, the doe (female rabbit) squeezed behind some of Nancy’s flowers next to the fence and found a place for the grass. Soon, she was back at work, finding more soft grass to line what would be her nest. Each day, Nancy watched dutifully to check on the nest and finally, last Sunday, we saw the litter of bunnies. They were about the size of lab mice. But no mom was around.
So, what do you do when you find a nest of seemingly abandoned baby bunnies?
Absolutely nothing.
Mother bunnies visit the nest only a couple times a day, usually in the early morning and again in the evening. She nurses and tends to the bunnies, then leaves, so as to not attract unwanted attention. While many think a nest may have been abandoned, it’s highly unlikely. The mom is around, just not obvious.
After about a week, the babies are on their own. They feed and hide quite well. And they are fast enough to outrun a cat. Meanwhile, the mother rabbit is likely “dating” again. Rabbits are quite prolific.
I suppose this nest of baby rabbits in our back yard does not bode well for my string bean crop, but even if they eat them all, there’s always the Farmer’s Market.
The little bunnies are sure cute.
