So I think I have confirmed my questions from this thread http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/617068/ as to what is eating my plants.
But now that I got him, where do I put him? I know someone is thinking "in the skillet," but I don't think I'll go that route, yet ☺
Has anyone got any advice on how far away to release this little glutton so he doesn't find my rudbeckia again?
Thanks,
Maureen
edited for link added
This message was edited Jun 20, 2006 10:43 AM
Try Illinois - bet it can't swim across the Mississippi.
Is it a 'he'? Hope he doesn't have babies.
Hey - you keep your varmints on your side of the river, we have enough of them on our side!
And that is the problem with trapping animals, what do you do with the rascally rabbit after you have trapped it?
Its not really a good time of year to eat them... this time of year their flesh is full of icky grubs.
Yikes--I hope it's a boy. Can you tell without touching him?
ROFL joepyeweed :)
Actually, I live closer to the missouri than the mississippi, so I had thought of taking him that way. However, I'd like to take him to a park about 5 miles away if that's far enough.
edited to make sense
This message was edited Jun 20, 2006 11:22 AM
MLM,
Unless you wanna pay the vet bill to have him/her fixed, you will just be passing YOUR problem onto others, (either singely for in multiples) because he/she WILL go out and do what bunnies do BEST, and create MORE little problems. I say dispatch him with extreme prejudice. You could put him in a pillowcase, close the pillowcase around a hose, put the hose in the tailpipe of your car, turn on the engine awhile, and let nature takes its course. Or there is the Don Coreleone method. Fit him with a pair of cement overshoes, or send him for a visit with Jimmy Hofffa.
Best;
bluelytes
I say don't 'dispatch' him, he has rights too. He can't help it he was born a rabbit. Can you turn him loose out in the country somewhere, away from houses? He's not going to have much of a chance anyway....too many predators in the wild. His best and longest life would probably in your yard.
If you move him to the country, he will become coyote food.
Perhaps you could train him... put a little training collar and leash on him. Train him like a dog - when he gets too close to your plants - give it a yank... eventually he will learn to stay away ;- )
FLY,
LOLROF!! "RIGHTS"?? I am sure the next POTUS is WORRIED about getting the bunny vote. He/she destroys people property, he/she has the "right" to become DINNER, for the coyotes, or humans, IMHO.
MLM,
AFTER dispatch, put him out in the woods and "the wild" will take care of him.
Best;
bluelytes
I don't have the stomach to kill him, at least I don't think so. I just got used to killing the house sparrows which I hate doing.
The area I'm thinking of taking him to has a lot of woods and is near a wildlife reserve. The nearest buildings are corporations--I used to work in this area, not many houses close by.
I'm reading up now on where it's legal to release him. He's cute and I feel sorry for him, I know he can't help what he is but he's gotta go!
Thanks all,
Maureen
MLM,
Dont think of it as "killing" him, as much as its assisted bunnycide. He looks VERY DEPRESSED, hehehe.
Best;
bluelytes
Doesn't assisted mean the bunny wants it too?
Good decision MLM01, and good karma.
FLY,
How do you know he DOES NOT want it?? lol
Karma schmarma, OFF WITH HIS HEAD!! (quoting the queen of hearts)
Bluelytes
MLM,
I just had a BRILLIANT idea!! KEEP him, enclose about a ten square foot area, and use him to as a test rabbit to evaluate rabbit-go-away cures like cayenne pepper, coyote (and other pees), deer scram, etc. A guinea rabbit, so to speak.
Then report back to us WHICH rabbit-go-away actually WORK.
Best;
bluelytes
You could make a rabbit tractor, similar to a chicken tractor, an enclosure that moves around the yard and you could use him to mow your lawn...
I say you let him go after a stern talking to. He probably learned his lesson.
Fill him in on the dangers of the woods; owls, coyotes, hawks, etc.
Maybe a little somethin about Olympia, WA too.
I'm a softy - unlike the murderous Blue! I think the preserve idea sounds like the best way out. And you'll never know what happened to him/her in the end. Yeah, yeah, I know - wuss!
CJ
CEE,
Agreed re: wuss, heheheh. Sheesh, how EASY the TURN on their friend , ;) :)
WORM, lol
JOEP, lol re: tractor
Best;
bluelytes
LOL...
Well I'm a softy and a wuss also--I have returned sans rabbit. He hopped off in a field towards the woods on the other side of the Missouri river. If I have to trap any of his relatives they will go to the same place.
The drive was over a half hour and he did get a good talking too. I asked him why, with all those weeds around did he go for my rudbeckia and lobelia. He didn't have a good answer.
I like the idea of the rabbit tractor and the repellent experiments, but he seemed very unwilling to cooperate--can't imagine why!
Thanks for the ideas; you guys are a creative bunch!
Hi MLM, next time take the wascally wabbit to a local animal hospital. For a small fee they'll either dispatch him to the great garden in the sky, or maybe find him a home in a petting zoo or something like that. I don't think the talking-to does very much, haven't you seen Bugs Bunny? No remorse, that's rabbits for you.
I think Mable ate a baby rabbit today. It was bittersweet. I am glad the rabbit is gone but I feel bad and Mable looks guilty.
The rabbit had made a nest in the tall grass in our yard. Its quite cute how they dig a hole and cover it with fur and then with grass.
Its even cuter watching Mable (a yellow lab) point at the nest for about two hours.
I went back to check the nest . I think mable, bored with pointing, disturbed the nest as there was fur and grass all over the place and the baby was gone. I didn't witness it, so I don't know if she got to digging and the baby ran or if Mable caught it...
I questioned her and smelled her breath. She didn't say anything and I couldn't smell any rabbit on her breath... no conclusive evidence at this point.
I think she looks guilty though.
I send MABLE the DG Award for Ridding Gardens of PESTS!! Effective removal, and NO return of the problem. Maybe you should considering hiring out Mable. You could make a boatload of money!! lol
Best;
bluelytes
Too funny!
You are right about bugs bbinnj, I had forgotten. Now I admire Elmer Fudd and identify with the farmer in Peter rabbit.
Help! white tail deer are the bane of my gardening existance here in Northern Central NJ. I have been re-landscaping for about 5 years in hopes of having deer resistant beauty surrounding my home, but alas, new plants and random others still get damaged regularly. If the danggone Bambis don't eat my plants. they rub their antlers on them during rut season and do irreparable damage. I constantly check the Rutgers Extension service deer resistant plant list before I install a new specimen, but unfortunately, the local deer are not reading the lists. There is a herd of about 13 deer who visit my property twice a day as well as a few loner singletons who hang out whenever they please. Just recently I added False Indigo, Jacob's Ladder and a Pia Hydrangea to a bed after seeing them in the RARELY damaged category, but the big dummies came and tasted them anyway. They even gave a nibble to the foxglove while they were in the area.
I love using the plant files on this site, but am often disappointed by not finding any mention of plants being in either the deer resistance or deer menu categories. Is there any way we can help add this info to the Plant Files? I fully understand that deer in different neighborhoods have preferences for various plants, but perhaps if we share more info, we can help each other thwart the damage done by these beautiful, graceful, gentle PESTS.
BTW, methinks the deer in my 'hood are a street gang with major attitude issues. If I start seeing them wearing arm bands or particular color shirts, I'm reporting them to the anti-violence committee in my city council.
Any ideas to share?
bluelytes - This one's for you. You go girl!
LADY,
Several ideas come to mind. A 30.06 springs to mind, or a .357 magnum, and you will fill your freezer at the same time. Its win-win!!
Get electric fence transmitter, string your wire, attach, (firmly), about 2" by 8" strips of tin foil to the wire. Coat about the bottom 3" of the tin foil flags with peanut butter. Deer LOVE peanut butter, and they come up and lick the foil, and take the foil in their mouth, where it contacts their teeth and wet tongue, then the FUN starts. Ever see a deer dance??? lol They will after tasting your peanut butter treats. They are fairly fast learners, and they should leave YOUR stuff and go bother someone else.
Best;
bluelytes
13 twice a day? WoW! Sounds like they have deemed your yard a designated buffet spot.
Bluelytes' electric fence idea sounds good, I'd love to know if it works. Actually the gun idea sounds good too--deer are beautiful creatures, but deer sausage is mighty good too! ☺
MLM,
I dont have deer prob, but from those that do, and have tried it, they say it works well. Deer sausage.....yummmmmmm
Best;
bluelytes
My opinion, ship him to me. I over planted lettuce this year and would love to have a pet help me eat it. I could overplant next year for him/her too?
Just read this thread. All I can say is, oh my. MLM, I hope you were able to take him out to the wooded area and release him. In the future, check with your state's parks and wildlife department. There are designated wildlife rehabilitators who will know how to care for your rabbit and where to release him/her.
MLM,
Well, you put "flags" of tin foil, with peanut butter smeared on them, (deer love peanut butter), on the electric fence, and they come up to lick the "flag" with the electric fence ON, take into their WET mouth and teeth, gives them a SHOCKING surprise, hehehehe. Only takes once or twice and they learn to STAY AWAY.
Best;
bluelytes
PS, We used it on our dog. She hit the fence a total of four times, and each time when RUNNING going, yipe, yipe, yipe. Then wwe shut off the electricity, but she never touched it again.
Cleo! I'm in West Orange, not far from you. A dog is my advice, a BIG ONE. I tell you, the bucks think my front yard is a good place to scout for does during rutting season- my husband stepped outside to go to synagogue and walked into a 3 point buck! I told him next time take Rocky, our smooth-coated Collie. He'll try to herd them, that'll get 'em off the land. That's the young man, as I call him, next to my black-eyed Susans.
bbinnj,
Yes, a dog. Much more humane. Just let him scare them off. They'll stop coming around. Beautiful dog, by the way.
My vote goes for the 30.06 for anywhere in the Midwest. We're inundated with deer. I've let my dogs out to chase both heron and deer before. They took off in opposite directions from the deer because they were freeeeeeeeeeee. And, I let out big ones too- Mastiffs and a Great Dane. Took me hours driving around in the car to collect all three of my dogs.
Equilibrium - one of the reasons I have cats - hee. Suprisingly I have been able to train my cats not to run away better than any dog I've ever had in my family. And if they do happen to slip out of my sight - my cats get only supervised outdoor romps, too much danger in our neighborhood (owls, hawks, dogs running around) - they always come home soon and always before dark.
We have cats too. Both my husband and I are cat people and dog owners by default although we love our dogs as much as our cats. He had 5 cats when we got married and I had 6 cats and one dog. Then we took in a neighborhood stray which made 12 and I don't recall where #13 came from but if he was still awake I'd ask him and he'd know. We lost two cats from when we first got married about a year and a half ago and the very last cat we had 2 months ago at the age of 24. It's been 20 years and we're down to a considerably more manageable number of Fluffies but our dog numbers are slightly up. Our cats listen to us about as well as our dogs listen to us. They don't.
I've only had one cat that walked on a leash. I'm convinced that cat was brain dead. It came to us from a shelter and the papers said it liked to walk on a leash. Sure enough, it did like to go out on a leash. It probably would have preferred no leash.
I had to laugh about the guy stepping out his front door and into a buck. I've looked out my front window and found them grazing on plants in my courtyard and I frequently find hoof prints up my sidewalk. They have to walk through flower beds to get on the sidewalk and they track mud up to my front door. I've never run in to one but there are so many I could see it happening.
I have five cats. They play with the spiders. I'm afraid one of them is going to get bitten.
Luckily Alameda East is not too far from where I live. I had to take my old diabetic orange tabby there when I came home and found him having a seizure. Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot they could do. :-(
I love rabbit stew. So when is the best time to capture said stew? I'd want rabbit meat, not grubs. YUK!
Knolan, Thank you for the compliment. Equi, my poor husband was ever in shock! We're in suburbia, not country, yet we have deer, fox, wild turkeys, and several bears (recently) in our neighborhood. Maybe because we are surrounded by state parks and golf courses, so there's a lot of woods nearby. Now the rabbits and squirrels don't seem fazed by the dog, either they are used to dogs or because he's a herding breed and doesn't chase them, they don't steer clear.
