I Want my Hossenpeffer
Posted on 08/05/2010 8:42:35 AM PDT by SMARTY
I just found out there is a bunny living by the garage door, under the cement stoop.
I put some small carrots there. He smelled them but didn't eat them. He is eating the dandelions (lots of those around)
Should I try to feed him? What would I give him that would not attract unwelcome critters?
Just feed him the same thing you would feed rats or skunks.
Lettuce.
Sounds like he has lots of food. Put out some water for him.
carrots are not good - too sweet, leads to gut problems - dark leafy vegetables; kale, turnip greens, mustard greens, collard greens, hay, and yes, they really like dandelions
Don’t make him feel too comfortable. ‘Coons got my kids’ bunny.
I’d let him keep eating the dandelions...and as was posted, give him some water...
then when he’s drinking it, catch him with a net and field-dress him...rabbit stew is mighty tasty...;)
“Should I try to feed him? What would I give him that would not attract unwelcome critters?”
You mean, like liberals? They will swallow anything...
Unfortunately, the presence of the beast itself will attract “unwelcome critters”.
Bugs is a real living thing, not a toy doll.
It will store some food under there, defecate and urinate under there, give birth under there, and carry over whatever disease it may pick up in its travels under there.
All of that will bring the other critters, including the bacterial kind.
Best to get rid of it.
> Sounds like he has lots of food. Put out some water for him.
Seconded.
A Rabbit
Olive Oil
Garlic, Onions and Chillies (if you like it HOT)
Root Vegetables Carrots Sweet Potatoes or any other root veg you have
A couple of pints of chicken stock
Salt and Pepper to taste
I’m assuming it is a wild rabbit and not an escaped pet rabbit. Generally they take care of themselves with grass and other plants in the area. I just saw one chewing on a neighbor’s lawn this morning. If you gave a rabbit a carrot they would more likely eat the greens than the orange root. Lettuce, broccoli and alfalfa are good, but I learned that second hand from people with a pet rabbit and those might be the equivalent of feeding the rabbit dessert.
Our bunnies and squirrels are feasting on apples which, sadly, are falling before they totally ripen.
Don’t feed him. He can take care of himself just fine. Your lawn is his buffet.
“Why iz ‘dat?”
Stoopit.
Petsmart. They have lots of bags of rabbit food there. 10 bucks for a large bag.
Servings: 5
Author Notes: This recipe for rabbit is from Sylvia Bashline’s fabulous Fish and Game Cookbook. Sylvia is a former food columnist for Outdoor Life Magazine who has won top honors from the Outdoor Writers Association. This terrific book provides over 200 classic recipes, many of which have been neglected by standard cookbooks.
Ingredients: 2 rabbits cut into serving pieces
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 medium onion
4 whole cloves
12 whole black peppercorns
1 teaspoon chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup port
2 1/2 cups beef stock or bouillion
Instructions:
Stud the peeled onion with the whole cloves. Make a small bouquet garni by tying the peppercorns, parsley, thyme and bay leaf in a small cheesecloth pouch. Preheat oven to 350° F.
Sprinkle rabbit pieces with salt and pepper and sauté in the butter until brown on all sides. Place in a 3 quart casserole. Add salt, bouquet garni and studded onion, followed by the lemon juice, port and stock or boullion. Cover and bake for 1 1/2 hours. Ten minutes before it’s done, remove the cheesecloth bag. The pan juices can be thickened to make a gravy.
I have one living under one of our sheds. He was very tiny when we found him and, presumably, abandoned.
Don’t feed gas forming vegetables(broccoli, cabbage, etc.) because they can cause stomach distress due to their inability to expel gas.
I feed mine chopped carrots, radishes(they love those), and a bit of spinach. I give him a few Tbsp. each per day.They also like a bit of chopped fruit such as apple. I also broke down and bought a bag of rabbit pellets, which he loves.The brand I got is Kaytee Forti Diet, but most any will do. Add some water daily, and they’re set. They usually do most of their eating around dawn or dusk. Most of their day is spent sleeping.
I have to add that he had chewed most of my hillside garden to nubs before I broke down and started feeding him.
OK!!!
I have exactly the same experience, as I discovered a small rabbit living behind a Doug fir in my backyard.
He comes out and yes, does eat dandelions. And various grasses, etc.
Totally ignores the lettuce and carrots in my garden. I even tried slicing them up, peeling the carrots etc. Nuttin. Wouldn’t touch it.
BUT!!!!
There is something he loves. And he has come close to eating them out of my hand. Either way, I leave him a bit each day and watch him eat, and it’s almost always all gone in the morning.
His favorite food????????????!!!!!!!????? Apples.
By all means feed him.
But remember never speak of the ‘Shining Wire’!
We have a bunny who visits our yard from time to time, as well as a groundhog. They both love the weeds. ;o)
Rodents cannot resist apples. Best thing there is for baiting a live trap.
I'd be careful..........
Where? Behind the rabbit?
Get a Habitat cage, fill it with green leaf lettuce, trip the door and lay it in front of the opening overnight.
Saute fresh carrots, onions and celery along with 2 cups vegetable stock, bay leaf, garlic, salt and pepper to taste in a stock pot. Chill. Retrieve the cage the next morning, pop bugs with a hollow point 22 caliber bullet in the head. Dress carcase and cut up into bite size pieces bone in. Brown meat add to stock and stew for a couple of hours. Serve over rice. Hot sauce optional.
Don’t put out ANYTHING!
If you do, it WILL attract unwanted pests.
The rabbit is there for shelter.
As long as there’s natural food source withing 100 yards, THEY will be fine.
(I learned at a young age there’s no such thing as “A” rabbit.)
Death awaits with sharp pointy teeth.
This particular rabbit is EXTREMELY jumpy because the lady next door has like 5 well fed cats who like to lurk around.
But I can go out in the yard, and as long as I don’t move too fast or make alot of noise, he seems ok. Especially if I sit in my garden and munch lettuce. That’s when I usually have an apple with me and cut up pieces and toss them to him.
I watched one of the cats try to sneak up on him... cat got within about eight feet... rabbit took off so fast I literally couldn’t keep my eyes on him.
Cat was totally punked!! It was hilarious!
As long as the wabbit’s name is not Bugs, Elmer Fudd might be able to help you out.
“What would I give him that would not attract unwelcome critters?;”
Sounds like you already have one.
But, if feel you must, clover is what I’ve found to be their favorite, especially the larger purple clover.
Dispatch the cat. It has demonstrated it’s worthlessness.
One day you will wake up to find that you have been overrun.
I only started feeding ours out of desperation. He had all but destroyed my large garden.
We have so many critters around here—hawks, owls, foxes, to name a few-—that I thought, “what’s one more?”. Unfortunately for wild bunnies, they are part of the food chain and don’t have a particularly long life expectancy. I fully expect ours to be carted off by a hawk or owl at any time. I say, why not let him enjoy the bounty until that day arrives.
I had to replant and replant the beans. I was told you could sprinkle red-pepper flakes and other non-bunny-pleasing substances around to save the plants, but I found I couldn't deter the bunnies in any way whatsoever. I finally saved a planting by covering them with a row cover (in my case, some old sheets) until they had developed big leaves, which the epicurian bunnies consider "past their prime" and wrinkle their cute little noses at in disdain.
In the case of the squash plants, they actually did us a favor by eating 16 out of 20 new plants, because the 4 plants thats survived are continuously pregnant with more squash than we can deal with.
I agree with the folks that say if it's been dry, you can give the cute li'l fuzzballs some water. Or as my husband mentioned, nice juicy apples...
I also agree with those who say it's almost certainly not "a" bunny. They acquire spouses by impressive powers of irresistable, magnetic personal attraction; then they do what God says to do in Genesis.
If you want to tame him a little by giving him snacks, fine, but realize that the tamer he becomes, the more vunerable to dangers he becomes (dogs, cats, cars).
I tell you these things because I have an abundant supply of wild critters in my yard and have had my share of heartaches in connection with them. If you want to tame something, you better be prepared to take it inside and care for it totally.
I have been told, “never harvest a rabbit during months that don’t have an ‘R’ in its name (April, May, June, July or August) due to worms or some other such parasite.”
Thanks, everyone. I guess I will not be feeding him.
I don’t see any others and he is so small I wonder if he is an orphan.
We do have raccoons around this year.
Do you have some escargot ?
I have a bunch of bunnies living around my house.
The ate up all of the dandelions quickly and then moved on to grass.
They are all fat and healthy, I wouldn’t worry about feeding him.
I have two rescued rabbits that “showed up” at my home.
75% of a rabbit’s daily diet should be HAY. Timothy Hay is fine. They can have about a 1/4 cup of pellets per bunny a day. The other 25% of their diet should be fresh greens(dark greens but not a lot of spinach...too much iron) and no lettuce or carrots. Carrots only occasionally as a treat...they have a lot of sugar in them. Italian Parsley is better than the regular parsley, brussel sprouts, Bok Choy, mint, ciantro, dark leafy veggies like Kale, Collard Greens, etc. They love yogurt and bananas, but they should only be a once a month treat. Bunnies have a serious sweet tooth which is bad for their digestive tract. They are considered exotic animals, so if bunny gets sick you’d have to find a vet that sees bunnies. You can trim their nails like you would a cat and can put advantage on them for the fleas. Dosage is by weight like a cat also.
Lots of fresh water. Hay 24/7 since they like to lay in it and poop in it. They eat their first poop of the day because there are some minerals in it that is good for them. They love to use a litter box but get the litter pellets for bunnies since they eat litter.
That’s it. They are fairly cheap to feed if you plan to give the little darlin’ a home. If he goes to the shelter, chances are he/she will be euthanized. If you keep it, get it spayed/neutered. They get cancers if you don’t.
You mean little slimy, crawly things?
THAT’S the plan
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