Cottontail in yard

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jeannie

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So, we have had this cottontail visit off/on for a month. Hubby thought it was someones pet ~ it comes up to us, doesn't run from the grandkids, and my hubby reached down to pet it. It even hangs out with my chickens. And it loves graham crackers, lol.

I am thinking that this is a wild rabbit ~ just used to people. I can get close enough to check it out (without touching). Ears are clean, fur is full and beautiful, clear eyes, etc.

The rabbit hangs out with my buck (in a hutch off the ground) under the trees. Have poultry dust and DE all over that area to keep the chickens from getting mites, etc.

I don't know, I mean I am SUCH a sucker for animals ~~ it appears to be healthy, but.....

Well, I am pretty sure I know what the advice will be :( .... but I kinda like the rabbits personality... I guess I have another :canofworms:
 
If not a cottontail, then what? I took some pictures so maybe you can identify this rabbits breed. I would swear we have a cottontail out there, but I haven't looked up other breeds it could be...
 

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It might be a small mixed breed. From the pics, it seems to me like the coat is very dense and plush for a cottontail.


The color is chestnut or chestnut agouti. It is the dominant coat patten in rabbits, so it is often produced by crosses of totally different looking rabbits. For example, breeding a red with a black, white, or chinchilla could potentially produce chestnuts.
 
:yeahthat: Also, the ears look too long and I have never seen a cottontail with a dewlap under its chin :x

I think it is a female chestnut coloured Oryctolagus cuniculus (domestic rabbit) looking for someone to save her :)
 
Dood":36i6oyyv said:
:yeahthat: Also, the ears look too long and I have never seen a cottontail with a dewlap under its chin :x

I think it is a female chestnut coloured Oryctolagus cuniculus (domestic rabbit) looking for someone to save her :)

I looked that rabbit up, and yeah... looks like her! Well, she has found a home here :D
Guess I will make a lil "rabbit hidy place" so she will feel safe in the yard, but still have the freedom she has gotten used to.

Thanks everyone!
 
Just a mutt domestic rabbit. No specific breed. Oryctolagus cuniculus is the exact same thing as everyone's meat, show, and pet rabbit. When you mix the breeds you get a generic wild looking rabbit of various size. My husband always said it was his way of having a cottontail since an actual cottontail is illegal to keep and never fully tames.
 
akane":gsiiyp02 said:
My husband always said it was his way of having a cottontail since an actual cottontail is illegal to keep and never fully tames.
Our first rabbit is one we rescued, much like this one Jeannie has found. There was this cottontail hanging around Shay's workshop, and then... Shay suddenly realized it couldn't be a cottontail, because it was a lop! :p So he managed to capture it, and brought it home. We still have him... he's the father of our old meat rabbit line, even though he's a minilop.

jeannie":gsiiyp02 said:
Guess I will make a lil "rabbit hidy place" so she will feel safe in the yard, but still have the freedom she has gotten used to.
Like the rabbit we caught, you could still catch her and put her in a cage or hutch if you want to. :)
 
I have raised Cottontails. Your wild rabbit is not a Cottontail. Also, MissM is right, even orphan Cottontails raised by humans do not stay tame once they grow up, especially once they are back outdoors.

This is kinda good news, because now you have a stray domestic rabbit needing a home ... and you can adopt it without feelings of guilt. :roll:
 

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