Thank goddess for good instincts

[RabbitPhotoGirl]

I think this is the right place but I went out to water my rabbits and I didn't notice until my dad pointed it out as he went to collect eggs and let chickens out, but my lop was missing and all that was in the cage was her babies. The cage next to my lop and her babies had also been moved, I only noticed due to it being too wobbly. There was also droppings on a block next to the cage, really looked like coons droppings. Naturally my parents come out and help me look for my lop and we cant' find her, all of us fearing the worst when we couldn't find her. I said to just keep an eye out for her because she should returned to her babies at night for feeding, at least I hoped to everything that she would since her babies are around 6 weeks of age. Now all of this was at 3 something due to it being a slightly cloudy and boring day which made everyone sleepy and not on top of things.

At 8:40pm I get called up for dinner and I stop at the door to look out and there is Ali my lop sitting under her babies cage. I grabbed one of my apples to bribe with just to make sure she came to me and made sure she wasn't bleeding or anything before I put her back into her cage with her babies. More clips went on the cage door to help keep it close and the beagle is getting moved closer to the rabbits to protect them. If it wasn't for the chickens being on the other side of the rabbits I would have put up a fight to move my dog over to protect them but due to the chickens and the beagle not bothering the chickens it's her that gets moved over.

All I can say is thank goodness for Ali's instincts to be working right despite her being with humans. Now all I gotta worry about is if she got near a wild one or not. I'll be checking on her for anything to be wrong in the morning when there is daylight. Right now I'm just glad I didn't lose another one of my favorite rabbits.

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

you have something in your favor when a rabbit gets out of its cage for any reason-- our domestic rabbits are colony animals, they hang out near 'home' even if they are loose for long periods of time.
Do check you doe for insect holes in her skin-- otherwise, you may find yourself with an unexpected case of nasties...

_

 

[Diamond]

Glad that all ended well. Poor Ali must have been terrified! The predators are getting very assertive this time of year, having young of their own to feed. Hope that your beagle will help deter future raids on your rabbitry!

 

[MaggieJ]

A beagle is no match for a raccoon, unless it is just a young one.

You need to make a secure enclosure to house your rabbit cages. Watch for a deal on used chain link or on a dog kennel. Whatever you rig, it needs to be secure on top as well.

 

[RabbitPhotoGirl]

I checked her over, nothing that I can see but she seems happy to be back in her cage. No fur lose, no marks of being attacked, not even any burs, nothing that I can see. With hay fields around my house it's impossible to really find anything in them so she could hide good in 'em. So I don't know how far she really got or anything.

Hopefully this beagle will at least help keep them away with barking or give a good warning, at least if anyone is awake to check. but all our dogs will bark at anything that isn't normally around at night which is pretty normal until a certain time due to wild dogs and coyotes that live in the woods behind my house.

 

[Cattle Cait]

I think its a good idea to keep a dog around, even a beagle. It may be no match for a raccoon, but even their presence does something to deter predators. Our neighbor-idiot-dog sightings shrank dramatically when we got Gus-Gus, and he's no pit bull.

Thank goodness there were no casualties!

 

[MaggieJ]

I was thinking of the beagle's health and safety. A large raccoon can tear up a dog pretty badly.

 

[Cattle Cait]

Yes, okay, I was totally thinking wrong direction I guess. I was thinking more, "Well, dog would scare them away." Slipped my mind as to what would happen if the raccoon DIDN'T go away. Excellent point, Maggie. You're right!

 

[AnnClaire]

Actually, the dog's job is to alert you to the intruder and it is up to you to get up and do something about it :lol:

I have a buck that has been getting out in the mornings and I finally figured out this morning why. The neighbor's cat has been stalking my bunnies and he has evidently appointed himself as "watch rabbit" So, this morning I stalked her back and popped her with a pellet. She ran off and I hope she won't be back too soon.

 

[RabbitPhotoGirl]

Didn't think of that, but haven't had any more trouble since moving her down there... aside from her getting tangled up in the fence posts.

Although now (really it happened like three days after her escape) it seems something is wrong with the back leg of Ali.. she is favoring it. It wasn't like that when I put her back in or the day after but like the third day since she was out that she started to favor it. Not broken from what I can see or feel. I can't handle her at all due to a health problem and being one handed at the moment (won't be able to for about 8 weeks really), so I'm just going by what I can feel while in the cage with her avoiding me and babies around her and what I can see. My mom does think it's dislocated or something close to that since she reached in and held Ali still and felt the leg.
No change in eating or drinking, aside from all of them begging for greens which I can't get one handed and parents don't help out much with getting greens. Which considering my dad deals with cows all day making him tired and my mom isn't in the best of health, makes it hard in the evenings when it is cooler.