Drstratton - My Backyard Journey Journal

[drstratton]

Last night I opened the window in my bathroom & bedroom so that we would be able to hear if anything came after our rabbits again. I was in bed for a few minutes and I told my husband that I was going to move the tractor onto the sidewalk overnight, that way I could maybe get some sleep and the rabbits would be safer. Then my husband suggested that we place the portion with the enclosure on the sidewalk and the other on the grass! That way they could still graze and have a safe space to go to should they need it, he's such a smart man...one of many reasons I fell in love with & married him! Everyone slept peacefully last night, except my husband, he said there was a frog making a racket all night, I only heard it for a short time...lol...the dog did not come back. This idea might be a way to keep using the tractor. Move them around during the day and place them on the sidewalk below our room at night! I have a gun near our door to the deck, should the need arise!

 

[drstratton]

I saw our escapee again today! We have water set outside the trap and I placed a pile of pellets near the entry, I have a container of pellets at the end of it, but I will slowly add pellets further and further into the cage, hopefully he will finally be comfortable enough with it that he will be caught! My husband talked to a friend at work today and he has a large animal trap that we can use to catch the predator. We will be borrowing it!

On a funny note! My husband would have made a perfect farmer...he will take something that is broken and work on it as long as it takes to get it going again and once in awhile giving up on it! We have a couple of small tank sprayers and he asked me to test them to see if they still worked! One did, but the other one wasn't pumping to pressure and the spray wand wouldn't turn off when the lever was released. So, I passed that information on to him and he starts to say sometimes you can add a little oil to the O ring and it will seal and be usable, I say, yes, but it doesn't quit spraying when I release the lever...silence...then he says, throw it in the garbage so that I don't come home and waste hours working on it...sometimes, it really is easier to just buy new, he's worked on this sprayer before!

 

[drstratton]

I got a close up of my little escapee today...I was about 5' away! He was not worried about me in the least, but I'm sure he wouldn't have let me come any closer. He ate the pellets I set out for him, so I put another little pile slightly further in the trap, we'll see what he does with that!

 

[B&B Happy goats]

Gosh I sure hope you can get him back to safety soon, I feel bad for the poor little guy

 

[drstratton]

He's actually probably much happier where he is, I wouldn't be surprised if he isn't digging a burrow back under the tree, lol! I moved the tractor over near the tree and that's where I saw him this morning, he was visiting the other rabbits! Thanks, I hope we can catch him soon too! My husband suggested putting some hay in the bottom of the trap to make it seem more natural...so we might try that tonight!

 

[farmerjan]

If you sit flat on the ground they will come up quicker. You are BIGGER than them, even when leaning down. If you sit, you are less threatening and their curiousity will win out. they a little food will keep them close and if they are busy enough, you can scratch them and they won't realize it and not get spooked. Don't forget, at that size they are just little kids and are more into running around than eating all the time. As they get a little older, and if you let their food run out so that when you go out there, and bring them food, they will associate you with food, and start coming. At this size, they can eat a little then go running off and play and see what else "new" they can find..... a little bigger, they will be more food motivated. But letting them run out for a little while , and then you taking it to them, will teach them that YOU are the good guy bringing them their meals. Automatic feeders don't do that until they learn that you are the one filling that feeder.
The treats that people give them are further enticements

 

[drstratton]

If you sit flat on the ground they will come up quicker. You are BIGGER than them, even when leaning down. If you sit, you are less threatening and their curiousity will win out. they a little food will keep them close and if they are busy enough, you can scratch them and they won't realize it and not get spooked. Don't forget, at that size they are just little kids and are more into running around than eating all the time. As they get a little older, and if you let their food run out so that when you go out there, and bring them food, they will associate you with food, and start coming. At this size, they can eat a little then go running off and play and see what else "new" they can find..... a little bigger, they will be more food motivated. But letting them run out for a little while , and then you taking it to them, will teach them that YOU are the good guy bringing them their meals. Automatic feeders don't do that until they learn that you are the one filling that feeder.
The treats that people give them are further enticements

Thank you, but I'm not sure that will work with this guy or any of the rabbits in the tractor! They were never handled until we caught them and brought them home, they were born in a rabbit colony that has gotten out of control. They are basically wild rabbits. He is the oldest of the ones we caught and very wary! He wasn't concerned about me, because he knew that he had a clear escape route...lol, smart little bugger! We are not going to bring anymore home, because they are so scared every time we come near, I feel really sorry for them! It will be different when we have our own litters of babies to raise as I will handle them just enough that they aren't terrified of us! If they were more used to me, it would work...I could give it a try anyway, I don't have anything to lose by it and who knows, I might get lucky!

 

[farmerjan]

Sorry, I meant the pigs, not the rabbit, about getting down to their level....

 

[drstratton]

Sorry, I meant the pigs, not the rabbit, about getting down to their level....

I should have realized that, I had a bit of a headache & my brain didn't even go there!

That would definitely work! I sat out with them for a bit today & actually got to scratch a couple of snouts & they decided that my boots looked pretty tasty, so they tried them out!

 

[drstratton]

I saw the dog by the tractor this morning, just staring into it...we were just getting out of bed! It's my fault that we didn't get him, I should have asked my husband instead of my son if we had anything bigger than 8 shot, my son said we didn't, I wasn't feeling well yesterday and I forgot to ask him. Well, we do have bigger shot and by the time Dale found the 00 the dog had left...he will be back again. One of the neighbors that I do know, has seen him at their place and they plan on doing the same thing as us! He had tried to dig under, but was deterred by the cement and the lag screw that holds the wheel bar down!