the strangest thing I have ever seen...

[ridinglizzard]

This morning I went out to my pigeon/bunny house (6' x 8' x 7') and saw the strangest thing...

Some background: I have 3 nests happening on the floor right now, in one corner a 1 week old squab, in the other corner 6 x 5 day old bunnies, and in a third corner a lesbian pigeon couple perpetually sitting on unfertilized eggs.

So, this morning I walk in and the mom of the squab flies off her nest and I look over and there is a baby bunny snuggled in beside the squab! These bunnies are only a few days old, still blind, and not capable of leaving their nest (or so I thought!). Then I look over at the lesbian couple and they are both sitting on their nest and a baby bunny is struggling to get out from under one of them!!! I go retrieve both babies and put them with their siblings. Momma bunny seems unperturbed by the whole thing.

So, I am really weirded out by this! I am worried that obviously if the baby bunnies aren't with their mom they won't get the milk they need. On a weirder note... how did they get in the pigeon nests!?? Did the momma bunny bring them there? I don't think that they would have gone there themselves. The pigeon moms seemed very happy with the arrangement.

Strange...

Any ideas?

 

[elevan]

I just had a cat steal another cat's kittens...not the same I know...but...makes me vote for the birds stealing the bunnies.

 

[Lizzie098]

I just had a cat steal another cat's kittens...not the same I know...but...makes me vote for the birds stealing the bunnies.

Our Momma cats always try to take all of each others babies!!! But the birds with bunnies?? Well that just sounds weird. I would guess some how that the birds must have did that .

 

[ridinglizzard]

I just peeked in and saw one little runaway half way across the room, so maybe they are making a break for it and the birds are snatching them up!! They seem really strong to have been just born on June 28. Here are some pics!

 

[DianeS]

I had a litter of rabbits born on the wire once, in a regular wire cage sitting on the ground. Two of the kits had crawled a full FOUR FEET away from the cage in which they were born before dying. And that was outside, in winter.

If the temperature outside the nest is not extreme either way, it wouldn't surprise me that they could crawl 6-8 feet away. (And then live, because they found a safe nest at the end.) Baby rabbits are indeed strong, and their desire to find the most comfortable temperature overrides just about anything.

If it were me, I'd get those babies a nestbox with some good sides to it fairly quickly, to keep them where they belong.

 

[Legacy]

I agree, you need a box. I had a momma rabbit in a cage with a plastic box, she accidentally knocked it over and scattered babies. they crawled out through the side wire, wound up on the ground and crawled about 10 feet and were still alive when I found them. We gathered them back up and put them in a heavier box that wouldn't tip over. It's a good thing it was summer and they didn't get cold. One of them did die due to getting in the fire ants. But those babies can ooch a long way looking for what they need.

 

[Lizzie098]

Awwww, they are so cute!!!!! What breed are they?

 

[TheSheepGirl]

We ended up having to put baby guards on the sides of the cages until we got a few taller nest boxes. The baby guards consist of 1/4 inch wire mesh about 1 1/2 feet tall all the way around the cage.

The babies often get dragged away when they are latched onto mom and she leaves the box. They are unable to get back into a tall box and so they crawl around seeking shelter. They can crawl a long ways and it can take be up to an hour before they are chilled too much to move.

 

[RabbitBreederLady]

The other day my Holland had babies on the wire and they fell through to the ground in the pouring rain. My Min Pin gathered them up and put them on a dry spot and then tried to cover them with dirt. I don't know if she was trying to keep them alive or bury them. They were dead by the time I found them So at least your birds kept your bunnies alive. Weird stories with animals right?

 

[Ms. Research]

The other day my Holland had babies on the wire and they fell through to the ground in the pouring rain. My Min Pin gathered them up and put them on a dry spot and then tried to cover them with dirt. I don't know if she was trying to keep them alive or bury them. They were dead by the time I found them So at least your birds kept your bunnies alive. Weird stories with animals right?

Sorry to hear that. It happens. It's a shame but that's nature. Sometimes you feel you are responsible but you are not. Kits do move around and they do fall. Can't be there 24 hours a day. As you can see, others have experienced the same thing. Again sorry to hear about your loss. Maybe next time a nesting box or even an old towel or two to keep the kits from falling through.