RIP Baby Bunnies - Fox or Cat?

[LillFilly]

HOLY FUCK I JUST SCARED A FOX AWAY FROM THEM!

We thought it was probably a cat and so put rat traps with meat around the pens, after moving the vulnerable babies inside. I just heard one snap, and ran outside to come face to face with a big fox who took-off and leaped over the 4 foot chain link fence around our yard. It's just so weird for a wild animal to kill more than it can eat; I can only figure this one got power drunk on the buffet of bunnies. We're calling around for a live-trapper now.

The one with the patch of skin missing looks like it might make it; we had another that got into a fight with her sisters and grew her fur back, but it's just such a large patch missing on such a small rabbit.

On the plus side, a local mechanic found a baby bunny (it's the size of a large hamster!) in his shop and we took it home to let it put on some weight before letting it go.

Here's the baby cottontail with one of the 5-week old surviving domestics; it makes our baby look like a giant!

[Marmalady]

Quoth LillFilly

It's just so weird for a wild animal to kill more than it can eat

*shakes head* You should have seen my neighbour's hen house when a fox got in... there wasn't one left alive, but the fox only carried one off. And the others hadn't died of fright either, it was just carnage. They do kill just for the hell of it, sad to say.

[LillFilly]

The injured baby passed away today; that puts the death toll at 6. 70% of the litter gone in 24 hours!

Buying our own trap and hiring someone would cost the same amount, but foxes have been known to return to their home turf even when relocated hundreds of miles away. Sadly, we were thinking of exterminating it; what if it doesn't want to run the next time I try and scare it away? According to the local game commission, if it's on our property killing our animals we have the right to put it down as it does not fall under hunting or trapping, and as long as we don't use poison. So we're looking into that. We've covered all the pens in wire and will see if any of the rat traps get triggered or if the meat bribe is gone.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Could also be a mink. They often don't eat their kills.

EDIT: Okay, yeah, I didn't see the fox post before I posted this.

[BlaqueKatt]

Quoth LillFilly

On the plus side, a local mechanic found a baby bunny (it's the size of a large hamster!) in his shop and we took it home to let it put on some weight before letting it go.

Here's the baby cottontail with one of the 5-week old surviving domestics; it makes our baby look like a giant!

1-wild rabbits have fleas and potentially other illnesses/parasites that can transmit to your other bunnies.

2-wild rabbits can suffer cardiac arrest from the stress of hearing a human voice.

3-it's possible the fox smelled the blood left over and wasn't the actual murderer.

Baby rabbits are incredibly fragile and do not take handling by humans well at all. Keep wild rabbits away from children, household noise (such as vacuum cleaner and so forth), domestic pets and bright light. Do not carry the rabbits around or show them to your friends, etc. A rabbit that seems “calm” is usually too scared to move or is in shock as a result of trauma (cat, dog, lawnmower, or even simply being picked up from its nest). Wild rabbits do not know you are just trying to help. They think you are going to kill them. This fear, as well as improper feeding/rehydration, will make their stomachs shut down, which will lead to an extremely protracted, painful, and unnecessary death.

[LillFilly]

BlaqueKatt,

Thanks for the info; I didn't think much of it since all our rabbits live outside anyway. I'll continue to give the rabbits Diatomaceous earth as well as rubbing Eucalyptus oil on them, as well as adding garlic to their food. We've raised cottentails before, just long enough for them to put on some weight and give them a better chance of surviving; never had any die on us yet. I want to give the little guy a chance; he had a hard enough time being stuck in a mechanic's garage!

Now some people at work, based on my description of the animal, seem to think that I might have seen a coyote; and they apparently do live in the area, even though we are 1/4 a mile from a school in a very nice, suburban neighborhood! From my estimate of it being about 2ft high and about 4 feet with the tail, that's what they believe. It seemed to be a very light reddish tan; I couldn't tell if it had socks or not. The eyes glowed greenish-yellow, but I've read that foxes eyes can shine a variety of colors. I don't know if I'd prefer it to be a fox or a yote! But a coworker said his uncle owns a trapping business and might set a trap for us for free, so that's good news.

[Andara Bledin]

You might want to check out this link for more info on your problem.

Fox and coyotes can look very similar, and I'm not sure it really matters which it was, as you've got a pest problem, regardless of its species.

^-.-^

[LillFilly]

Quoth Andara Bledin

You might want to check out this link for more info on your problem.

Fox and coyotes can look very similar, and I'm not sure it really matters which it was, as you've got a pest problem, regardless of its species.

^-.-^

Yeah, it could be a big fox or small coyote. It was fast and I was a little shocked because it was NOT the cat I was expecting! I've got some wolf urine on the way, and there's been no activity the last 2-nights, so fingers crossed!