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Bunny hunting

Discussion in 'Behavior' started by Sheltie4, Apr 19, 2014.

  1. Sheltie4

    Sheltie4 Forums Enthusiast

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    This is so gross, and I am at my wit's end.

    I have rabbits that live under my shed in the backyard. Each spring they have nests in the backyard with baby bunnies that my Shelties will find . . . and eat :(

    Today, Jonesie succeeded in killing an adult rabbit and was eating before I discovered what was happening.

    I picked up the rabbit carcass and gave Jonesie a healthy dose of Peroxide, which caused her to vomit on my deck (rather than inside of my house).

    Everything is cleaned up now, but I need to move the rabbits out of my yard NOW!!!

    I have read online that spreading blood meal over the yard will discourage rabbits . . .

    Anyone have any other suggestions?
     
  2. Mignarda

    Mignarda Forums Enthusiast

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    Sic a pack of Shelties on 'em. That'll discourage the little buggers!
     
  3. Shelby's mom

    Shelby's mom Forums Enthusiast

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    Shelby catches the rabbits too, fortunately for us she has not yet killed or tried to eat one.

    DH found a spray at the hardware store that keeps them away from my flowers. It is not toxic to dogs or humans. It smells like rotten eggs until it dries. I don't know what it is called. But it does work. I would keep the dogs inside until it dries. One time Shelby was out when DH was spraying and of course she was nosy and got into the stinky spray. It did make her vomit.

    Good luck!
     
  4. JacqueZ

    JacqueZ Forums Enthusiast

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    Some quick tips from gardening...garlic, onion, marigolds, chives, and lavender are all rabbit repellents, and bonus, lavender also supposedly repels fleas (because of this I grew a number of plants last year. Starting them indoors they grow quickly and so long as they have a decent amount of sun they grow great. It's a good inexpensive solution).

    I've also read that they don't like crossing mulched surfaces, so if you put some down around where they're making their nest that might push them out...

    My sister had this problem for a number of years..eventually the dogs did just discourage the rabbits from ever coming back. Luckily Honey either hasn't realized that rabbits occasionally explore my back garden or she and the cats quickly chased them away for good. I can deal with the occasional mouse and even suffered through removing a squirrel from them last year, but a bunny would be awful!
     
  5. Mom2Melli

    Mom2Melli Forums Enthusiast

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    We had rabbits all up and down my street. Then my husband shot one and dressed it out (his father is a retired butcher and helped with that!) and we ate it. After that, ALL rabbits left the hillside and haven't been back in about 5-6 years.

    We had a cat kill and eat a young rabbit in front of guests prior to that. It was lovely.

    Not sure shooting is an option for you, but it totally cleared our hillside within days and we only shot ONE.
     
  6. Margi

    Margi Premium Member

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    Bunnies are all over around here, and one night a bunny got inside the fence and apparently couldn't get out. The boys caught, killed and ate it. One of them *cough*Fillion*cough* brought the head with front legs still attached into the bedroom. How did I know this? Because when I got up in the middle of the nite for a trip to the bathroom, I saw by the light of a nite lite a blob that my severely nearsighted eyes thought was a dog toy right in the doorway. So I reached down to pick it up and get it out of the way so DH wouldn't trip over it. Imagine my surprise when it was furry and still warm...
     
  7. helps

    helps Forums Enthusiast

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    Ugh ..... I'm gonna throw up just reading this :eek2: It was disgusting when my dog caught mouse and brought it over to me to show me what a good boy he is lol but bunny..... eww. Luckily except that one time he caught mouse he never attempted to chase and kill any other animal and he had plenty opportunities to do so. He's no hunter.

    Sorry I have no advice on how to get rid of rabbits. We don't have them running close to houses around here.
     
  8. Mignarda

    Mignarda Forums Enthusiast

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    Really, though, if the dog is killing them, it shouldn't be long before they get the message and keep away. I haven't seen a rabbit in the back yard since we got Dickens. Prior to that they were all over the place, perhaps because little Boo Boo (Dickens's predecessor) couldn't be bothered to chase anything.
     
  9. trini

    trini Forums Sage

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    We have literally dozens of rabbits on our property...which is 6 rural acres. But our dogs are always in fenced yards and in the spring/summer/fall I go out first to scare any bunnies from the fenced yard before taking my dogs out. Ever since I started doing this "pre-let the dogs out" bunny patrol we haven't had a single dead bunny. However, the bunnies leave behind a lot of bunny poop which my dogs think is delicious. Yuck!

    Trini
     
  10. Katagaria

    Katagaria Forums Enthusiast

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    Ireland
    Just a warning with this, garlic and onion (as well as others related to the onion family like chives) are hazardous to dogs, it can damage their red blood cells if ingested.
     

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