It looks like I've got a new project. My dear husband was mowing some property for his mother, and once again ran over a bunny nest. 
I have 5 new babies to try and save that look to be three days old. Last time it was only three, and they all made it so I hope I'm just as fortunate this time!

I don't have any pics of the new kits yet, but these are from the first group of orphans.





I can't seem to turn down baby animals. At least bunny kits aren't as demanding as baby birds; they only need two feedings a day and will be ready to release at 4 weeks. That's the hardest part....

Congratulations!
Here's hoping the little fellas do well. In your experienced care I am sure they will. Cute critters.

I'm not much of a fan of rabbits because of how much grief they cause us on our ranch, but I must admit, those little guys are awful cute.  It's pretty hard to resist just about any baby animal.  I gained a whole new appreciation for cows after dealing with calving season every year (and the ensuing 3 months of stress).  Baby animals are so innocent and curious, it's impossible not to nurture them and try to ensure they have a fighting chance.

Very good on you, Nugget!

(Yesterday, 02:31 AM)FCD Wrote: I'm not much of a fan of rabbits because of how much grief they cause us on our ranch, but I must admit, those little guys are awful cute.  It's pretty hard to resist just about any baby animal.  I gained a whole new appreciation for cows after dealing with calving season every year (and the ensuing 3 months of stress).  Baby animals are so innocent and curious, it's impossible not to nurture them and try to ensure they have a fighting chance.

Very good on you, Nugget!

I understand 100% not being a fan! I really, really dislike starlings but when I lived in the 'big' city word got around that I have a soft spot for the babies and someone brought me four baby starlings without a single feather on them.
I figured they at least deserved a chane to live....or be spared a slow, miserable death so I raised them untel they fledged. I even took them to work with me and fed them on my breaks. 
Boy, did I get a lot of flack for that! 
Around here F&G and all the other resues just euthanize the wild animals they get so it's people like me or certain death. I'm not cut out to be the one who decides.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Nobody! All the literature says orphanedbunnies have a 95% fail rate at rehab, and that's by professionals....so I try not to get my hopes up too high.

There's a really nice nature walk in the next town over where we released the little guys in the above picture. I still think about them, hoping they made it and enjoyed their brief life span here.

(Yesterday, 03:51 AM)Nugget Wrote: I even took them to work with me and fed them on my breaks. 
Boy, did I get a lot of flack for that! 

I don't know about starlings and I can't remember the species of bird I dealt with, but I found baby birds and the nesting materials they live in to be some of the most uniquely offensive odors I have come across.

I worked at a hydropower station's fishway, which had some unique opportunities to be offended by odors. Baby birds ranked up there with the best of them, especially considering their tiny size, for knee-buckling & gut-emptying power. It's the odor equivalent of getting kicked in the balls. It sticks with you for a bit.

I suspect the birds I was feeding were raptors or something that had a high protein diet. I think the odor was the food residues and waste for the most part. They're really efficient little shit machines.

At least bunnies are cute. They have a high cuteness to stink ratio.

(Yesterday, 04:32 AM)Ksihkehe Wrote: At least bunnies are cute. They have a high cuteness to stink ratio.

You're so right AND they don't have to be fed every 3/4 hours around the clock! 

I used to hand rear birds-everything - from zebra finches to moluccan cockatoos - and you're right about them being shit machines. They're alsomagical creature who can turn 1 gram of food into 8 pounds of poop that seems to constanly be falling from their backside.
The smell was negligable, though. A lot of that I atributed to them all being on pellet diets. Birds that eat fish or raod kill are an entirely different animal, though!

Noe day I went to the feed store and had my Nanday conure with me. She would hide in my shirt and just pop her head up to look around occasinolally. Well, when I was at the register paying she decided to pop her head up, saw a strange guy and let out a loud squawk. The guy hollered out to the back room "Hey, bill; come'er; you gotta see this!"
Bill came around the corner, Gilbert popped her head out and started screeching before diving back to safety. Bill exclaimed "Damn! Makes you wish you were a bird, don't it!"

That was probably the reddest my face has ever been. Well, maybe second to when floating down the river with a group of friends my bikini top decided it no longer cared to ride with me. But it's close! 

We were feeding them some paste of something vile.

That was too fiddly for me, tiny birds and a tiny syringe of slop.

I did more active work for larger animals that were in the care of the facility I volunteered at.

I have no accidental public nudity stories to contribute. All of my public nudity had been quite deliberate.

(Yesterday, 01:27 AM)Nugget Wrote: It looks like I've got a new project. My dear husband was mowing some property for his mother, and once again ran over a bunny nest. 
I have 5 new babies to try and save that look to be three days old. Last time it was only three, and they all made it so I hope I'm just as fortunate this time!

I don't have any pics of the new kits yet, but these are from the first group of orphans.





I can't seem to turn down baby animals. At least bunny kits aren't as demanding as baby birds; they only need two feedings a day and will be ready to release at 4 weeks. That's the hardest part....

That's awesome, cute little buggers.

(Yesterday, 05:17 AM)Ksihkehe Wrote: I have no accidental public nudity stories to contribute. All of my public nudity had been quite deliberate.

 rofl
I envy you! I was still young enough to enjoy the 'streaking' craze but I didn't dare participate for fear of being arrested for insufficent exposure.

(Yesterday, 01:27 PM)M.U.D. Wrote: That's awesome, cute little buggers.

My cat agrees. He discovered them last night and thinks his doordash order has arrived!