Rabbit In My Backyard Question

[MichaelD]

I used to have a lot of rabbits in my backyard until Hurricane Sandy hit and then they were gone. I presume they all drowned.

This year I have one rabbit. This past summer I saw a baby in my front yard.

My question is this: Almost every night I see my rabbit hanging out in my backyard. Often he is close to my house. He seems to just be sitting there in the dark. My "grass" is mostly weeds. I have seen him munching on the weeds, but mostly he just sits there all alone. Can anyone tell me why just sits there in the dark? I've left him lettuce and apple peels in the front yard and he has eaten them. The last time I put lettuce out it was left untouched. Sometimes when I get home from work I see him in the front yard, but when he hears my car he runs into the backyard. I'm just wondering why he is always sitting there all lonesome in the backyard at night. Any ideas why he does that? When I had lots of rabbits before the hurricane I don't recall them sitting in the backyard at night. Thanks for any info.

 

[kyra]

Lettuce kills rabbits it poisonous

 

[Blaze_bunnies]

One question is this a pet rabbit or a stray?

Also some lettuces can kill! Cos lettuce is one hey can have but not much. Iceberg is one that kills

 

[Kipcha]

Iceburg lettuce is dangerous for rabbits but there are many (Greenleaf, Romaine, Red leaf, etc.) that are perfectly fine to give rabbits, as long as it is in logical quantities.

He may just be coming by because you feed him, or he feels safe in the area.

 

[Preitler]

Lettuce kills rabbits it poisonous

No, it's not. It's not a good diet and maybe can, like so much else, cause problems when given in big amounts or when a rabbit is not accustomed to it slowly, so don't give a pet rabbit that is used to hay and pellets some leaves of lettuce. There is absolutly no way some lettuce can hurt a free bunny that has all that weeds to chose from.

 

[Blaze_bunnies]

Iceberg lettuce kills! Most lettuce does!

If you feed it to a bun it will die! Simple

 

[Preitler]

Don't tell my buns that they ought to be dead, and they love prickly lettuce most.

 

[Preitler]

Anyway, not feeding iceberg lettuce is no loss at all. If someone isn't sure it's save just don't feed it, it's nutrational value is nil.

Giving them too much (like a handfull at once) of food they are not used to can kill, and some lettuce can lead to mushy poop because it's mostly water.

It's like "Appleseeds are toxic and kill rabbits", wich is kind of true if you somehow manage to stuff a bunny with a pound of it.

(that edit period is awfully short here...)

 

[Watermelons]

Iceberg lettuce kills! Most lettuce does!

If you feed it to a bun it will die! Simple

This is unnecessary and not true.
Lettuce as a part of a healthy balanced diet is not toxic to your rabbits.
If you have any questions about feeding lettuce to your rabbits Blaze, please PM me, otherwise I will ask that you stop posting to this topic about lettuce murders.


To the folks reading this topic.
Lettuce is fine. Even Ice berg wont kill your rabbit if it's used to a lot of greens, it just has a super high water content and other things that may cause harm IN LARGE QUANTITIES! But there are better lettuces out there anyhow.

Don't go tossing an entire head of lettuce into your rabbits bowl and you guys will be fine.

 

[MichaelD]

Sorry for the delay in responding, my internet has been down for awhile but I'm back up. Thank you for all your responses.

I saw my rabbit and for the first time since this summer his baby, who is not a baby anymore.

What would you recommend that I leave in my backyard to feed him? Romaine lettuce is better because it has more nutrients? What about carrots? I broke a carrot into pieces last night and threw it out there when I saw him and his baby.

I assume my rabbit does eat a lot of greens because he munches on the weeds in the backyard. I used to see all of the rabbits munching on dandelions. First they pluck it from the ground at the bottom and then they suck it in like spaghetti. It's hilarious!

Thank you for your help and advice, I greatly appreciate it.

 

[MichaelD]

One question is this a pet rabbit or a stray?

He's a wild rabbit who just likes to hang out in my back yard at night. When it was warmer out I would pull into the driveway and he would run from the front of the house to the back of the house. I guess he likes hanging out in the front yard during the day and the back yard at night. For the past 2-3 months I haven't seen him in the front yard but he still like to hang out in the back. Last night I saw him and opened the window and he actually hopped up 5 or 10 feet towards me! So he knows who I am and that I feed him and mean no harm to him. I guess he is now a domesticated wild rabbit.

 

[Aki]

Just one thing about lettuce :
Rabbits shouldn’t eat some lettuces (e.g. iceberg) as they contain laudanum which can be harmful in large quantities. Your rabbit will never drop dead because he ate some leaves. Of course, lettuces no matter which, should be introduced gradually like any other vegetable to avoid an upset stomach.

Light-coloured varieties are high in water and have very little nutritional value, so are not recommended but it just means that if you're buying lettuce, invest in something that will be more beneficial for your rabbit for the same price. It doesn't mean they are poisonous.
Darker, more leafy and fibrous varieties (e.g. romaine lettuce, batavia...) should be fed, as they are higher in fibre and actual nutrients.

Hope it clarifies everything.

 

[Preitler]

Just one thing about lettuce :
Rabbits shouldn’t eat some lettuces (e.g. iceberg) as they contain laudanum

No, it doesn't. Some lettuces contain Lactucin, as far as I know, Iceberg isn't one of them, or at least no quantities that are in any way relevant.
It's no super food, that's right, but no point in calling everything toxic, when I started with rabbits I got almost paranoid after reading too much on the internet.
It's pretty good summed up here:
http://pets.stackexchange.com/questions/1457/why-is-iceberg-lettuce-bad-for-rabbits


Carrots are fine, as are most vegetables. A wild rabbit will not eat too much of one plant, they know pretty good what they can stomach. It's different with our house bunnies, they don't have the choice wild rabbits have and may wolf down more greens than is good for them when they are not used to green stuff, or plants that cause problems because it's the only greens the get.

What species of rabbit ist that?

 

[Watermelons]

Guys that's enough!
No more posts about lettuce being good or not. I think its been MORE then covered.

 

[Thumperina]

so you really wanna know how to treat your wild rabbit? get him kale, endive, broccoli crowns, cilantro, parsley, don't forget bananas, apples (pilled, no seeds), cranberries, carrots. This is just a short list of what could be offered, and I really don't think he wants to be spoiled.
As for your question "why", I am sure he feels safe in there (no predators around), he has a hole somewhere in your yard, and your grass is good enough. it's not uncommon for wild rabbits to sit still on the lawn at night - I've seen them many times but usually in summer/spring/fall

 

[stevesmum]

http://cwf-fcf.org/en/discover-wildlife/resources/faq/faqs/we-noticed-a-wild-rabbit-in.html
Please have a read of this great link on feeding wildlife in our backyards. I found it interesting.