Beginner Gardening: Rabbit building a straw home in my garden?, 1 by smartseeds

smartseeds wrote:
Your uninvited rabbit is probably a mini-rex, a domestic breed that looks like wild rabbits. They have great personalities and should be easy to give away. (It doesn't sound like you're ready to off Mama Rabbit).

Gestation period is 30 days. She'll have bunnies a few days after pulling fur, and the babies will start to be weaned in 3-4 weeks. Mama rabbits stay completely away from the nest except once or twice a day, when they sneak in to nurse.

Rabbit poop is the best fertilizer in the world, doesn't have to be aged, is all I use in my garden. But I'm already a rabbit owner, so you're probably not inclined to start a 4-H project at this point. You just want Mama out of your garden.

Rabbits can't STAND citrus. Cut a couple of lemons or grapefruit in half and she won't go near them. Not true with chile peppers (mine eat them!).

You can try scooping up the nest and moving it, or putting chicken wire over it so she can't get back in. She'll make another nest elsewhere if she has time. If you move the nest and babies, she'll probably abandon them, not kill them. And she'll be pregnant again in a week.

Sounds like the main challenge is to get Mama Rabbit out of your garden for good. She and her babies WILL eat your tender plants down to the ground. An experienced rabbit person should be able to catch her and pick her up if she's tame, or you may be able to trap her and send her to Bunny Rescue (yes, that's a real organization). Fond as I am of the critters, I would not have them loose in my garden!

Or you could borrow an annoying dog for a week.

Pic is of one of my does stealing a blanket to make a nest in the house. These are determined creatures, and not dumb!