damage to crabapple bark

I just discovered this on my dwarf crabapple. Can I do anything about it? Is was healthy in fall. What could have happened? Can this tree be saved.

That looks like the work of one very hungry rabbit. It is definitely some kind of animal eating the bark. Those are teeth marks. Survival depends on the amount of girdling and the overall health of the tree. Does it encircle the trunk? If it is gnawed around the entire trunk then, no, it won't survive.

Looks like it should recover, as it isn't girdled - the small white patches are the only spots where it has eaten right down to the wood, most of it has the yellow-brown inner bark still remaining. But fence it off so the Easter Bunny (and friends) can't come back for another go.

Resin

Please don't give up! I have had fruit trees severely damaged by rabbits and have them come back nicely. If there is a way of shading the trunk from a drying sun it might be beneficial.

I second a rabbit attack. Looks like it should recover.

They sure have been gnawing the Ligustrum in the woods, but heck, they're doing me a favor by doing that.

To fence a plant, drive three or four tall wooden stakes into the ground around it, about two feet from the trunk, or far enough away to prevent grazing on the lower branches. Attach woven wire or plastic mesh to these stakes to form a circular fence. You can maybe staple shadecloth to the fencing to shade the trunk? Also, keep an eye out for other signs of stress; pests and diseases commonly attack weakened trees, it's nature's way of ensuring survival of the fittest.

Thank you all for your helpfullness.

The way I fence is to just take chicken wire and a couple of those 3 ft. plastic stakes and put that around my trees or shrubs to keep rabbits and squirrels away from them. The plastic stakes have sharp ends so they just push right into the ground, no hammer required. I weave the stake thru the cage I've made, push stake into ground and voila. It works for me!

Cylinders made from hardware cloth and pegged down with old tent stakes are my weapon of choice. The cylinders last forever. I usually go up to the first limb, at least 2 ft or so high. Rabbits will stand on crusted snow and eat the bark. In fact, that's when I think they do the most damage because their food sources are buried.

snapple ~ how long do you have to leave the cylinders on the trees? Obviously through winter, I mean # of years? The tent stakes sounds like a great use for them, we have a few moldy old tent carcasses, I'm sure there are a few stakes left.

I have been tempted to plant a Red Jade crabapple on my parkway, my neighbor's is sooo pretty. She is also the art teacher at our elementary school, so I asked her if it was Red Jade, just to make sure, she said she actually planted two and only one made it. I had a similar experience with dogwoods at my old place, one on the parkway made it, the other struggled and died. tlimarzi I'm telling you this not to discourage you, but to encourage you not to give up, no matter what happens to this particular tree.

I put the cylinders on from fall to spring only for about the first five years. It depends on the tree size and the location. If I had a woods or a brush row nearby I might leave tham on for a few more years. Rabbits are nasty when it comes to eating in the winter.

Or you can buy a Jack Russell terrier. ( I always say this) But they turn bunnies into lawn compost. LOL

My greyhound puppy did in one of my New Zealands, also.

Yuck you guys. And the Easter bunny is hippity-hopping soon.

Bunnies=Deer without horns.

Mine has a soccer ball he butts around his cage. I wonder if he has ideas of grandeur if only he could get out!

What's needed is a small population of feral cats.